TORONTO, July 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dundee Corporation (TSX: DC.A) ("Dundee" or the "Corporation") is pleased to report the start of exploration at Westhaven Gold Corp's ("Westhaven") Spences Bridge Gold Belt properties in southern British Columbia, including prospecting, geological mapping and soil sampling surveys on priority target areas at the Prospect Valley and Shovelnose properties, as well as mobilization of a fifth drill rig to the Shovelnose property in preparation for a 15,000m exploration drilling program expected to commence mid-month and continue through mid-December. With the start of exploration, the 2026 program is now combining potential resource growth through drilling and district scale exploration with project derisking through resource infill drilling and advancement of Pre-Feasibility studies ("PFS"). The ongoing 35,000m resource infill drilling program continues to confirm the continuity of mineralization within the South Zone deposit, including intersections of 9.8m grading 8.3 g/t Au and 11 g/t Ag (SNR26-83) and 11.46m grading 4.59 g/t Au and 43 g/t Ag (SNR26-92).
On February 23, 2026, the Corporation completed a strategic earn-in agreement with Westhaven, whereby Dundee may earn up to a 60% interest in Westhaven's four Spences Bridge Gold Belt properties through up to CDN$85,000,000 in staged project expenditures. Under the first phase, Dundee has committed a minimum of CDN$30,000,000, inclusive of a fully funded 50,000m drill program at Shovelnose, which is funding the activities outlined in this news release and is expected to continue through the remainder of 2026.
Jonathan Goodman, President and CEO commented:
"We are excited to see exploration activity underway across the Spences Bridge Gold Belt. The combination of district-scale exploration, and continued advancement of engineering studies and resource work, provides multiple opportunities to unlock value while improving our understanding of the broader potential of these assets."
Spences Bridge Gold Belt 2026 Exploration Programs
In addition to the ongoing PFS studies, targeted exploration work has commenced on both the Shovelnose gold property and the Prospect Valley gold property, located 30km to the northwest of Shovelnose.
Prospecting, mapping and more detailed sampling are underway at priority targets located throughout the Shovelnose property, ahead of potential drill testing later this season. This field work follows on the successful completion of airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys (spring 2026) over the property's expanded landholdings (acquired by Westhaven in 2024). The geophysical surveys were intended to support reconnaissance scale sampling undertaken by Westhaven in 2025 which identified spatially restricted areas with geological and geochemical similarities to known high grade gold-silver deposits elsewhere on the property. One area of particular focus is located approximately 15km southeast of the South Zone deposit, where silicified and clay altered volcanic rocks were identified in 2025 with float, subcrop and outcrop rock grab samples returning from background levels up to 2.45 g/t Au (96.2 g/t Ag) (Please see Westhaven's news release dated January 26, 2026).