BENTON CUTS MASSIVE SULPHIDES IN FIRST TWO HOLES EXPANDING THE GREAT BURNT COPPER DEPOSIT AND EXPOSES EXCELLENT COPPER MINERALIZATION IN TRENCHING AT SOUTH POND 15KM NORTH

Mining
Wednesday, June 5th, 2024 4:28 pm EDT

Benton Resources Inc.’s phase 3 diamond drill program is well under way at the Great Burnt Deposit. Field crews have also started exploration trenching at South Pond located, 15 km to the north. Additionally, regional prospecting and soil geochemical sampling have been initiated along the northern part of the belt.

The Company has completed two diamond drill holes and started the third, all of which were designed to target the updip geophysical anomalies identified in last winter’s down-hole Pulse EM survey. The Pulse EM survey was conducted on GB 24-34 and 35 and identified a strong anomaly updip as well as down plunge to the south. The first Phase 3 drill hole, GB 24-38, was anticipated to be 30-40m updip above GB 24-34 but didn’t shallow as expected, intersecting 3.00m semi-massive/massive sulphides approximately 16m above hole GB 24-34. GB 24-39, also drilled updip of GB 24-34, cut 9.00 m of semi-massive/massive sulphides containing sections of visual chalcopyrite (see GB-24-39 photo below) approximately 46m above GB-24-34 (see Figure 1). Once the Company defines the limits of the updip boundary of the deposit, it will move south, targeting expansion in that direction.

The Company would also like to update readers that the ongoing trenching program has exposed some spectacular geology and mineralization in the South Pond Area. This mineralization is exposed in several areas where the Company received high-grade grab samples in initial trenching completed in the fall of 2023. The recently washed exposures (see photos below) will be channel cut and mapped, which will aid in accurate targeting for the upcoming drill campaign at South Pond later this summer.

Highlights from the Benton’s first 2 phases at the Great Burnt Deposit include:

• GB-23-02: 13.00 m of 8.31 per cent Cu, incl 3.00 m of 12.80 per cent Cu
• GB-23-04: 26.87 m of 7.18 per cent Cu, incl 11.16 m of 10.28 per cent Cu
• GB-23-07: 12.30 m of 7.20 per cent Cu, incl 7.00 m 10.60 per cent Cu
• GB-23-12: 25.42 m of 5.51 per cent Cu, incl 1.00 m of 8.77 per cent Cu, 82.00g/t Ag, 4.43g/t Au
• GB-23-15: 22.59 m of 5.03 per cent Cu, incl 0.50 m of 20.00 per cent Cu
• GB-23-16: 13.67 m of 5.80 per cent Cu, incl 1.00 m of 20.60 per cent Cu
• GB-23-18: 8.17 m of 4.22 per cent Cu, incl 7.05 m of 4.11 per cent Cu
• GB-23-21: 24.00 m of 5.81 per cent Cu, incl 7.00 m of 11.47 per cent Cu
• GB-23-22: 21.68 m of 3.59 per cent Cu, incl 2.00 m of 15.3 per cent Cu
• GB-24-23: 7.00 m of 2.02 per cent Cu, incl 4.00 m of 3.01 per cent Cu
• GB-24-32: 11.29 m of 3.10 per cent Cu, incl 6.63 m of 5.57 per cent Cu
• GB-24-33: 20.92 m of 2.26 per cent Cu, incl 2.98 m of 4.17 per cent Cu
• GB-24-37: 18.10 m of 1.99 per cent Cu, incl 4.50 m of 7.24 per cent Cu

Note: Widths quoted are true core length, true widths are estimated at approximately 70% of core lengths

President and CEO Stephen Stares stated “We are off to another encouraging start in drilling at Great Burnt. Our team is extremely energized and excited for the current and upcoming aggressive exploration programs at this exciting project in 2024 and beyond. The project boasts a large land position in a Tier 1 jurisdiction with high grades in multiple commodities; Copper, Gold, Silver and Cobalt. These attributes are every explorationist’s dream and we look forward to updating our shareholders regularly throughout the exciting exploration season ahead.”

QA/QC Protocols

Core and rock samples, including standards, blanks and duplicates, are submitted to Eastern Analytical Ltd., Springdale, Newfoundland for preparation and analysis. All samples were acquired by saw-cut (channels/drill core) with one-half submitted for assay and one-half retained for reference, or hand (rocks) and delivered, by Benton personnel, in sealed bags, to the Springdale lab of Eastern Analytical, which is an accredited assay lab that conforms to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025. Samples are analyzed using Eastern’s Au (Fire assay) @ 30g + ICP-34 method that delivers a 34-element package utilizing a 200 mg subsample totally dissolved in four acids and analyzed by ICP-OES analytical technique. Overlimits are analysed with Eastern’s atomic absorption method, using a 0.200 g to 2.00 g of sample, digested with three acids. All reported assays are uncut. Eastern Analytical Ltd. achieved ISO 17025 accreditation in February 2014 (for more details on the scope of accreditation visit the CALA website).

QP

Stephen House (P.Geo.), Vice President of Exploration for Benton Resources Inc., the ‘Qualified Person’ under National Instrument 43-101, has approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release and prepared or supervised its preparation.

About Benton Resources Inc.

Benton Resources is a well-financed mineral exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BEX. Benton has a diversified, highly prospective property portfolio and holds large equity positions in other mining companies that are advancing high-quality assets. Whenever possible, BEX retains net smelter return (NSR) royalties with potential long-term cash flow.

Benton is focused on advancing its high-grade Copper-Gold Great Burnt Project in central Newfoundland, which has a Mineral Resource estimate of 667,000 tonnes @ 3.21 per cent Cu Indicated and 482,000 @ 2.35 per cent Cu Inferred. The Project has an excellent geological setting covering 25km of strike and boasts six known Cu-Au-Ag zones over 15km that are all open for expansion. Further potential for discovery is excellent given the extensive number of untested geophysical targets and Cu-Au soil anomalies. Phase 1 and 2 drill programs returned impressive results including 25.42 m of 5.51 per cent Cu, including 9.78 m of 8.31 per cent Cu, and 1.00 m of 12.70 per cent Cu.

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