Far Lake Project
60/40 JV with Thunder Gold, where BEX owns 60%
The Project has excellent infrastructure with multiple logging roads accessing the property via the Trans-Canada Highway.
Exploration completed by Thunder Gold led to the discovery of a high-grade massive sulphide copper occurrence. Trenching and sampling programs at Far Lake provided results that include a 0.7m channel sample across massive sulphide that assayed 22.0% Cu, 30.2 g/t Ag, and 0.25 g/t Au as well as another channel sample that graded 3.54% Cu over 3m, including 4.96% Cu over 1m.
In addition to the large mineralized and silicified zones, the project also contains a boulder that was assayed by Thunder Gold and contained 0.293% Cu, 1.71g/t Pd, 0.3g/t Pt and 0.219g/t Au, 1500m SE of the copper discovery. Locating the source of this boulder will be an important activity to prove that Far Lake has the potential to host not only copper-silver-gold, but also PGEs. The appearance of the boulder suggests the bedrock source is not far and only travelled a short distance during glaciation.
In recent field work, Benton has confirmed the presence of anomalous Rare Earth Elements and uranium associated with the large felsic intrusive complex being explored. REEs and uranium are common characterizing minerals of IOCG deposits around the world. Benton’s anomalous REE/Uranium samples were taken within a highly magnetic granitic body (near a 500m long REE soil anomaly) and within a hematite breccia located approximately 500m southwest of the Far Lake main zone. The Company considers these occurrences to be important in helping target the potential core of a large tonnage IOCG deposit.
Abernethy Project
100% owned, seeking JV or option partner
Located 10 km southwest of Kenora, Ontario, the property consists of 9 claims totaling 67 units. It covers a historically defined 640 metre-long and up to 210 metre-wide electromagnetic conductor outlined by Hudson Bay Exploration and Development Co. Ltd in 1974. The anomaly was tested by Hudson Bay with a single drill hole and intersected anomalous gold throughout the hole including one section that returned 17.8 g/t gold over 1.52 metres. Subsequently in 1987, the project was acquired by Mingold Resources Inc. who further tested the same zone with two diamond drill holes spaced at 61 metres apart. This drilling also intersected significant anomalous gold throughout both drill holes including 6.30 g/t gold over 6.1 metres in drill hole ABE-1 and 1.62 g/t gold over 6.7 metres (including 10.0 g/t gold over 0.61 metres) in drill hole ABE-3.
Benton completed a Phase I drill program that identified a large gold system of multiple gold-rich horizons that measures more than 500 m in strike length and up to 77 m core length in width. The system is open in all directions. Notably, the hole furthest to the west (ABE 11-07) cut multiple gold horizons that averaged 0.53 g/t Au over 77.1 meters with several higher grade sections.
Bark Lake Project
100% owned, seeking JV or option partner
Mining claims in the Boot Bay Area, Northwestern Ontario. Host to a number of platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), gold (Au), copper (Cu) and nickel (Ni) showings contained in mineralized ultramafic rock, either in outcrop or dozens of mineralized boulders. The mineralized occurrences are situated along the Quetico Fault, a major crustal-scale east-west oriented structure. Grab samples have returned grades up to 4.35 g/t Pd, 2.64 g/t Pt, 0.74 g/t Au, 1.2% Cu, 0.5% Ni by Hackl Prospecting.
Samples collected by Benton have confirmed significant precious and base metals across the project area. More recent sampling has returned individual assays grading up to 1.5% Nickel, 1.2% Copper, 2.6 g/t Pt, 1.4 g/t Pd and 0.7 g/t Au. Of particular interest was the discovery of several semi-massive, net-textured sulphide boulders, with one measuring around 1 cubic metre in size and assaying 1.5% Ni. The boulders are angular in nature and believed to be located very close to source.
