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Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX) ("Benton") and Sokoman Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SIC) (OTCQB: SICNF) ("Sokoman"), together (the "Alliance"), are pleased to announce the latest encouraging drill results and a 2022 exploration update from the Kraken Lithium Prospect on its Golden Hope Joint Venture located in southwest Newfoundland.
The Alliance is pleased to report the following from the 2022 exploration program to date:
- Intersection of several new spodumene-rich pegmatite dykes during the 3,073 m, 18-hole, Phase 2 Drill Program, including the East Dyke with intersections, including a 25 m-thick, spodumene-rich dyke, that carry significant grades (5.50 m at 1.16% Li2O) within a wider intersection of 20.82 m averaging 0.60% Li2O from 46.00 m downhole in drill hole GH-22-15.
- Multiple spodumene-bearing dykes trenched in bedrock in the follow-up of prospecting discoveries showing lithium mineralization over a strike extent of over 2.00 km.
- A newly discovered cluster of spodumene-rich dykes trenched 200 m south of the East Dyke, with samples assaying up to 1.12% Li2O. This area is untested by drilling.
- Across the property, field prospecting data include over 30 float and bedrock sample occurrences with >1.00% Li2O over a minimum 2.20 km strike-length, many of which require follow-up evaluation. Most have not been drill tested to date.
- Soil geochemistry over spodumene-bearing dykes outlines mineralization and has generated multiple targets for follow-up work. Given its effectiveness, the Alliance has launched an extensive systematic soil survey for lithium at Golden Hope.
Phase 2 Drilling
Results reported are for 13 holes (GH-22-7 through 19) testing the East Dyke area. The remaining five holes tested float and sub crop, 500 m - 1,000 m NE of the East Dyke area. These results are pending.
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Golden Hope Project - Drill Collars
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The East Dyke is a spodumene-rich dyke exposed for >10 m (still open) with grab sample grades of 1.93% Li2O. Drilling has confirmed the East Dyke to be part of a swarm of shallow-dipping dykes, including a 25 m-thick spodumene-rich dyke, that carries significant grades (5.50 m at 1.16% Li2O) in a much wider intersection of strong lithium grades including 20.82 m at 0.60% Li2O from 46.00 m downhole in drill hole GH-22-15. Hole GH-22-15 cut three significant spodumene-rich dykes that remain open to depth and along strike. Recent prospecting results include a 1.29% Li2O grab sample from what is believed to be the westward extension of the East Dyke 100 m west of current drilling.
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Golden Hope Project 2022 Diamond Drilling - East Dyke Drill Section
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Selected Drill Highlights for the East Dyke (full results at end of news release)
GH-22-8: 0.92% Li2O over 8.37 m (3.25 m - 11.62 m), incl. 1.00% Li2O over 5.75 m
GH-22-14: 0.63% Li2O over 4.35 m (11.00 m - 15.35 m), incl. 1.02% Li2O over 2 m
and 0.56% Li2O over 10.73 m (77.00 m - 87.73 m), incl. 1.01% Li2O over 2 m
GH-22-15: 0.60% Li2O over 20.82 m (46.00 m - 66.82 m), incl. 1.16% Li2O over 5.50 m,
and 0.28% Li2O over 24.73 m (102.27 m - 127.00 m), incl. 0.88% Li2O over 2.18 m,
and 0.64% Li2O over 2.65 m, incl. 1.11% Li2O over 0.88 m
(True thicknesses believed to be 90% of reported intervals)
East Dyke South Area
A newly discovered cluster of spodumene-rich dykes has been outlined by prospecting and trenching 200 m to the south of the East Dyke, with prospecting samples assaying 1.12% Li2O and additional sample results pending. This newly discovered zone is now a high-priority drill target.
