Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/1174544
O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9 www.resourceworld.com 41 SPENCES BRIDGE claim holder within the belt, holding over 35,000 hectares across four gold proper- ties – all 100% owned. These include the Prospect Valley property 30 km west of Merritt; the Shovelnose property 30 km south of Merritt; and the Skoonka and Skoonka North properties north of Lytton and west of the town of Spences Bridge, near the northern end of the SBGB. The SBGB is a 110-km, northwest- trending, belt of intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks dominated by the Cretaceous Spences Bridge group. These relatively underexplored volcanic rocks are highly prospective for epithermal style gold mineralization. Geologist/prospector Ed Balon, P.Geo., is widely recognized for identifying the Spences Bridge epithermal gold belt where Westhaven's Shovelnose gold project is located. He is currently Technical Advisor to Westhaven which is headed by Gren Thomas, P.Eng., Chairman, and son Gareth, President and CEO. The Shovelnose property, which bor- ders the Coquihalla Highway, is road accessible and close to major transporta- tion routes and infrastructure, allowing for year-round, cost-effective exploration. Limited work has been done on the major- ity of the property, leaving room for additional exploration successes. Talisker Resources Ltd. [TSK-CSE; TSKFF-OTCQB] and Westhaven have a combined control of 86% of the SBGB (225,000 hectares). Any ground acquired by Talisker within 5 km of Westhaven's existing projects is subject to a 2.5% NSR. In addition, Westhaven has a 30-day Right of First Refusal for a three-year period for any properties outside this 5-km radius. The discovery of coarse placer gold at the confluence of the Nicoamen and Thompson Rivers in 1857 sparked a gold rush that a year later drew an estimated 20,000 prospectors into the region, initi- ating what became the Fraser River Gold Rush. Many of them were lawless and hard to control Californians who wanted this part of what became British Columbia to be part of the US. (The nerve!) This event was the catalyst for BC becoming a prov- ince of Canada. In 2005, Strongbow Exploration Inc. [SBW-TSXV] drilled 20.2 g/t gold over 12.8 metres, confirming the presence of high- grade epithermal gold mineralization in the SBGB. In 2011, Westhaven Ventures Inc. acquired an option on the Shovelnose gold property from Strongbow. In the same year Westhaven completed a program including soil (972) sampling, stream silt (28) sampling, rock grab (107) and rock chip (91) sampling, mechanical trenching (146.5 metres), and diamond drilling (606 metres in seven holes). Drilling tested the Mik (3 holes), Line 6 (3 holes) and Tower (1 hole) showings. Exploration success has led to further work programs since that time. Meanwhile, drilling by previous owners on the Prospect Valley property roughly 30 km west of Merritt, has outlined an NI 43-101 compliant Inferred Resource totaling 166,000 ounces grading 0.511 g/t gold in 10,077,000 metric tonnes above a Photo-Illustration courtesy Talisker Resources Ltd.