Westhaven O U Tl IN E S Pl a N S Fo R 2023; Drilling to Commence Shortly ON the Shovelnose GOLD Property V Ancouver, B.c.
WESTHAVEN O U TL IN E S PL A N S FO R 2023; DRILLING TO COMMENCE SHORTLY ON THE
SHOVELNOSE GOLD PROPERTY
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V ancouver, B.C. – February 22 nd, 2023 – W esthaven Go l d Co r p. (TSX-V:WHN) is pleased to outline its plans
for 2023, and to announce that drilling will commence shortly on the 17,623 -hectare Shovelnose G old
Property . Shovelnose is located within the prospective Spences B ridge G old B elt (SB G B ), which borders
the C oquihalla Highway 30 kilometres south of M erritt, B ritish C olumbia.
G areth Thomas, W esthaven's President & C EO, stated, “ 2022 was a milestone year for W esthaven. W e
completed a maiden resource at the South Z one , welcomed Franco -Nevada as a shareholder and drilled
our highest -grade gold- silver intercept to date . Finding additional mineralized zones is the main objective
for the company in 2023 as the vast majority of the 17,623ha Shovelnose Go l d Property has had limited
drilling. Our technical team has generated numerous targets outside of the Zone One Trend based on
exte nsive data collected since the initial discovery with the belief this could lead to new discoveries on
the property. These will be drill tested throughout the 2023 season commenc ing shortly.” Thomas goes
on to add, “ Over the course of the last decade, W est haven has assembled the preeminent land position on
the S BGB and we look forward to working all four of these properties in 2023. ”
C orporate U pdate
$7.1 million in cash; applied for ~$2.1 million in M ineral E xploration Tax C redits (METC).
Well-financed to accomplish a substantial amount of drilling and exploration work across our four-
100% owned properties on the Spences B ridge G old B elt.
Drills are onsite and drilling will commence shortly at Shovelnose.
2022 Highlights
C ompleted the first M ineral R esource E stimate at Shovelnos e, over a million ounces of gold
equivalent from the first of multiple mineralized zones.
o 791,000 ounces of gold and 3,894,000 ounces of silver Indicated.
o 263,000 ounces of gold and 1,023,000 ounces of silver Inferred.
A rranged a financing package with Franco -Nevada C orporation (TSX , NY SE: FNV ), the leading
gold- focused royalty and streaming company.
Drilled 38,147 metres (m) at Shovelnose .
Drilled the highest -grade gold- silver inte rcept ever on the SBGB.
TSX-V:WHN
o 23.03m of 37.24 g/t gold (Au ) and 209.52 g/t silver (Ag ), including 1.12 m of 294.00 g/t Au and
2,110 g/t Ag.
Co n firm e d and better -defined high-grade surface mineralization at Franz, resulting in a 311%
increase (gram -metres Au) compared to previous high -grade intercept s.
Drilled 3,336m at the Skoonk a gold project, and successfully extended the know n mineralization a
further 900 m along strike a t t h e JJ-Zone.
o 48.05m of 1.28 g/t Au and 1.29 g/t Ag, including 1.9 m of 21.15 g/t Au and 13.65 g/t Ag .
C ompleted the most detailed A rchaeological a nd C ultural Heritage Preliminary Field
Reconnaissance Report to date with the C itxw Nlaka’ pamux A ssembly (CNA) a n d K’e n T’e m
M anagement.
C ompleted 2 ND year of an ongoing Environmental B aseline program with SL R E nvironmental in
collaboration with C NA (K ’ em T’ em M anagement).
Exploration Plans for 2023 by Property
Shovelnose - drill program to commence shortly.
Skoonka – summer f ield program s with drilling in the fall .
Skoonka North – spring field program .
Prospect V alley – summer field programs .
2023 Drill Targets on Shovelnose
W esthaven will be focusing the majority of its 2023 drill budget on newly generated targets outside of the
~4km long Zone One Trend , host to mineralization previously identified at the South Zone, Alpine, Tower,
FM N and Franz zones. A dditional drilling is also needed in a gap between Towe r a n d FMN.
Franz
Next steps to establish a resource within this 165m long vein system, and to potentially facilitate the
collection of a larger surface sample, would be additional shallow drilling, preliminary metallurgical test
work and enhanced environmental baseline studies. Drill targets will b e to the northwest of drill hole
SN22-333, which intersected 12m of 39.42 g/t Au and 51.81 g/t Ag , including 6.2m of 73.51 g/t Au and
92.37 g/t Ag.
Picture of the Franz Outcrop looking northwest
Franz Northwest
V ein Zone 1 remains open to the northwest of the Franz vein system . The five northwestern -most holes
(SN20-123, 124 and SN21 -168 to 170) intersected the deeper parts of V ein Zone 1 over a strike length of
300m at elevations of 950 to 1125m. The shallowest intersection, hole SN20- 124 returned 0.71 g/t A u
over 3.53m. This area may host stronger mineralization closer to surface. A series of shallow holes will
test up to 1200m elevation, the interpreted favourable depth horizon . Stepouts even further to the
northwest are being considered and will in part depend on th e initial shallow drilling of V ein Zone 1 at
Franz Northwest .
