Westhaven Acquires 100% Interest in the Skoonka Creek Gold Property
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - May 24, 2017) - Westhaven Ventures Inc. (TSX VENTURE:WHN) is pleased to report that it has signed a purchase agreement with Strongbow Exploration Ltd. (Strongbow), a TSX-V listed company, and Almadex Minerals Ltd. (Almadex), a TSX-V listed company, to acquire 100% of the 2,783 hectare Skoonka Creek gold property, located within the prospective Spences Bridge Gold Belt (SBGB), British Columbia.
Shaun Pollard, Director & CFO of Westhaven stated, "With the addition of the Skoonka Creek gold property, Westhaven has 100% of what are arguably the three best properties on the SBGB. It is management's belief that the SBGB has district-scale potential to host epithermal gold deposits. The SBGB is a very underexplored epithermal gold district which is the probable source of some of the placer gold deposits of the Thompson and Fraser Rivers first discovered in 1857-58. There has been a limited amount of drilling on this belt since modern exploration began 17 years ago. In 2005, Strongbow drilled 20.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 12.8 metres (m) at the Skoonka Creek gold property confirming the presence of high grade epithermal gold mineralization in the SBGB. Westhaven has identified multiple drill targets and will look to commence exploration once permits are in place."
Property Highlights
- Road accessible and close to power, rail and major highways.
- Over $4.5 million spent to date on prospecting, mapping, soil sampling, geophysics and diamond drilling.
- Significant areas of epithermal alteration and veining which are prospective for gold & silver mineralization have been outlined.
- 3,000 metre long by 500 metre wide structural corridor encompassing numerous gold and/or pathfinder element (arsenic, antimony, mercury, molybdenum) soil and rock geochemical anomalies.
Multiple high-grade drill intercepts including:
- 20.2 g/t gold over 12.8m (SC-008)
- 28.6 g/t gold over 3.31m (SC-007)
- 7.48 g/t gold over 4.10m (SC-006)
- 3.39 g/t gold over 4.65m (SC-038)
- 6.43 g/t gold over 1.2m (SC-039)
Mineralogical, textural and geochemical evidence suggests that mineralization encountered to date represents the upper portions of a shallowly eroded low sulphidation epithermal system, with good potential to discover more consistent and higher gold grades at greater depths. Mineralization remains open along strike and to depth.
For more information on the Skoonka Creek property please visit: http://westhavenventures.com/projects/skoonka-creek-gold/details/
Purchase Agreement
Under the terms of the Skoonka gold property purchase agreement with Strongbow and Almadex, Westhaven will issue 2,000,000 shares on signing to Strongbow and Almadex. In addition, Almadex shall retain its original net smelter royalty of 2% from production. D. Grenville Thomas, a Director of Westhaven, is also a Director of Strongbow. Mr. Thomas abstained from the approval of the purchase agreement and did not participate in the negotiation of the business terms of the transaction. No finder's fees were paid with respect to this transaction. The agreement is subject to acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.
The Spences Bridge Gold Belt (SBGB)
Westhaven owns a 100% interest in over 33,000 hectares within the prospective SBGB, which is situated within a geological setting similar to that of several significant epithermal gold-silver systems located around the Pacific Rim. The SBGB is a 110-kilometre long northwest-southeast trending belt of intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks dominated by the Cretaceous Spences Bridge Group. Westhaven has been working intermittently on the SBGB since 2011 and believes this relatively underexplored terrane is highly prospective for economic gold-silver deposits. All of its properties are close to existing major transportation arteries and other infrastructure allowing for cost-effective exploration. Westhaven's management owns approximately 46% of the shares outstanding.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
WESTHAVEN VENTURES INC.
Gareth Thomas, Director
About Westhaven Ventures Inc.
Westhaven Ventures Inc. is a Canadian based exploration company focused on the acquisition and exploration of prospective resource properties. Westhaven is focused on advancing its Shovelnose, Prospect Valley and Skoonka gold projects in British Columbia. Westhaven trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol WHN.
Qualified Person Statement
L. John Peters, P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person within the context of National Instrument 43-101 has read and takes responsibility for this release.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