Central Dyke Area
Holes 20, 21, and 22 were drilled approximately 650 m to the northeast of the East Dyke area targeting angular floats of spodumene-bearing pegmatite with values up to 2.15% Li2O. Holes 20, 21, and 22 intersected pegmatite dykes with core lengths of 12.65, 7.26, and 7.16 m respectively, of what is now known as the Central Dyke. The Alliance is encouraged by this new dyke discovery, which is open in all directions and has the potential to host high-grade Li2O as evidenced by the float samples. This area is also considered a high-priority target for further drilling.
Northeast Dyke Area
Holes 23 and 24 were drilled approximately 1,000 m to the northeast of the East Dyke area. The holes were targeting multiple angular floats of spodumene-bearing pegmatite assaying up to 1.30% Li2O. Trenching resulted in the discovery of pegmatite dykes in bedrock, with spodumene in grab samples at what is now referred to as the Northeast Dyke. Holes 23 and 24 intersected pegmatite dykes under the trenches with core lengths of 1.89 m and 1.72 m respectively. As above the Alliance is encouraged by this dyke discovery, again open in all directions, with the potential to host high-grade Li2O. Further drilling is planned for this area.
Kraken Project Highlights:
First significant lithium discovery on the Island of Newfoundland in July 2021; select grab samples returned values from trace up to 2.37% Li2O over a 2.2 km strike-length the discovery remains open with the Alliance controlling an additional 60 km of potential strike extensions. A reconnaissance drill campaign in early 2022 intersected 0.94% Li2O over 8.40 m on the Kraken Discovery Dyke.
Second drill campaign in summer 2022 (3,073 m / 18 holes) focused on the East Dyke area 600 m to the east of Kraken Discovery Dyke, intercepted multiple stacked dykes including 0.60% Li2O over 20.82 m (46.00 m - 66.82 m), incl. 1.16% Li2O over 5.50 m, incl. 1.43% Li2O over 2.68 m.
The Kraken Discovery Dyke and the East Dyke are approximately 600 m apart and are wide open for expansion with multiple untested surface dyke occurrences between them, as well as to the east, west, and north of the drill-tested showings.
Lithium soil geochemistry over areas of spodumene-bearing dykes outlines the mineralization. Subsequent soil sampling along trend and to the north of the known zones has identified multiple strong lithium in soil anomalies now prioritized for prospecting. Given its effectiveness, the Alliance has launched an extensive and systematic lithium soil survey at Golden Hope.
The Alliance believes the extensive (~800 sq km) Golden Hope Project has excellent potential for additional discoveries. Exploration is still in its infancy and the Alliance has control over a district-scale lithium play similar in scale to the large systems in the Appalachians, including the important deposits held by Piedmont Lithium Inc. in the Carolinas, USA, as well as the Avalonia Project of International Lithium in a joint venture with GFL International Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd. in the Caledonides of Ireland. Golden Hope lies along the prolific Appalachian-Caledonian Lithium Belt extending from the UK to the Eastern US.
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Spodumene- (lithium) rich section of GH-22-15 - Kraken Lithium Prospect - Golden Hope Joint Venture
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Benton's President and CEO Stephen Stares, states: "We are very pleased with our continued success at the Kraken Lithium Prospect. This is truly a rare opportunity to hold such a large land position with the potential to discover multiple new lithium zones. We're looking forward to releasing further news as our collective exploration teams continue to advance and continue to be very excited about the potential for outlining a significant lithium deposit in Newfoundland."
Sokoman's President and CEO Tim Froude, comments: "The excellent results to date continue to confirm the existence of a potentially large lithium district at Golden Hope. The recently completed 3,200 m drill program returned multiple holes cutting numerous dykes with multiple sections grading in excess of 1.00% Li2O. Today's results compare well with projects at advanced stages of development including Sayona Mining Limited (North American Lithium Project, Quebec), and Rock Tech Lithium (Georgia Lake Project, Ontario) that use 0.60% and 0.70% Li2O as cutoff grades for open-pit constrained mineral resources in their PEA and PFS reports. We also have recently located significantly larger dykes (>20 m in width), we continue to locate more spodumene-bearing dykes and our lithium soil geochemical survey has already identified multiple targets for follow-up. This is still early days at Kraken - what the project needs is a significant diamond-drill program to assess the distribution of the lithium-bearing dykes as well as to test new targets. The true potential of this project lies in front of us."
