Mr. Gareth Thomas reports

WESTHAVEN COMMENCES DRILLING AT ITS SHOVELNOSE GOLD PROJECT

Westhaven Gold Corp. has commenced exploration drilling on its flagship, high-grade, 17,623-hectare Shovelnose gold property, located 30 kilometres south of Merritt, B.C., adjacent to the Coquihalla Highway and within the prospective Spences Bridge gold belt (SBGB).

A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) from the South zone, the first of six prospective zones of mineralization identified at Shovelnose since 2018, was announced on July 18, 2023. The PEA identified a robust, low-cost, high-margin mining opportunity delivering a posttax IRR (internal rate of return) and NPV (net present value) at a 6-per-cent discount of 32.3 per cent and $222-million, respectively, using a gold price of $1,800 per ounce. Additional resource modelling on adjacent discoveries drill tested in 2023, proximal to the South zone, including at Franz and FMN, continues.

The spring, 2024, drilling campaign at Shovelnose will consist of approximately 4,000 metres of diamond drilling, primarily within and along the highly prospective, four-kilometre-long, Vein Zone One trend, host to the South zone resource and two additional high-grade gold discoveries: FMN and Franz. The program has been initiated following the recent receipt of a five-year, 650-hole drilling permit and, in addition to Zone One trend targets, drilling will test a variety of priority, untested targets identified from sampling and prospecting efforts in 2023, combined with a recently completed structural analysis.

Gareth Thomas, president and chief executive officer, commented: "Building on the success of our first PEA in 2023, Shovelnose remains an important anchor for our ongoing exploration efforts in the highly prospective and accessible Spences Bridge gold belt in 2024. Our aim with the spring program is to test newly identified structural targets, both proximal to the South zone resource, as well as within the broader four km Vein Zone One trend, which is already host to several additional discoveries, but remains underexplored overall."

Initial drill targets:

• FMN SE: Targeting a potential extension of the newly discovered multimetre, high-grade, gold-silver quartz vein mineralization identified at FMN, which returned 23.03 metres of 37.24 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) and 209.52 g/t silver (Ag), including 1.12 m of 294 g/t Au and 2,110 g/t Ag.
• MIK: Stepout drilling at the south end of the 180 m long MIK vein zone, which returned 3.68 metres (m) of 17.61 g/t gold (Au) in 2023.
• Line 6: Prior drilling intersected low-grade gold mineralization in rhyolite tuff unit, including quartz veinlets and thin breccia zones like what is found on the periphery of the South zone. Given the orientation of the Vein Zone One trend and the previous drilling, it is possible that the drilling was parallel to potential feeder zone(s). Drilling will test the potential for a buried zone of mineralization similar to the Vein Zone One trend.
• HydBx2: Northwest stepout drilling to try and extend the gold-bearing structural contact between Spences Bridge group volcanics to the west and the granodiorite basement to the east.
• Othello: Drilling to test the potential offset extension of the South zone as interpreted by recent structural analysis.
• South zone extension (West): Evaluating the potential for expanded mineralization in a drill gap on the western edge of the South zone -- drilling in this area will also test for additional structurally hosted veining.

Qualified person statement

Peter Fischl, PGeo, who is a qualified person within the context of National Instrument 43-101, has read and takes responsibility for this release.

About Westhaven Gold Corp.

Westhaven is a gold-focused exploration company advancing the high-grade discovery on the Shovelnose project in Canada's newest gold district, the Spences Bridge gold belt. Westhaven controls 37,000 hectares (370 square kilometres) with four gold properties spread along this underexplored belt. The Shovelnose property is situated off a major highway, near power, rail and large producing mines, and within commuting distance from the city of Merritt, which translates into low-cost exploration. Westhaven trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol WHN.