Westhaven Gold Corp.

Westhaven Gold management, led by Gareth Thomas (President & CEO), has advanced the Shovelnose gold-silver discovery in the Spences Bridge Gold Belt through systematic exploration to a published PEA (March 2025) with an NPV of C$454M. The strategic Dundee Corporation earn-in agreement (closed February 23, 2026) — whereby Dundee may earn up to 60% of all four Spences Bridge properties through up to C$85M in staged expenditures — is a significant de-risking event. The first phase commits a minimum C$30M including the fully funded 50,000m 2026 drill program at Shovelnose. However, signing away 60% of the flagship asset reflects the company's inability to self-fund a meaningful drill program. Management has delivered good exploration results and a sound PEA, but has not demonstrated the capital markets strength to advance independently.

Shovelnose hosts a high-grade epithermal gold-silver system in the Spences Bridge Gold Belt. Updated 2025 NI 43-101 MRE (effective February 28, 2025): Underground Indicated: 3.4 Mt at 6.1 g/t Au and 32 g/t Ag for 677,000 oz Au and 3.5 Moz Ag; Underground Inferred: 2.2 Mt at 3.6 g/t Au and 25 g/t Ag for 270,000 oz Au. AuEq totals: 718,600 oz AuEq Indicated + 292,000 oz AuEq Inferred. The 2025 PEA (base case: US$2,400 Au, US$28 Ag, C$1.00=US$0.72) shows: 11.1-year underground mine life, average annual production 56,000 oz Au + 312,000 oz Ag, NPV (6%) C$454M, IRR 43.2%. Recent 2025 drill holes confirm ongoing high-grade expansion: 8.05m @ 6.18 g/t Au + 89.7 g/t Ag (South Zone). The system has multiple discovered zones (South, Franz, FMN) with open extensions — resource growth potential is significant.

As of February 2026 (special shareholder meeting): approximately 248M shares outstanding (derived from 86.9M shares = 35% at the meeting record date). This is a heavy share count for a junior gold explorer. The Dundee earn-in de-risks future dilution at the project level but introduces project-level dilution: Dundee earns up to 60% through spending, which dilutes Westhaven's effective interest to 40%. The combination of 248M basic shares and a 60% earn-in by Dundee means the effective leverage to Shovelnose's eventual value is significantly reduced from what the headline resource suggests. Warrant and option details require SEDAR+ MD&A review for a complete picture.

The 50,000m 2026 drill program funded by Dundee's C$30M first-phase commitment is the single most important catalyst in this cohort — this is the largest drill program in Westhaven's history, with up to four rigs running at Shovelnose. Specific catalysts: (1) ongoing assay results from the 50,000m program — multiple high-grade intercepts in South Zone, Franz Zone, FMN Zone could dramatically grow the resource; (2) updated MRE likely in late 2026 incorporating the massive 2026 program; (3) potential for new zone discovery at depth or along strike; (4) Dundee's Phase 2 earn-in decision (trigger for the additional C$55M) would be confirmation that the resource growth justifies the investment. News flow from four active rigs throughout 2026 will be continuous.

Shovelnose is a genuine high-grade epithermal gold-silver discovery with a published PEA showing strong economics. At 718,600 oz AuEq Indicated and NPV C$454M (base case), the current valuation with ~248M shares implies NAV per share of approximately C$1.83 at 100% ownership. However, the 60% Dundee earn-in means Westhaven's NAV per share at full Dundee earn-in is approximately C$0.73/share (40% of C$454M / 248M shares). The 50,000m 2026 drill program could grow the resource sufficiently to significantly increase the PEA NPV, which is where the real per-share value accretion lies. Formal acquisition interest would likely wait for a larger resource and Dundee's earn-in to reach a more defined stage.