Westhaven Identifies Numerous High-Priority Drill Targets at Its Shovelnose Gold Property; Adds Second Drill Rig

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 03, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Westhaven Ventures Inc. (TSX-V:WHN) is pleased to announce that it has identified numerous high-priority drill targets at its 17,623 hectare Shovelnose gold property, and has added a second drill rig. Shovelnose is located within the prospective Spences Bridge Gold Belt (SBGB), which borders the Coquihalla Highway 30 kilometres south of Merritt, British Columbia.

Gareth Thomas, President and CEO of Westhaven, stated: "In 2019 we completed property scale airborne geophysics, 327-line kilometres of ground magnetic surveys, DC Resistivity, collected over 5,500 soil samples along with property scale mapping and prospecting. We have defined numerous targets that we believe can host similar style mineralization to the South Zone.”

High-Priority Targets for 2020:

Target A:

Located within one kilometre of the South Zone discovery. Outcrops here host chalcedony veins and breccias and associated strong clay-silica alteration, rock samples have returned anomalous values of silver and other pathfinder elements (arsenic, barium, and zinc).  This target is situated at the margin of an interpreted caldera structure along a dominant north south magnetic low feature.

NE (North Extension):

Located within 500 metres north of the South Zone’s Vein 3. Ground magnetic and resistivity geophysical signature interpretations indicate epithermal fluid alteration. Orientation of the geophysical anomaly suggests this area could be a fault splay off the South Zone discovery area. Magnetic lows with corresponding resistivity highs indicate the presence of alteration driven by silica-rich hydrothermal fluids. Drill hole SN18-13 located in the vicinity of this target crosscut fault related hydrothermal alteration at the top of the hole and returned anomalous values of epithermal indicator elements.

SE Zeolite:

Located 1.5 kilometres towards the southeast along the South Zone mineralized structural trend. This target is identified by the presence of zeolite veining/brecciation and a coincident multi-element soil geochemical anomaly (gold, silver, antimony, mercury, arsenic, molybdenum). Zeolite can form above epithermal deposits in low temperature near surface environments. Field mapping and regional interpretations suggest this target is situated higher in the stratigraphic column compared to South Zone.  The combination of anomalous geochemistry, it’s position along the South Zone mineralizing trend and location higher in the stratigraphic column with the presence of zeolite possibly indicates the presence of buried epithermal systems at depth. Furthermore, rock samples within this area returned anomalous silver, gold, and zinc values associated with quartz veining and hydrothermal breccia vein textures.