Full results of the drill program:
| DDH # | Depth m | Az. | Dip | Target | From (m) | To (m) | Length m* | Li2O% | |
| GH-22-07 | 244 | 20 | -45 | East Dyke | 39.50 | 43.50 | 4.00 | 0.81 | |
| incl | 40.50 | 43.50 | 3.00 | 1.01 | |||||
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| GH-22-08 | 151 | 20 | -45 | East Dyke | 3.25 | 11.62 | 8.37 | 0.92 | |
| Â | incl | 3.25 | 9.00 | 5.75 | 1.00 | ||||
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| GH-22-09 | 142 | 200 | -45 | East Dyke | 63.21 | 64.21 | 1.00 | 0.06 | |
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| GH-22-10 | 154 | 0 | -90 | East Dyke | 5.80 | 9.00 | 3.20 | 0.56 | |
| incl | 5.80 | 7.00 | 1.20 | 1.15 | |||||
| and | 25.28 | 27.70 | 2.42 | 1.14 | |||||
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| GH-22-11 | 190 | 200 | -65 | East Dyke | 35.58 | 37.58 | 2.00 | 0.99 | |
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| GH-22-12 | 181 | 20 | -45 | East Dyke | 26.21 | 27.00 | 0.79 | 0.70 | |
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| GH-22-13 | 199 | 0 | -90 | East Dyke | 154.98 | 156.11 | 1.13 | 0.09 | |
| Pending | |||||||||
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| GH-22-14 | 109 | 20 | -45 | East Dyke | 11.00 | 15.35 | 4.35 | 0.63 | |
| incl | 12.00 | 14.00 | 2.00 | 1.02 | |||||
| and | 77.00 | 87.73 | 10.73 | 0.56 | |||||
| incl | 81.00 | 83.00 | 2.00 | 1.01 | |||||
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| GH-22-15 | 226 | 20 | -70 | East Dyke | 32.70 | 35.18 | 2.48 | 0.88 | |
| and | 46.00 | 66.82 | 20.82 | 0.60 | |||||
| incl | 54.60 | 60.10 | 5.50 | 1.16 | |||||
| and | 102.27 | 127.00 | 24.73 | 0.28 | |||||
| incl | 108.82 | 111.00 | 2.18 | 0.88 | |||||
| and | 115.25 | 117.90 | 2.65 | 0.64 | |||||
| incl | 116.22 | 117.10 | 0.88 | 1.11 | |||||
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| GH-22-16 | 193 | 20 | -45 | East Dyke | NSV | ||||
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| GH-22-17 | 208 | 20 | -45 | East Dyke | NSV | ||||
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| GH-22-18 | 200 | 20 | -45 | East Dyke | NSV | ||||
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| GH-22-19 | 199 | 0 | -90 | East Dyke | 22.50 | 28.70 | 6.20 | 0.06 | |
| Pending | |||||||||
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| GH-22-20 | 181 | 7 | -45 | Central Dyke | Pending | ||||
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| GH-22-21 | 127 | 340 | -45 | Central Dyke | Pending | ||||
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| GH-22-22 | 151 | 345 | -45 | Central Dyke | Pending | ||||
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| GH-22-23 | 115 | 310 | -45 | Northeast Dyke | 48.33 | 49.55 | 1.22 | 0.37 | |
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| GH-22-24 | 103 | 310 | -45 | Northeast Dyke | 54.00 | 55.00 | 1.00 | 0.18 | |
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| * Reported lengths - believed to be 90% of true lengths. | |||||||||
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This news release has been reviewed and approved by Timothy Froude, P.Geo., a Director of Benton Resources Inc. and President and CEO of Sokoman Minerals Corp. Mr. Froude is a 'Qualified Person' under National Instrument 43-101.
