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Hedge funds and other large speculators boosted net-long positions by 11% to 197,362 as of Nov. 12, the lowest in 14 weeks.
Westhaven Gold (TSXV: WHN) has more than doubled the landholding at its Shovelnose property following a strategic transaction with Talisker Resources (TSX: TSK), which also holds properties within British Columbia’s Spences Bridge gold belt.
Under a property purchase agreement this week, Westhaven will acquire 12 claims covering 235.5 sq. km. adjoining the Shovelnose property. The gold junior will also stake an additional 4.5 sq. km., bringing to its total landholding at Shovelnose to 416.2 sq. km.
As consideration, Talisker will receive C$20,000 in cash, a 1% net smelter royalty (NSR) on the claims, and 1.5 million common shares of Westhaven, which traded at C$0.20 apiece at Thursday’s market open. Westhaven has the option to buy back the NSR for C$1 million.
The transaction, said Westhaven, would increase its exposure to the emerging epithermal gold district known as Spences Bridge. The company currently holds four properties along this 110 km northwest-trending belt, home to the Fraser River gold rush.
At Shovelnose, Westhaven’s team has highlighted a corridor that hosts South Zone, FMN and Franz, extends for over 11 km and trends into the new claims to the southeast. The company believes the southeast extent of this corridor is highly prospective for new discoveries, as it contains anomalous epithermal pathfinders.
A recent discovery in this area was the Certes showing, which is located approximately 6 km southeast of the South Zone and yet to be drill tested.
“By acquiring and staking these claims, Westhaven has increased the potential exposure to this mineralized corridor as well as prospective ground identified by Talisker’s exploration efforts,” stated Westhaven CEO Gareth Thomas in a news release.
“Property-wide prospecting, sampling and mapping continue to generate new zones of interest outside of the main discovery and resource areas at Shovelnose. Cumulative geochemical and geophysical data continues to highlight a potentially significant mineralized corridor that projects across the Shovelnose property in a northwest-southeast orientation,” he said.
Since its inception in 2011, Westhaven has spent C$50 million on exploring the Shovelnose property, including over 180,000 metres of diamond drilling in 542 holes. A preliminary economic assessment for the project outlined a 9.5-year gold mine with average annual production of 56,100 oz.
