Spences Bridge Gold Belt
Overview
The Spences Bridge Gold Belt (SBGB) is a 110km, northwest‑trending belt of Cretaceous-age intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks in southern British Columbia. These relatively young volcanic rocks are highly prospective for epithermal‑style gold mineralization and remain largely underexplored. The SBGB is located in an established mining region with excellent infrastructure, providing a clear advantage with respect to cost and seasonality of exploration.
Today, Westhaven is advancing a near term underground gold mining opportunity at its South Zone discovery, with a vision to establish a long term, district scale mining camp within the SBGB.
Westhaven controls approximately 60,264 hectares (603km2) across four gold properties strategically positioned along this underexplored belt:
Shovelnose (host to the South Zone, FMN and Franz deposits)
Prospect Valley
Skoonka
Skoonka North
Infrastructure Advantages
Established access to roads, power, skilled labor, and nearby mining operations materially reduces execution risk, capital requirements, and development timelines. This infrastructure positions the SBGB as an attractive near-term gold opportunity with long-term growth potential.
Year-Round Highway Access
Low‑risk execution with year‑round, road‑accessible operations.
On-Site Power Transmission Line
Minimal upfront capex due to existing power near the project site.
Active Mining Region
Active mining district with access to skilled, local workforce.
Spences Bridge Gold Belt History
Late 1800s – Early 1900s Gold Rush Roots
Placer gold discovery sparks the Fraser and Thompson Rivers Gold Rush. Gold mined from gravel bars across the Ashcroft-Lytton-Lillooet District; the Nicoamen River, 23 km from Shovelnose, plays a key role in the Merritt region. Read More
1994 First Signal
Government-sponsored regional silt sampling returns an anomalous gold value of 68 ppb Au in a creek on the northwestern flank of Shovelnose Mountain. Read More
2001–2002 Belt-Scale Potential Identified
Fairfield Minerals completes regional prospecting and geochemical sampling targeting Spences Bridge Group rocks, identifying several areas with gold mineralization potential. Read More
2005 Staked & Committed
Strongbow Exploration stakes claims at Shovelnose based on the 1994 silt sample anomaly and begins systematic gold exploration. Read More
2005–2010 Four Discoveries
Strongbow exploration programs lead to the discovery of four surface gold occurrences: Mik, Line 6, Tower, and Brookmere. Read More
2011 Westhaven Enters
Westhaven Gold Corp. acquires an option on the Shovelnose property from Strongbow. Completes soil, rock, and stream sampling, trenching, and first diamond drilling program (606m, 7 holes) testing the Mik, Line 6, and Tower showings. Read More
2012 Tower Zone Defined
Geophysical surveys and follow-up drilling (778.5m, 5 holes) identify the Tower Zone as the largest consistent near-surface gold mineralization on the property to date. Read More
2013 Expanding the Footprint
Continued drilling (1,043m, 8 holes) tests extensions of Tower Zone mineralization.Read More
2014 Chasing High Grade
Drilling program (662.5m, 6 holes) tests extensions and potential feeder zones below the Tower Zone. Read More
2015 New Target Unlocked
Airborne LiDAR and expanded geophysical surveys lead to discovery of the Alpine Showing — a new target ~450m east of the Tower Zone with a 1 km strike length. Five holes drilled (1,408m). Read More
- 2016 Dual-Zone Drilling
Drilling program (1,902m, 9 holes) continues testing the Tower and Alpine Zones. Read More
2017 Wide Mineralized Zones
Ground magnetics survey completed. Drilling intersects significant mineralization, including 0.52 g/t Au over 85m and 0.29 g/t Au over 101m in near-surface silicified rhyolite tuffs. Seven holes drilled (3,269m). Read More
2018 South Zone Discovery Hole
South Zone discovery hole returns 24.5 g/t Au over 17.7m. Twenty-two holes drilled (8,613m). Read More
2022 Maiden Resource Announced for South Zone
791,000 oz gold (grade of 2.32 g/t) and 3,894,000 oz silver Indicated; 263,000 oz gold and 1,023,000 oz silver Inferred Read More
2022 FMN Deposit - Best Hole Ever
FMN Zone returns 37.2 g/t Au over 23.0m — the highest grade gold intercept on the property to that date. Read More
2023 Preliminary Economic Assessment
Study demonstrates low cost / high margin potential, model highly leveraged to gold price (US$1800 /oz used in study). Read More
2023 Bonanza Grades at Franz
Franz Zone delivers 39.2 g/t Au over 12.0m. Read More
2024 Permitted to Drill
Exploration Permit expanded to allow 650 drill holes (valid until January 25, 2031). Read More
2025 Robust Economics Confirmed
Updated PEA highlights a high-margin, low-cost underground mining opportunity with an after-tax NPV of $454M and IRR of 43.2%. Read More
2026 Transformational Partnership
Westhaven signs and closes an $85M earn-in agreement with Dundee Corporation, granting Dundee up to a 60% interest in the SBGB properties — the largest investment commitment in the company's history. Read More