Vancouver, B.C. - September 23, 2010 - Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (TSX Venture: PEX) reports continuing exploration progress on its Mariposa, Gold Cap and Polar Stewart properties, located in the Yukon's South Klondike, south of Dawson City. 

The western boundary of the Mariposa property lies approximately 30 kilometres northeast of Kaminak Gold's Coffee Creek property and 25 kilometres southeast of the Underworld Resource's White Gold property now owned by Kinross Gold Corporation.

The original contiguous block of 453 Mariposa claims, covering an area of 90 square kilometers, has been increased to a total of 994 claims now comprising an area of 190 square kilometers. Additional staking was carried out to encompass newly defined gold geochemical anomalies and extensions of favorable geologic features similar to those hosting gold discoveries reported within the White Gold and Coffee Creek areas.

Geochemical soil sampling continues with 3,000 soil samples collected so far this season. Assays are currently pending for approximately 800 samples. As was previously reported on August 17th, four geochemical anomalies, the Skookum Jim, Big Alex, Hackly and Maisy anomalies still remain open for further geochemical definition.

Back-hoe trenching commenced on the Skookum Jim in mid-August with 6 widely-spaced back-hoe trenches resulting in a total of 1,600 metres of trenching now completed and sampled. Assays are pending. Trenching this overburden covered area has been carried out within an open ended northeast trending gold-in-soils geochemical anomaly currently defined with a strike length of 1100 metres and a width of 600 metres. Gold-in-soil geochemical peak values reach 1,570 ppb. Trenching exposed bedrock and near-bedrock altered mica gneiss and schists hosting quartz veining, stockworks and breccia with a predominance of oxides, minor sulphide mineralization and hematite within zones of structural deformation.

Trenching is now underway on the Maisy May geochemical anomaly located within the western portion of the Mariposa claims where anomalous gold in soil values occur in an area of highly silicified quartz mica schist float that has been traced 400 metres to the northwest. Samples of siliceous float returned values up to 784 ppb gold and 4,222 ppm copper. Anomalous values in bismuth, molybdenum, arsenic and antimony are also present.

On Pacific Ridge's Gold Cap claims, located immediately east of the Kinross White Gold property, geochemical soil sampling has recently been completed by RyanWood Exploration with the collection of 1,800 deep auger soil samples. It is expected that this work will further define extensions of northwest-trending gold-in-soil anomalies discovered in 2009.

Pacific Ridge Exploration will be exhibiting at the Cambridge House Investment Conference being held in Toronto on September 24 and 25th. Shareholders and investors are invited to visit Manex Resource Group's booth number 514 where John Brock, President of Pacific Ridge, will be in attendance. 

"John S. Brock"
John S. Brock
President

For further information, contact:

Corporate Information
Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd.
John S. Brock
President
Tel: (604) 604.641.2759
www.pacificridgeexploration.com

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Information
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. ("Pacific Ridge") expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Although Pacific Ridge believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Pacific Ridge does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.