Analytical Techniques / QA/QC
Samples, including duplicates, blanks, and standards, were submitted to SGS Canada Inc. in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland for prep and then sent to SGS Canada Inc. analytical laboratory in Burnaby, British Colombia. All core samples submitted for assay were saw cut by Benton personnel with one-half submitted for assay and one-half retained for reference. Samples were delivered in sealed bags directly to the Grand Falls-Windsor prep lab by Benton personnel or contractor. SGS Canada Inc. is an accredited assay lab that conforms to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025. Samples are analyzed using SGS's GS_IMS91A50 method that delivers a 56-element package utilizing sodium peroxide fusion, ICP-AES and ICP-MS analytical techniques. One blank and one industry-approved standard for every twenty samples submitted is included in the sample stream. Random duplicates of selected samples are analyzed in addition to the in-house standard and duplicate policies of SGS Canada Inc. All reported assays are uncut.
All soil samples were analyzed for lithium at Eastern Analytical in Springdale, NL. Lithium package includes Lithium, Lithium Oxide, Tantalum, Niobium, and Tin. One gram of sample is digested to dryness in three acids (Nitric, Perchloric, and Hydrofluoric). After which HCl is added and brought to a boil on a hotplate. It is then topped to volume (200 ml) with distilled water and read on the ICP-OES.
About Benton Resources Inc.
Benton Resources Inc. is a well-funded mineral exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BEX. Following a project generation business model, Benton has a diversified, highly-prospective property portfolio in Gold, Silver, Nickel, Copper, and Platinum Group Elements and currently holds large equity positions in other mining companies that are advancing high-quality assets. Whenever possible, BEX retains Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalties for potential long-term cash flow. In mid-2021 Benton entered into the 50/50 strategic alliance with Sokoman Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SIC) through three large-scale joint-venture properties including Grey River Gold, Golden Hope, and Kepenkeck in Newfoundland that are now being explored.
About Sokoman Minerals Corp.
Sokoman Minerals Corp. is a discovery-oriented company with projects in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The company's primary focus is its portfolio of gold projects: flagship, 100%-owned Moosehead and Crippleback Lake Projects, and East Alder (optioned to Canterra Minerals Corporation) along the Central Newfoundland Gold Belt, and the district-scale Fleur de Lys project in northwestern Newfoundland, that is targeting Dalradian-type orogenic gold mineralization similar to the Curraghinalt and Cavanacaw deposits in Northern Ireland, and Cononish in Scotland. The company has also entered into a strategic alliance (the Alliance) with Benton Resources Inc. through three large-scale joint-venture properties including Grey River Gold, Golden Hope and Kepenkeck on the island of Newfoundland. Sokoman now controls independently and through the Alliance over 150,000 hectares (>6,000 claims - 1,500 sq. km), making it one of the largest landholders in Newfoundland, Canada's newest and rapidly-emerging gold district. Sokoman also retains an interest in an early-stage antimony/gold project (Startrek) in Newfoundland, optioned to White Metal Resources Inc., and in Labrador, the company has a 100% interest in the Iron Horse (Fe) project that has Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) potential.
For further information, please contact:
CHF Capital Markets
Thomas Do, Investor Relations Manager
Phone: 416-868-1079 x 232
Email: thomas@chfir.com
Benton Resources Inc.
Stephen Stares, President & CEO
Phone: 807-475-7474
Email: sstares@bentonresources.ca
Sokoman Minerals Corp.
Timothy Froude, P. Geo., President & CEO
Phone: 709-765-1726
Email: tim@sokomanmineralscorp.com
Website: www.bentonresources.ca, www.sokomanmineralscorp.com
Twitter: @BentonResources, @SokomanMinerals
Facebook: @BentonResourcesBEX, @SokomanMinerals
LinkedIn: @BentonResources, @SokomanMinerals
THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements."
Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Alliance's expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Alliance's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Alliance's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Alliance does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Alliance's expectations or projections.
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Figure 3. Location of recent drilling at Corner Bay 