Benton Resources stakes claims along Strike from Equinox Gold’s Valentine Gold Mine, Central Newfoundland
Benton Resources Inc. [TSXV: BEX] has staked four licences totaling 108 claim units directly along strike from Equinox Gold’s Valentine Gold Mine, located in central Newfoundland, Canada. The company has also, subject to regulatory approval, executed a purchase agreement with Quest Inc., an arm’s-length private company, for two licences encompassing 33 claim units, bringing its total Victoria Lake land package to 141 claims.
Under the agreement, Benton will pay Quest a one-time cash payment of $6,000 and issue 200,000 shares of the Company for a 100% interest in Quest’s claims. Quest will retain a 2% Net Smelter Return (NSR), whereby Benton will have the right to buy back 1% for $1.5 million. In addition, the company has granted Quest a 0.25% NSR on three of the company’s staked claims (Licences 039488M, 039556M, and 039560M) and on a portion of Licence 039590M.
A detailed compilation by Benton, using first-derivative magnetics and historical assessment work filed with the Government of Newfoundland, along with a public press release from Marathon Gold shows that the favourable trend and gold structures continue south west towards Benton’s new Victoria West Project.
In particular, a soil sampling program completed and released by Marathon Gold highlighted this favourable contact trend with highly anomalous gold values up to 169 ppb gold in soils near the water’s edge trending toward Benton’s newly acquired claims.
Stephen Stares, President and CEO, commented, “This is yet another fantastic opportunity for Benton and its shareholders as it strategically complements our prospective gold and base metal project portfolio in Newfoundland, one of the world’s top-ranked mining jurisdictions. We are pleased to have cost-effectively acquired an excellent land position directly along strike from one of Canada’s newest and continually growing gold mines. These opportunities are rare and truly hold significant discovery potential. The Company is currently looking at its options for drill targeting on the project.”
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 at 3.21% Cu Indicated and 482,000 tonnes at 2.35% 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 metres of 5.51% Cu, including 9.78 metres of 8.31% Cu, and 1.00 metre of 12.70% Cu. Drilling at the South Pond Gold Zone, approximately 7.5 km north of the Great Burnt Copper-Gold Zone, has confirmed a robust gold-mineralized system over 2.5 km with results of 74.20 metres of 1.43 g/t Au and 43.75 metres of 1.62 g/t Au and is open for expansion in all directions.