VANCOUVER, BC - Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:PEX) reports that the Company has successfully completed its 2012 exploration program on the Mariposa Gold property. Located within the White Gold District of the Yukon's South Klondike, the property saw a four-month $1.9 million program that included 2,450 metres of diamond drilling completed in 14 holes, approximately 1850 metres of excavation in 16 trenches, collection of 3,500 soil and silt samples, ground magnetic surveys and prospecting for gold-bearing float. With encouragement from this year's exploration, Pacific Ridge plans to continue exploration work on the property in 2013.

Highlights

• Eight out of eleven holes drilled this year within the Skookum Main Zone intersected gold mineralization.
• Continued drilling within the Skookum Main zone will be guided by additional information from geologic modeling that has now confirmed a structural control on gold mineralization hosted within favorable gold-hosting rocks.
• The first-ever drilling within the Big Alex zone intersected gold in all three holes drilled.
• Prospecting in the area of the Hackly zone led to discovery of high grade gold-in-float.
• Assay results are pending for the 12-trench program at the Skookum West zone that tested bedrock under gold-bearing float locations with grab samples returning up to 20 g/t gold.
• Encouraging exploration results reported by third parties on properties located proximal to the Pacific Ridge's Polar-Stewart and Gold Cap Properties suggest additional exploration potential on these Pacific Ridge holdings.
• A full 2012 exploration report with recommendations for 2013 is expected by year-end.
• As at October 12, Pacific Ridge's cash working capital was approximately $850,000.

Skookum Main
The 2012 drilling program within the Skookum Main zone was designed to further establish the structural and stratigraphic relationships with gold mineralization discovered during the 2011 drilling program. This year's drilling program confirmed structure-related gold mineralization within favourable gold-hosting rocks, mostly granodiorite, usually found in association with evidence of hydrothermal alteration. This open-ended, structurally-bounded, northeasterly-trending mineralized corridor now measures between 60 to 80 metres in width and consists of east-northeast dipping stratigraphy with demonstrated potential for both near-surface and at-depth gold mineralization.
Now that the gold mineralization system of the Skookum Main zone is well understood, exploration priority will be placed on drill-testing open-ended strike and depth extensions of higher grade gold zones, such as the intersection of 2.4 g/t gold over 38 metres that was encountered in the 2011 drilling program.

Through the 2011 and 2012 drilling programs, the overall Skookum Main zone has seen 29 holes drilled, 22 of which have intersected significant gold values. The following assays have been selected from drill holes located within the Skookum Main Corridor.
 

• 11MP-01 2.4 g/t over 38.9 metres, and 6.5 g/t over 3.2 metres
• 11MP-05 1.1 g/t over 19.8 metres
• 11MP-06 0.6 g/t over 45.3 metres
• 11MP-08 1.7 g/t over 12 metres
• 11MP-27 2.0 g/t over 4.7 metres
• 12MP-3A 0.6 g/t over 26.1 metres, and 3.7 g/t over 3.7 metres
• 12MP-06 6.5 g/t over 1.3 metres
• 12MP-10 1.1 g/t over 19 metres

A complete table of 2012 drill hole assays is appended to this news release.

Skookum West
The Skookum West zone is defined by a 1.5 kilometre-long gold-in-soils anomaly. Prospecting during the last three exploration seasons (2010 to 2012) revealed numerous locations where gold-bearing float samples have assays ranging from 0.5 g/t to 19.9 g/t gold. The wide-spaced drill-testing of some of these float locations in 2011 had not explained the significance of the widespread gold anomaly contained in both rocks and soils. This year's trenching program exposed bedrock sources for sampling in 12 locations indicated by anomalous gold-in-float samples. This trenching program was completed in early October with approximately 198 composite rock samples, 198 soil samples and 19 grab samples collected from the trenches and now awaiting gold and multi-element analysis. Results will be reported when all are received.

Big Alex
Big Alex is located in the northwestern part of the Mariposa claims and saw the first-ever holes drilled this season. Two target areas straddle Scroggie Creek, and comprise anomalous gold-in-soils, gold-in-float and gold-in-outcrop. To the northwest, across Scroggie Creek, a single hole drilled to test the coincidence of gold-in-soil anomaly with lineament interpretion from geophysics signature returned gold mineralization up to 4.1 g/t over 1.8 meters.