L ong Section: Franz Z one and Franz N orthwest
FMN-Tower
B ased on the current 3D model and oriented core results collected from the FM N vein zone system since
2020, target s have been generated to further refine the trace of V ein Zone 1 through the FM N -Tower gap.
V ein Zone 1 is being reassessed in an area of looser spaced drilling (100m+) that may have misse d
mineralization. Historical results at Tower include drill hole SN1 2-04, which intersected 50.4m grading
0.54 g/t Au and 4.77 g/t Ag .
L ong Section: Z one One Trend a n d FMN-To we r Ga p
Hydrothermal Breccia No. 2 Target
Drilling o f peripheral targets off the main northwest trending 4km -long gold- bearing structure (Zone One
Trend) during 2022 encountered a new subparallel vein zone known as Hydrothermal B reccia No. 2 . Drill
holes on two sections intersected a west -northwest oriented zone of quartz -carbonate veining in the
granodiorite basement over a strike length of 400 m in holes SN22 -249 (3.28 g/t A u over 0.9m) and SN22 -
257 (1.39 g/t A u over 1.2m and another 1.23 g/t A u over 6m). This zone is 1.2km east -northeast of V ein
Zone 2 at South Zone , remains open along strike in both directions, and will be tested by more drilling in
2023.
Brookmere-K irton Target
The B rookmere and K irton targets are situated near the western margin of the Shovelnose claim block.
G eophysical data indicate s the presence of both a broad scale potassic alteration halo and a west -
northwest trending structural break parallel to the Z one One Trend, hosting the South Zone , FMN Zone
and Franz Zone and located ~ 2km to the northeast. Soil and rock geochemical sampling has returned
anomalous values for gold and other pathfinder elements within a restricted area. B oth target areas are
interpreted to be part of a new, as yet undrilled, epithermal system ( see schematic below) .
Simplified L ow Sulphidation Epithermal System Schematic
Brookmere East (the YG quartz vein outcrops ) may represent either a high -level portion of the main quartz
vein in the schematic epithermal system, or the sheeted veins above it ( see schematic) . B rookmere W est
(CJ Showing) consists of stockwork veins and hydrothermal breccia that may lie within the upper flared
portion of the epithermal system.
The K irton target is represented by a sizable (200 x 500m ) zone of outcropping felsic hydrothermal breccia s
elongated on a northeastern trend (see photographs) . This hydrothermal brecciation may be situated
within the flared portion of an epithermal system ( as shown on the schematic). D rilling in 2023 will test
the surface exposures of both B rookmere and K irton at depth.
Hydrothermal Brecciation from Surface E xposures of the K irton Zone
Hydrothermal breccia with potassic to clay altered rhyolite. L ater stage fine quartz veinlets cutting the breccia.
2023 Skoonka Program
The Skoonka project contains nine known gold -silver surface showings (Discovery, J J , Deadwood W est,
Deadwood East, Ember, B ackburn C entral, B ackburn Southeast, Porphyry and Zebra) hosted in either multi -
stage massive veins with associated breccia zones or narrow stoc kwork veinlets with disseminated pyrite
and pervasive silica alteration. Compilation, review and re -interpretation of extensive historical
exploration data (including airborne and ground geophysics; geological mapping and prospecting; silt, soil
and rock s amples; hand and mechanized surface trenching; and diamond drill results) has identified
significant upside potential associated with previously known gold occurrences, as well as unsourced
anomalies.
W esthaven’ s first drill program, completed in the fal l of 2022 ( see W esthaven Press R elease of J anuary 09,
2023) confirmed prior high grade bonanza style epithermal mineralization at the J J showing, intersected a
broad lower grade halo of brecciation and alteration, and extended the associated mineralized ve in system
an additional 900m southwest to the new J J W est discovery. The entire vein system at J J -W est appears to
be preserved, as supported by mapped surface geology indicat ing the overlying Spius Formation is prese nt
in a down -dropped fault block, and co incident strong mercury soil anomalies.
For 2023, W esthaven intends to focus ‘ boots on the ground’ exploration on specific target areas with short
term discovery potential, such as unsourced new geochemical anomalies and unexplained features in
immediate proximity to known showings (e.g. E mber and Deadwood). W ork later in the season will include
follow-up to any new discoveries in the initial program and further investigation along strike/down dip of
past mineralized drill intersections .
On behalf of the B oard of Directors
WESTHAVEN GOLD CORP.
" G areth Thomas
G areth Thomas, President, CEO & Director
Neither the TSX V enture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies
of the TSX V enture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
About Westhaven Gold Corp.
W esthaven is a gold-focused exploration company advancing the high-grade discovery on the Shovelnose project
in C anada’ s newest gold district, the Spences B ridge G old B elt. W esthaven controls 37,000 hectares (370 square
kilometres) with four 100% owned gold properties spread along this underexplored belt. The Shovelnose
property is situated off a major highway, near power, rail, large producing mines, and within commuting distance
from the city of M erritt, which translates into low -cost exploration. We s t h aven trades on the TSX V enture
Exchange under the ticker symbol W HN. For further information, please call 604-681-5558 or visit Westhaven’s
website at www.westhavengold.com.
Shovelnose Property