Westhaven Gold Corp. provided an exploration update on its 17,623-hectare Shovelnose gold property. Shovelnose is located within the prospective Spences Bridge Gold Belt (SBGB), which borders the Coquihalla Highway 30 kilometres south of Merritt, British Columbia.

Highlights from the ongoing program include: MIK hole SN23-360 intersected 3.68 metres (m) of 17.61 g/t gold (Au) and 31.49 g/t silver (Ag), including 1.65m of 27.6 g/t Au. Five drill holes from MIK are pending assays. MIK hole SN23-362 intersected 2.44m of 3.43 g/t gold and 15.65 g/t silver, including 0.44m of 12.9 g/t Au and 73.2 g/t Ag.

Drilling at the Hydrothermal Breccia 2 (HBX2) extended the known mineralization by 180m, intersecting 5.51m of 0.58 g/t Au and 0.49 g/t Ag, including 1.5 g/t Au over 1.0m. 23 silt samples collected have assays over 100 ppb gold (Au), including 1985 ppb Au, 1440 ppb Au, 871 ppb Au, 328 ppb Au, 282 ppb Au. Recent prospecting, approximately 3 kilometres (km) southeast of the South Zone (please see map below for location), has uncovered a showing of tuff containing fragments of hydrothermal quartz, within 150m of a gold soil anomaly.

Grab sample assays are pending. Peter Fischl, Exploration Manager, states: "Follow-up drilling of a historic drill hole intersection of 6.21 g/t Au over 0.4m (Hole 11-SH-03) at the MIK showing has now traced a north trending, moderately west dipping vein zone, over a strike-length of 120m as present in all eight drill holes. The zone comes within 150m of Zone One Trend, and it remains open to the north and south.

The gap between MIK and the Zone One Trend is now viewed as an area prospective for additional near surface vein-hosted gold mineralization. Westhaven is reporting assays for 23 holes from its fully financed, ongoing drill campaign at Shovelnose. An additional 13 holes are in the lab pending assays.

Recent drilling (please see the map below) has focused on newly generated, periphery targets that are off the 4-kilometre Zone One Trend. In addition to testing new targets and supported by an improved understanding of controls on vein emplacement, Westhaven has been re-evaluating historic drill results on the Shovelnose Property. Drill testing has led to the identification of a shallow moderately west dipping vein system returning an initial result of 17.61g/t over 3.68m (hole SN23-360; as reported herein).

The vein system was intersected in all eight new holes drilled at MIK and extends over a strike length of approximately 120m and is open to both the north and south.