Benton rallies on Newfoundland copper-gold project news

Benton Resources Inc. [BEX-TSXV] shares rallied Wednesday after the company released new exploration results from its high-grade copper-gold Great Burnt Project in central Newfoundland.

In a press release Wednesday, the company said it has continued to expand the Great Burnt Copper Deposit. The company said it has also discovered a new copper-gold zone and identified a new 2.0-kilometre-long gold in soil anomaly.

Benton shares advanced on the news, rising 9.4% or $0.015 to 17.5 cents. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of 23 cents and $0.04.

Benton is currently focused on advancing the Great Burnt project, which has an indicated mineral resource estimate of 667,000 tonnes of grade 3.21% copper. On top of that is an inferred resource of 482,000 tonnes of grade 2.35% copper. The company has said the project has an excellent geological setting covering 25 kilometres of strike and boasts six known copper-gold-silver zones over 15 kilometres that are all open for expansion.

It has said the potential for discovery is excellent given the extensive number of untested geophysical targets and copper-gold soil anomalies.

Bay Street financier Eric Sprott is currently the company’s largest shareholder with a 16% stake.

The shares rallied Wednesday after Benton said its Phase 3.0 diamond drill program continues to intercept massive sulphides, expanding the deposit approximately 150 metres down plunge and along strike to the south of the Great Burn Deposit. The company said it has now completed 3,840 metres in 10 holes with seven of the 10 holes intersecting massive sulphides.

The company said it has also received preliminary gold assays for the South Pond area where new well mineralized zones have been trenched with exciting gold grades of up to 9.91 g/t and 5.19 g/t gold with base metal results still pending.

As a result, extensive channel sampling is currently underway.

In addition, the company has received the first set of soil sampling results which have identified a new 2.0 kilometre-long trend of anomalous gold in soil, which it said will be immediately followed up on. Base metal values from the soil are expected soon.

The company has said phases one and two (9,000 metres) were extremely successful with stringer/semi-massive/massive sulphides intersected in all 37 drill holes, expanding the known deposit limits and confirming high-grade copper core throughout the deposit.

Highlights from the first two drilling phases at the Great Burnt Deposit, include hole GB-23-02, which returned 13 metres of 8.31% copper, including 3.00 metres of 12.80% copper.

Phase 3.0 is expected to include 10,000 to 15,000 metres of drilling.

While Great Burnt is the company’s flagship asset, the company is engaged in a joint venture with Sokoman Minerals Corp. [SIC-TSXV, SICNF-OTCQB] on three large-scale, multi-commodity projects in Newfoundland, including the Kraken and Killiick lithium discoveries.

In an October, 2023, Sokoman and Benton said they had signed a deal that permits Piedmont Lithium Inc. [PLL-NASDAQ, PLL-ASX] to earn up to a 70% direct and indirect ownership in the Killick Lithium Project.

Benton and Sokoman incorporated Vinland Lithium Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiary Killick Lithium Inc. into which they transferred the Killick project.

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