Westhaven Ventures (TSX-V:WHN, OTC:WTHVF) announced a drilling update this morning from its Shovelnose Project in southern British Columbia, Canada. Westhaven reported the rest of hole SN19-05 in addition to holes SN19-06 and SN19-07. Assays for hole SN19-08 are still pending.
Hole SN19-06 intercepted two high grade gold sections at different parts of the hole. From 181 to 193 meters down-hole WHN intersected 5.54 grams/ tonne gold and 36.61 grams/tonne silver over 12.0 meters. Further down the hole, from 234 meters to 236 meters, WHN intersected an ultra-high grade section grading 44.90 grams/tonne gold and 45.4 grams/tonne silver:
While SN19-07 only intersected 13 meters grading 1.06 grams/tonne gold and 3.05 grams/tonne silver, hole 7 is still notable because it confirmed the presence of gold mineralization to the south of the fault block. Moreover, hole 7 extended the drill strike-length of Zone 1 to 550 meters and Westhaven VP of exploration Peter Fischl went on to add:
“This program is noted for continuing to return bonanza gold grades, including the best hole ever drilled at Shovelnose, hole SN19-01 (39.31 g/t Au over 12.66m, 497 gram-metres Au) and for confirming the potential for mineralization in the south fault block with the drilling of SN19-07. This hole has extended the strike-length of Zone 1 southeast into the south fault block for a total of 550 metres. Drilling is now planned to continue targeting the southeastern trend of Zone 1 into the south fault block in addition to the resistivity anomalies defined along the projected southeastward continuation of Zone 1.”
With the hole 7 intersection Westhaven believes that vein Zone 1 was vertically displaced by faulting and they intersected the upper areas of the boiling zone in 19-07 which naturally did not grade high:
“This hole returned a quartz veined interval of 1.06 g/t Au and 3.05 g/t Ag over 13.00m (232.00-245.00m), which includes quartz vein intersections of up to 3.40m wide. This intercept is on-trend with veining in the north fault block and may represent the southeastward continuation of Zone 1 into the south fault block. This suggests that lateral displacement of the South Zone vein system is minimal across this fault. Most of the displacement is vertical, but the lack of orange-pink potassium feldspar in the quartz veining here, which is typical of the deeper roots of the vein zones in the north fault block, suggests there is potential for preservation of the mineralized quartz veining. Additional drilling is therefore planned, following the trend of Zone 1 to the southeast into areas of high resistivity within the south fault block.”
The following diagram helps to explain what might be going on in the South Zone near holes 7 and 8:
It’s not a big stretch to estimate ~1 million high grade ounces at Shovelnose with what we know so far. That supports the current market cap of roughly US$50 million. This summer’s drilling stands to further prove up the known area of mineralization and potentially expand it to the southeast and northwest. In 2-3 weeks Westhaven will resume drilling with two drills; one drill will test targets along strike to the southeast from SN18-19, and the other drill will be focused on continuing to build confidence in the continuity and grade within the South Zone.
Previously completed geophysics, specifically mag and IP/resistivity, show a mag low (possibly indicative of rhyolite) and resistivity high (possibly indicative of silicification/veining) extending for hundreds of meters to the southeast along strike. Given the grades and widths Westhaven is seeing in the main vein zone north of SN18-19, there is considerable potential to add ounces to the southeast if Westhaven is successful in picking up the main vein zone further south of the east-northeast trending fault.
Westhaven CEO Gareth Thomas commented on the potential to the southeast:
“The gold mineralization intersected in SN19-07, although low grade, is significant as it appears to represent the southward continuation of the main vein zone south of the cross-fault encountered in previous drilling. Ground geophysics appears to indicate several hundred metres of potential strike length to the southeast from our most southern South Zone drill intercept. We will test the South Zone along strike in the upcoming, fully financed drill campaign starting in early June. Drilling will look to expand this high-grade discovery while also looking to discover additional zones of gold mineralization outside of the south zone.”
The known drill tested strike-length of the main vein zone has been extended to 550 meters and there remains significant potential to extend it to more than one kilometer based upon the area to the northwest (between SN18-22 and SN18-12) and the aforementioned several hundred meters of potential strike length open to the southeast:
Westhaven will also be starting a soils/mapping/prospecting program to the east of the south zone next week. Peter Fischl has previously prospected this area and was excited about what he came across. Westhaven will be looking to tighten up previously completed soil lines with a view to generating and refining potential drill targets outside of the south zone.
Westhaven recently raised C$2.5 million at C$1.13 per share and Chairman and founder Gren Thomas bought stock on the open market in January at C$.72 per share, today’s C$.62 share price offers a healthy discount to both of those price levels. Westhaven is fully funded for another 12,000 meters of drilling at Shovelnose this summer and the recent drilling has helped the Westhaven team to better understand the controls on the mineralization in the South Zone. With two drill rigs in operation within a few weeks and a slew of juicy targets to be tested it’s an exciting time to be a Westhaven shareholder. I used this morning’s weakness to add to my long position in WHN shares at C$.61.
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