Westhaven Ventures Inc. [WHN-TSXV; WTHVF-OTC] said Tuesday September 17 that it intends to raise $7.35 million from a non-brokered private placement to finance expanded drilling at the company’s Shovelnose property near Merritt, southern British Columbia. The 15,542-hectare gold property is located within the prospective Spences Bridge Gold Belt.
The private placement will consist of up to 7 million units priced at $1.05 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one non-transferrable half warrant. Each full warrant entitles the holder to purchase one common share at $1.50 for 24 months from the date of closing of the private placement.
Westhaven holds a 100% interest in over 35,000 hectares of ground on four properties within the Spences Bridge Gold Belt (SBGB), an area that the company believes is highly prospective for epithermal type gold mineralization.
The SBGB is a 110-kilometre northwest-trending belt of intermediate to felsic volcanic rocks dominated by the Cretaceous Spences Bridge Group. 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 properties is subject to a 2.5% net smelter return royalty.
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 Shovelnose property is located near the southern end of the SBGB and borders a major B.C. highway known as the Coquihalla. The proximity to highway infrastructure permits year-round exploration at the property.
Westhaven Chairman Grenville Thomas is a former Welsh coal miner who is best known for his role in discovering one of Canada’s richest diamond deposits in the Northwest Territories. At that time of the Diavik diamond discovery, Thomas was running Aber Resources Ltd.
On Tuesday, Westhaven shares eased 0.85% or $0.01 to $1.16 on volume of 308,487. The shares trade in a 52-week range of 17 cents and $1.43.
“This financing allows the company to expand drilling at the high-grade Shovelnose gold property with flexibility to explore additional regional targets as warranted,” said Westhaven President and CEO Gareth Thomas.
Westhaven said it benefits from the B.C. Mining Exploration Tax Credit (METC) which is a permanent incentive to support investment in mining. The METC is a refundable B.C. income tax credit for eligible individuals and corporations conducting grassroots mineral exploration in B.C. and is worth 30% of qualified mining exploration expenditures.
“The METC is important to note as Westhaven is eligible for a 30% income tax credit on every non flow-through dollar spent on qualified mining exploration expenditures on its properties,” Thomas said.