Pacific Empire Minerals Corp. has commenced diamond drilling at its flagship Trident copper-gold porphyry project in north-central British Columbia.

Initial holes are testing the Trident Main Zone to follow up on the company’s 2025 drill results. The 2026 exploration program is being managed by Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd., which was engaged earlier this year to provide technical leadership and project management.

Once drilling at the Trident Main Zone concludes, the rig will move to the eastern portion of the property. The company recently completed two ground-based induced polarization lines there to follow up on an anomalous chargeability response identified in a 2014 survey. Interpretation of the expanded dataset has defined a larger area of anomalous chargeability that now serves as the next drill target.

Following the work at Trident, drilling is planned to move to the company’s Pinnacle property, located immediately west of Trident. Operations there will test targets identified from a June 2026 airborne magnetic survey across the northern block, alongside the Pinnacle South target.

Prior to drilling, field work included the ground-based induced polarization lines at Trident, an airborne magnetic survey across the northern Pinnacle block, and reviews of historical drill core and exploration data. Pacific Empire holds a multi-year Mines Act Permit authorizing surface diamond drilling from 20 permitted sites at Trident until September 30, 2028.

“With diamond drilling now underway at Trident, we are excited to begin testing both the follow-up targets from our 2025 program and the substantially larger IP chargeability anomaly identified through this year's geophysical work. The expanded target area in the eastern portion of the property is particularly compelling, and the opportunity it gives us to step out and think big about the scale of this system is exciting. At the same time, results from the airborne magnetic survey at north Pinnacle, when considered alongside historical drilling, are equally encouraging. We believe 2026 will be a pivotal year for both projects and look forward to updating shareholders as results become available,” commented President and CEO Brad Peters.

Read the full announcement: Pacific Empire Announces Commencement of 2026 Diamond Drill Program at Trident and Pinnacle