Mar 5 2014
Westhaven Ventures Inc. is pleased to provide preliminary assay results from the 2013 drill program at its BEN property, located midway between the Mount Polley and Gibraltar Mines, approximately 50 km north of Williams Lake, B.C.
The inaugural drill program consisted of 3 holes, totaling 425 metres (1,394 feet) of diamond drilling. Subsequently the Company has staked an additional 746 hectares of prospective geology, bringing the total BEN land package to 15,322 hectares.
Highlights from the program include:
- Assay results from exploratory drill holes confirm both anomalous nickel and gold mineralization.
- Hole BN13-03 intersected 70.6 metres grading 0.31% Nickel (Ni) and 0.012% Cobalt (Co), which includes 30 metres grading 0.38% Ni and 0.013% Co.
- Hole BN13-02 intersected 15.0 metres of 0.18% Ni starting from surface, including two intervals of 1.5 metres grading 0.59 g/t Gold (Au) and 2.8 metres grading 0.57 g/t Au.
Gren Thomas, President & CEO of Westhaven stated, "Given the limited drilling to date, we're encouraged to have discovered this near surface nickel mineralization. A broad zone of alteration and geochemical anomalies can be traced over a distance in excess of 10 kilometres and we believe the BEN property has the potential to host a significant amount of nickel. A limited Induced Polarization (IP) Survey led to the targeting of the discovery Hole BN13-03 and this target remains open in all directions." Thomas goes on to add, "We lost Hole BN13-01 before hitting our intended target but we still believe there is a viable gold target to be drilled in the North Ben Creek zone. That being said, we are going to be focusing much of our attention on this new nickel discovery."
Drill holes BN13-01 and BN13-02 were designed to test the near surface projection of the North Ben Creek zone, an area with anomalous gold and pathfinder elements in stream and surface grab samples. Drilling intersected interbedded sequences of mudstones and volcanic breccias. Zones of intense silicification and quartz stockwork containing gold mineralization were encountered in both holes. From bedrock surface to 19.0 metres depth in hole BN13-02, a zone of clay-anhydrite-chlorite alteration in mudstone graded 0.18% Ni over 15.0 metres.
BN13-03, located approximately 3 kilometres to the south of North Ben Creek zone, tested a chargeability target delineated from an Induced Polarization (IP) program completed in 2012. Drilling intersected highly serpentinized ultramafic rocks from bedrock surface to 87 metres depth containing 70.6 metres grading 0.31% Ni and 0.012% Co. Limited analytical, petrographic and microprobe work to date suggest a significant proportion of the nickel occurs as sulphides. Further analytical work to systematically quantify the nickel in sulphides will be undertaken.
2014 Field Program
The focus of the 2014 exploration program will be to build upon the nickel and gold mineralization discovered on the property and determine the size and potential of the metal horizon. This will include airborne geophysics, induced polarization surveys, geological mapping, geochemistry and diamond drilling. Other targets on the property will be examined to determine the extents of the alteration and nickel mineralization.
On behalf of the Board of Directors
WESTHAVEN VENTURES INC.
Gareth Thomas, Director