Western Pacific Mining Exploration - Completes a Second Drill Hole on the Ravu Gold Prospect on the Nggella Sule Permit in the Solomon Islands.

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 4, 1997--WESTERN PACIFIC(ME WPC.) Western Pacific Mining Exploration Company Inc. (Westpac) has completed a second drill hole on the Ravu Gold Prospect on the Nggella Sule Permit (Florida Islands) in the Solomon Islands. The drill core samples have been sent for analysis to independant assayers - Minesite Laboratories. No assay results from this hole have been received to date.

The field work on Nggella Island (Florida Islands) has identified another copper-zinc anomaly with an associated electromagnetic anomaly. This is not considered to be a primary target at this time and further ground definition work will be required to define the best drill target(s) along this base metals zone; this work will be completed later in the program.

Under the supervision of Watts, Griffis and McOuat (independent mining consultants), the first phase of the exploration work on the Solomon Islands Permits is well underway. Additional field crews are mobilizing in order to accelerate the ground definition work. At the present, the field crews are working on Kolombangara Island and survey work on the Shoulder Hill volcanic craters has been initiated. Westpac's Solomon Islands program consist of the evaluation and drill testing of more than twenty five geological targets. The best sixteen targets are prioritized in the following manner.

Fauro Island Prospect: Significant copper and gold mineralization has been discovered along the remnants of a volcanic cone on Fauro Island which is located in the north western part of the Solomon Islands. Soil sampling surveys by previous exploration companies have outlined several gold zones reaching up to 36 grams per tonne on the Bataha, Meriguna, Horbill and Kivokase prospects. Seven shallow diamond drill holes on these zones intersected gold mineralization. Wespac's exploration program will consist of re- establishing the location of the zones and testing by trenching and diamond drilling. Additional target definition work and drill testing will be completed over gold zones in the southern portion of the permit area, where no drilling as yet taken place.

Kolombangara Prospects: Four sub-volcanic intrusive rock units with the potential for hosting copper-gold or gold silver mineralization are exposed in the Beacon Hill, Tutu, Pepele, and Mt.Veve areas. At the Beacon Hill and Tutu targets, the units have intruded and caused uplift and exposure of the carbonate-rich sandstones of the Mangata formation. These targets area have the potential for hosting low temperature, near-surface (epithermal) mineralization in fractures at the intrusive contacts, as well as on the carbonate-rich sediments. The carbonate-rich sediments could provide an environment similar to that of the Carlins deposits in the western United States or that of the Indonesian Mesel gold deposit which hosts 12.2 million tonnes at a grade of 5.21 grams per tonne gold.

Government documents report anomalous but low values of copper, zinc, lead, silver, gold, arsenic, and molybdenum associated with chlorite alteration and pyrite mineralization in the central Mt. Veve crater. The presence of these elements is typical of various types of epithermal gold and/or copper-gold deposits; their presence together in the Mt.Veve area is considered to be highly encouraging. Nggatokae Permits:

Two epithermal/porphyry copper-gold targets have been identified and ground survey work is required to locate the best drill targets.

Choiseul Island Prospects:

Three epithermal gold and copper-zinc targets have been identified on the Choiseul 1, 2, 3, and 4 Permits. Additional ground survey work is required to define the best drill targets.

Makira Permit: Boulder samples from A'abe River returned values of up to 20.6 percent zinc, 0.90 percent copper , 65 grams per tonne of silver and 0.26 grams per tonne of gold. In the Watershed Zone, stream sediment samples assayed up to 1.7 percent zinc, 0.48 percent copper and 30 grams per tonne of silver. The detailed work in this area will locate the mineralization and determine the best drill targets.

Wespac's is pleased with the target definition work completed to date and is confident in the diversity and quality of the properties in the Solomon Islands and has the full support of the government of the Solomons in completing the first phase of this exploration program.

Western Pacific Mining Exploration Inc. is engaged in a major gold and base metals exploration program in the Solomon Islands which is fully funded for the current work program. Its shares are listed on the Montreal Exchange (symbol WPC).

CONTACT: Western Pacific Mining Exploration Company Inc.

Richard Diotte, 418/ 527-3362

or

Western Pacific Mining Exploration Company Inc.

Claude Durocher, 416/ 368-0993