A rare outcrop in the Big Alex East area consists of potassic-feldspar altered granodiorite with dense quartz veining where a grab sample returning 3.0 g/t gold was tested with two drill holes, 12MP-13 and 14, drilled from the same set-up. Both of the holes intersected multiple intervals of significant gold mineralization. The highlights include a near-surface 5.2 meters of 1.64 g/t Au in 12MP-13 and 7.1 meters of 0.54 g/t gold in 12MP-14 which included 1.5 metres of 1.4 g/t gold and 1.2 metres of 1.3 g/t gold.

Continued drilling is proposed for next year to define the geometry and extent of gold mineralization in both targets.

Hackly
The partially defined Hackly gold-in-soil anomaly reaches 250 ppb gold and is open ended for expansion. Named "Hackly" because of the hackly texture of gold nuggets found nearby in Scroggie Creek, it may be postulated that the rough textured nuggets have not travelled far from a lode gold source. Two holes were drilled into the Hackly soils anomaly in 2011, with disappointing results. This year, prospecting led to discovery of near-in situ gold-bearing float occurrences where grab samples returned 11.7 g/t and 1.65 g/t gold from an area located approximately one kilometre north of the 2011 drilling. This float discovery will be followed up with trenching and drilling in 2013, contingent upon the success of the trenching program.

Local Exploration Activity
Comstock Metals Ltd recently reported encouraging trenching and drilling results from their QV property located 5 kilometres northwest of Pacific Ridge's Gold Cap property, with additional results pending. Comstock recently acquired a second property, the Walhalla, which is tied on to the eastern boundary of Pacific Ridge's Mariposa claims. Comstock reports plans to follow up anomalous gold geochemical results within the Walhalla claims. Pacific Ridge holds an option from Shawn Ryan on the Polar-Stewart claims, to the east of which Goldstrike Resources have reported high grade gold assays in float on their Lucky Strike property. The news of exploration success on properties adjacent to Pacific Ridge holdings can be considered additional prospectivity for Pacific Ridge.

Skookum Main Zone 2012 Drill Hole Assays

SKOOKUM MAIN

BIG ALEX

BIG ALEX EAST

Sampling methods and analytical procedures
Drill core is cut or split in half, with one half of each sample forwarded for analysis, and the remaining half archived on site. As part of the quality assurance-quality control ("QAQC") program, a series of certified reference standard material, blank material and core duplicate samples are inserted into each batch. Samples are sent directly by air charter to the preparation facility of Inspectorate Exploration & Mining Services in Whitehorse, YT ("Inspectorate"), where they are crushed and pulverized to 85% passing 200 mesh. Coarse reject material from each sample remain stored with Inspectorate in Whitehorse, while the pulps were couriered to Inspectorate's laboratory in Richmond, BC, which is SO9001: 2008 certified. Determinations for gold were completed on a 30g subsample subjected to fire assay, followed by an atomic absorption ("AA") finish. Results are reported as ppb (parts per billion). Sample results exceeding 10,000 ppb gold are subjected to fire assay followed by a gravimetric finish. Results are reported as grams per tonne gold. An additional 30 elements were determined by sample digestion in an aqua regia solution and analysis by ICP-MS and ICP-ES. Mercury determinations were completed by cold vapour fusion.

The technical information contained within this News Release has been reviewed and approved by Jerry Solomon, P.Geo, Pacific Ridge's Project Geologist, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 policy. Jerry Solomon supervised most of the 2012 exploration program.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

John S. Brock
President and CEO
Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd.


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 and other activities and events or developments that Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. ("Pacific Ridge") expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the placements and future exploration plans and expenditures. 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 forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include market prices, exploration successes, and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. These statements are based on a number of assumptions including, among other things, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions, the timing and receipt of regulatory and governmental approvals for the transactions described herein, the ability of Pacific Ridge and other parties to satisfy stock exchange and other regulatory requirements in a timely manner, the availability of financing for Pacific Ridge's proposed transactions and programs on reasonable terms, and the ability of third party service providers to deliver services in a timely manner. 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, except as required by applicable law.

(c) 2006-2012 Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. All rights reserved.

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