Brad Peters, President and CEO, Pacific Empire Minerals Corp. (TSXV: PEMC, OTCQB: PEMSF) Discusses Exploration of Their Strong Portfolio of Gold-Enriched Copper Projects, Close to Existing Infrastructure, in British Columbia
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By Dr. Allen Alper, PhD Economic Geology and Petrology, Columbia University, NYC, USA
on 7/24/2022
We spoke with Brad Peters, President and CEO of Pacific Empire Minerals Corp. (TSXV: PEMC, OTCQB: PEMSF), a copper exploration company, with a strong portfolio of gold-enriched copper projects, close to existing infrastructure, in British Columbia. BC is a mining friendly, low risk jurisdiction, with excellent access to low cost, low carbon, hydroelectric power and skilled labor. The projects are located, along the province’s most significant copper-gold belt, and can deliver highly marketable concentrates, with ease of export to global end users. Pacific Empire employs a hybrid business model, which combines advancing 100% owned projects in house, with joint ventures and royalty generation. The Company’s flagship is the Jean Marie Property, located 50 km south of Northwest Copper's Kwanika deposit and 50 km west of Centerra Gold's Mt. Milligan Mine.
Pacific Empire Minerals Corp.
Dr. Allen Alper: This is Dr. Allen Alper, Editor-in-Chief of Metals News, talking with Brad Peters, who is President and CEO of Pacific Empire Minerals Corporation. Brad, could you give us an overview of your Company, talk about your business model, and tell us about your portfolio?
Brad Peters: Thanks, Allen. I appreciate that. As you mentioned, Pacific Empire Minerals is a public company. We trade on the TSX Venture Exchange. We are a junior explorer. Throughout most of our history, we were a private company, and we've been a public company since 2018. Throughout that time, we have always been focused on copper, developing, acquiring, and building a portfolio of copper projects in British Columbia, Canada. As you mentioned, we operated as a prospect generator, for a number of years, during a bear market in copper. With improved copper prices, the strategy of our Company is to start focusing on the best projects that we have in our portfolio. We’ll advance those projects and look to test, with diamond drilling, as we go forward.
Dr. Allen Alper: That sounds excellent. Can you tell us about your flagship property and some of the others?
Brad Peters: Our flagship property is the Jean Marie Property. That property is located, for the most part, right in the middle of British Columbia, just a little north of the center of British Columbia. This is an area with abundant access in infrastructure. We're close to power lines, rail roads, all that sort of thing. This is in an area where if you find something, you can build a mine. The project itself is about 12,000 hectares, a fair size project. This is the third year we've had the project. In the initial year, we did reverse circulation drilling on the property, which was very successful. We drilled 15 holes, 13 of which were mineralized, not ore grade mineralized, but it certainly demonstrated that there was an additional area, to the project, to the north of all the existing copper mineralization, which was determined to be drilled. Again, it told us that there's a fairly large area of copper here. But what we really need to do, is focus on finding out where the highest grades are, in this particular area.
Last year, in 2021, we brought on a new Technical Team and really went back to basics on it and took a deep dive into the data. The purpose of that was to tighten up targets and target specifically for diamond drilling. The result of that work was that in January of this year, we've identified two primary areas that we would call Target One and Target Two. These are the two areas that we've prioritized for diamond drilling, which will probably start here in the next week or two.
Dr. Allen Alper: That sounds excellent! Sounds like this will be an exciting time for your shareholders and stakeholders!
Brad Peters: I certainly think it will. We've spent years up until this point, bringing targets, getting them as close as we can to diamond drilling, but we've never really drilled them ourselves. We have had partners do some drilling, on our projects, of course, and we've used an RC drill on some projects. But this is the first project that our Company will be diamond drilling itself.
Dr. Allen Alper: Well, that sounds excellent! Could you tell our readers/investors a little bit about yourself and your Team?
Brad Peters: Absolutely. I'm a graduate of the University of British Columbia and although I'm not a P.Geo, I did graduate from the Geology Department. I've worked as a geologist, if you will, throughout the Yukon, Northern Ontario, Arizona, British Columbia obviously, and Mexico. And that's been my stomping ground, so half divided between Archean gold and porphyry-style copper systems.
Probably one of the most significant changes to the Company was, we had a bit of a turnover on the technical end in late 2020, we basically changed out our Technical Team and brought in a group of consultants. The group is called OreQuest Consultants, a very talented bunch there. We brought in a new Vice President of Exploration, a PhD who really knows his stuff. But I think, quite significantly, we've had a gentleman on our advisory Team, Dr. Paul Johnson, the senior porphyry guy for Teck for years. And that's how I got to know him, through Teck. He would come, on behalf of Teck and look at our projects. I realized, pretty quickly, that this guy was probably one of a handful of people, on the planet, that really truly understands porphyry systems. When he left Teck, the first phone call I made, was to Paul, to ask him if he would join our Advisory Board. And Paul's been with us ever since.
Dr. Allen Alper: That sounds excellent! It's great to have such a knowledgeable fellow working for you. That's excellent! Could you tell our readers and investors a little bit about your share and capital structure?
Brad Peters: As a Company that's been private and public and IPO'd in 2018, we're currently at issued and outstanding stock, at approximately 90 million shares. So, with a market cap like ours, and with being very fortunate, in this particular market, to have secured a diamond drill company, and to have high quality copper targets for diamond drilling, I think that there's a certain value associated with a company that's in our position.
Dr. Allen Alper: That sounds excellent! Could you tell us a little bit about the region you're in and why it's important for copper porphyries?
Brad Peters: The region we're in, in British Columbia, Canada, is unique, to a certain degree. It's certainly different from Australia or Arizona, in the sense that we have access to abundant hydroelectric power here and water. And this is becoming more and more important every day. When major mining companies go look at projects, one of the primary questions they have is, "How are we going to power this?" And really, what that translates into is, if we find a mine, how are we going to crush the rock?" That's the biggest energy input that goes into a mine.
Brad Peters: And if you have hydroelectric power, which is a power input, with a low carbon footprint, that's even more important to companies these days, rather than using diesel generating, or whatever other type of power source they have. I think it merges very well with the green environment, the green social license that shareholders, stakeholders, and investors are looking for, is that the copper that you're looking for will be used to electrify the planet. But in doing so, in producing that copper, you don't want to produce an excessive carbon footprint. So hydroelectric power is something that British Columbia is absolutely blessed with, and we're very fortunate to have it.
Dr. Allen Alper: That sounds excellent. it's very fortunate to be in an area where you have access to low-cost power. Brad, could you tell our readers and investors, the primary reasons they should consider investing in your Company?
Brad Peters: The primary reason is value. We're a very small market cap company right now. We're a small market cap company that has high-quality drill targets that have been identified. We currently have crews on the ground in the process of mobilizing a diamond drill to the project, where drilling will start, in the next couple weeks. You're looking at, I think, a great value, with a relatively near-term insight into results. We could have a really great summer here and it could be an absolute game changer, over the next one or two or three months here, for the Company. And I think that that's something that certainly excites me and as a shareholder of the Company as well.
Dr. Allen Alper: That sounds excellent! Brad, is there anything else you'd like to add?
Brad Peters: No, there's nothing I'd like to add, actually. I think you did a great job, a perfect job!
Dr. Allen Alper: Excellent! We’ll publish your press releases as they come out so our readers/investors can follow your progress.
https://pemcorp.ca/
Brad Peters
President and Chief Executive Officer
Pacific Empire Minerals Corp.
Tel: +1-604-356-6246
brad@pemcorp.ca
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