| Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 13, 2021) - Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX) ("Benton" or "the Company") is pleased to announce the expansion of its Long Range Gold JV project in central Newfoundland. The Long Range project, a 51:49 per cent Joint Venture between Buchans Minerals Corporation ("Buchans") and Benton (jointly "the Companies"), has been expanded from 3,750 hectares to 11,050 hectares through the recent acquisition of additional properties covering multiple early-stage gold prospects. The Companies intend to undertake a targeted prospecting program commencing in June that will include prospecting and investigation of the recently acquired gold prospects as well as follow-up prospecting of the JV's high-grade Goldquest prospect, originally discovered in 2010 and last explored by the JV in 2011. The 2021 program will be operated by Benton, a company known for its superior prospecting abilities and long history exploring in Newfoundland. The 2021 program will include a minimum initial expenditure of $150,000 and may be further expanded as warranted by results. As the majority interest holder in the JV, Buchans retains rights to resume operatorship of the project in 2022 and is pleased to bring Benton's prospecting talents to bear on this underexplored project which had seen almost no previous gold exploration prior to the JV discovering the Goldquest prospect while exploring for nickel in 2010. The expanded Long Range project is located approximately 25 km west of Marathon Gold's Valentine project and hosts multiple orogenic quartz vein-hosted gold in bedrock prospects akin to other high-profile gold discoveries in central Newfoundland including New Found Gold's Queensway Project (i.e., Keats and Lotto gold prospects) and Marathon Gold's Valentine project. Stephen Stares, President and CEO of Benton, said: "We are delighted to get back to exploring the Long Range project and believe this year's exploration program could lead us to the source of the high-grade boulders discovered in 2010. In addition, the new, larger land package with additional historical gold showings will provide excellent targeting to follow along trend. Exploration is expected to begin in late June or early July." "We look forward to resuming work with Benton and believe our joint venture has excellent potential to deliver significant shareholder value though prospecting of our project's multiple underexplored bedrock gold prospects akin to gold projects being advanced by New Found Gold and Marathon in this emerging district," added John Kearney, President and CEO of Buchans. Goldquest Prospect The Goldquest prospect was discovered in 2010 when prospecting discovered two clusters of mineralized float spaced 700 m apart along two excavated logging roads that exposed mineralized gold-bearing quartz float over road sections measuring in excess of 500 m in length. Grab samples collected from these float clusters returned assays of up to 18.2 g/t Au and 87.1 g/t Ag from the northern float cluster and 123.8 g/t Au and 414 g/t Ag from the southern float cluster (see Buchans Minerals' press release dated November 25, 2011). Limited follow-up trenching returned quartz veins in bedrock assaying up to 8.5 g/t Au and 31 g/t Ag (grab samples) while an initial drill test returned intercepts of up to 5.5 g/t Au over 0.30 m(core length) beneath the northern float cluster. Trenching and drilling at the southern cluster failed to intersect gold-bearing quartz veins in bedrock and the source of float assaying up to 123.8 g/t Au and 414 g/t Ag remains unknown. Given the abundance, size and angularity of float identified within the southern cluster, the Companies are optimistic that additional prospecting may yet discover the source of this high-grade gold mineralization in close proximity to the float cluster (see Buchans Minerals' press release dated November 25, 2011). Additional Gold in Bedrock Prospects (Expanded JV Property) Among areas to be explored within the newly expanded JV property are several gold-in-bedrock prospects discovered by past explorers that received minimal follow-up exploration. Among these are the Little Barachois Brook prospect where Teck Exploration reported outcrop grab samples returning assays of 112 g/t Au and 363 g/t Ag in 1994, the Abbot's Brook prospect where Marathon Gold reported outcrop grab sample assaying up to 7.01 g/t Au and 9.02 g/t Ag in 2011, and the Silver Pond prospect where Metals Creek Resources reported outcrop grab samples assaying up to 21.42 g/t Au and 60 g/t Ag in 2012. Long Range JV Background The Long Range Joint Venture is a 51:49 joint venture between Buchans and Benton. The Joint Venture controls over 10,000 hectares (100 km2) in a relatively unexplored part of Newfoundland. The JV was initially created in 2008 to explore for magmatic nickel sulphide deposits and expanded its land position and commodity focus as a result of the JV's discovery of several prospecting gold discoveries in 2010 and 2011. Buchans and Benton have initiated expansion and reactivation of this project in response to the recent recognition of central Newfoundland as an emerging gold district capable of hosting multi-million-ounce gold deposits. Recognition of this potential has been largely underpinned by Marathon Gold's ability to advance its Valentine gold project through the feasibility stage and New Found Gold's early-stage exploration success on its Queensway project. The Long Range project is well situated as it is traversed by paved highway (Route 480), power lines and a network of gravel logging roads. Located less than 30 kilometres east of the town of Stephenville, the project has ready access to excellent infrastructure including scheduled air services and nearby port facilities. |