Mariposa Property Expanded to Over 1,400 Claims and Pacific Ridge Exploration to Attend the Vancouver World Resource Investment Conference

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - June 1, 2011) -Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:PEX) by way of recent claim staking plus option of an adjacent property, has expanded its Mariposa Property holdings by 44%, to over 1400 claims that now cover 262 contiguous square kilometers within the Yukon's White Gold District.

The recently completed staking of 387 mineral claims has extended the northwestern and southeastern boundaries of the Mariposa property. These claims were staked to cover airborne magnetic features which have been interpreted to represent geologic structures with potential to host gold mineralization. The northwestern claim block lies to the north of the plateau of the Skookum Jim gold-in-soil anomaly, while the southeastern block covers an area drained by creeks with anomalous gold-in-silt results of 12 and 34 ppb gold, obtained from government geochemical surveys.

In the northwestern area of the property, Pacific Ridge also has an option to acquire an additional 39 claims by way of a letter of understanding with a private vendor. To exercise the option and earn a 100% interest in the property, Pacific Ridge will issue 200,000 common shares and pay $85,000 in staged payments over the ensuing three-year period. The property will be subject to a 2% net smelter return royalty (NSR) that allows Pacific Ridge the exclusive right to buy 50% of the NSR (1%) for $1,000,000 upon receiving a production notice in respect of the property. The letter of understanding is subject to acceptance for filing on behalf of Pacific Ridge by the TSX Venture Exchange.

On June 5th and 6th, Pacific Ridge Exploration will be represented at the Cambridge House Vancouver World Resource Investment Conference, booth number 1012. Management will be in attendance and pleased to update shareholders and all interested parties. In addition, John Brock, President and CEO will provide a corporate presentation on Sunday, June 5th at 12:00 pm in Workshop Room 1.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

John S. Brock, President and CEO

Pacific Ridge Exploration Ltd.