News
Benton Resources to buy Par Lake near Bermuda project
2005-04-21 11:15 MT - News Release
Mr. Stephen Stares reports
BENTON RESOURCES CORP (BTC) SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH NEWMONT TO PURCHASE 100% OF PAR LAKE PROPERTY.
Benton Resources Corp. has signed a purchase agreement with Redstone Resources Inc., a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corp., to purchase a 100-per-cent interest (subject to a 2-per-cent net smelter return payable to Newmont) in the Par Lake property located in Northwestern Ontario. Under the terms of the agreement, the company will pay Newmont $100,000 in cash upon regulatory approval of the agreement. The Par Lake property consists of 37 lease claims totalling 1,261 hectares. The property adjoins the western extension of the company's Bermuda property and covers the strike extension of the eastern border gabbro (EBG). The EBG hosts more than 90 per cent of the significant platinum, palladium, gold and copper mineralization found to date in the Proterozoic-aged Coldwell intrusive complex.
Limited surface grab sampling on the Par Lake property completed by Redstone Resources in 1991 returned assays up to 1.8 grams per tonne combined Pt plus Pd plus Au. Redstone Resources Inc. also completed four shallow drill holes totalling 443 metres. All of the drill holes intersected anomalous values of Cu-PGE. One of these shallow drill holes located at the west end of the property intersected anomalous values of 0.33 per cent Cu and 0.466 gram per tonne combined Pt plus Pd plus Au over 26 metres. The company believes the property has excellent potential to host higher grades and greater widths of mineralization within the EBG.
According to Ontario geological survey, OFR No. 6148 (Schnieders et al., 2004, p. 36), the property also hosts two large low-grade deposits containing historical resources of 60 million tonnes grading 0.2 per cent Cu, 5 per cent Ti, 27 per cent Fe and 5 per cent P, and 32 million tonnes grading 0.3 per cent Cu, 2.48 per cent Ti, 23 per cent Fe, 0.02 per cent Ni and 0.36 per cent P. Redstone Resources calculated the resources in 1991 and although not compliant with National Instrument 43-101 standards, the company believes them to be significant. Of interest is the association between elevated titanium and PGE mineralization on the company's adjacent Bermuda property and the apparent lack of PGE assaying in the titanium-rich deposits by operators prior to Redstone Resources.
Benton Resources is very excited about this acquisition as it increases the total strike extent of its Cu-PGE-rich EBG horizon to more than 15 kilometres. The company will be starting ground exploration immediately and drilling on the Bermuda property will begin in late April. Updates will be given as the exploration continues. Clinton Barr, PGeo, vice-president of exploration for Benton Resources, is the qualified person responsible for this release.