In order to determine the source of the high-grade boulders, Benton carried out an extensive exploration program on the property including line-cutting, ground magnetics, ground IP, geological mapping and prospecting. The Mag and IP survey helped to define an ultramafic intrusion to the north of the property. Drill targets were defined based on the geophysical interpretation and Benton intersected the ultramafic intrusion in holes BL-08-04 and BL-08-05.
Baril Lake West Project
Sold 100% to Rio Tinto, BEX holds 2% royalty
Benton considers the Baril Lake project to be a favourable setting to potentially host copper-nickel and platinum group metals.
Following positive results from the 2021 trenching program, Rio Tinto Exploration Canada (RTECI) completed an exploration program in 2022 that consisted of geologic mapping, overburden stripping, diamond drilling and borehole EM surveys. The goal of the program was to gain a better understanding of the controls on nickel and copper mineralization and to test if the mineralized zone discovered during the 2021 trenching program extends in any direction.
The diamond drilling program was completed in summer 2022. A total of 2,152 m was drilled over 12 holes. Using geologic data and borehole EM to assist with drillhole targeting, the mineralized zone discovered in the 2021 was extended by 520 m to the west. Structural measurements from oriented core and observed textures add increasing evidence to support a model with remobilized nickel and copper sulphide mineralization.
The best assays are 1.29m at 1.42% Cu, 0.86% Ni, 0.17g/t Pt and 0.07g/t Pd which includes 0.5m at 1.92% Cu and 1.4% Ni and 0.43g/t Pt and 0.13g/t Pd and 1.35m at 3.11% Cu, 0.75% Ni, 0.04g/t Pt and 0.02g/t Pd which includes 0.72m at 5.34% Cu and 1.3% Ni and 0.08g/t Pt and 0.03g/t Pd. Ni tenor within the best mineralized zones are >5%. Core processing including geological logging, sampling and cutting was completed in September 2022 and technical aspects of the assessment report were completed in November 2022.
Panama Gold Project
Sold 100% to Renegade Gold, BEX holds 2% royalty and equity in Renegade
Hosted in the Red Lake Mining District, 55 km northeast of the town of Ear Falls, and is road accessible. Historical exploration on the claims is minimal and mainly focused on the Panama Zone. This zone was drilled by Noranda Exploration Ltd. in 1988, where 8 widely spaced diamond drill holes over a 1.4 km strike length yielded results of up to 2.8 g/t Au over 4.5 m within a 20-30 m wide mineralized shear zone. The Panama Zone is one of the main exploration targets on the property.
Of additional interest is a regional glacial till sampling survey (Geological Survey of Canada, 1999 – Open File 3038) that collected a sample on the Panama Lake claims, which contained 107 gold grains, the highest count in the survey which covered the Red Lake mine trend that has produced over 25M ounces of gold. The grains were pristine in nature which provides evidence that their bedrock source is not far from the sample location on the Slate Lake Zone.
Sporadic prospecting and geochemical work through the fall of 2018 led to the initiation of a 1,420 m diamond drill program completed in Feb/March of 2019. Seven holes were completed at the Panama Zone and were designed to infill Noranda’s 1988 drilling as well as test the grade at depth. Two additional holes were completed at the Slate Lake Zone targeting an arsenopyrite-rich meta-sediment where Benton had prospecting samples up to 6.17 g/t gold. The drilling successfully intersected the mineralized unit at depth, as well as outlined a weakly mineralized porphyry to the south of this prospective zone.
A High-Resolution Heliborne Magnetic Survey over the entire Panama Project also shows favourable high-priority targets.
Starr Project
Sold 100% to Quebec Rare Earths Elements Corp.
Located in the Shebandowan Greenstone Belt where multi-million-ounce deposits have been discovered. Large land position hosting multiple high-grade gold & silver zones in excellent geology.
High-grade surfaces showings with historical bulk samples returning up to 356.3 g/t gold & 850 g/t silver. Multiple untested surface gold showings associated with regional structural trends with coincidental soil geochemical anomalies.
Highlights from past drilling at the Starr Mining Project include 5.36 g/t Au over 20 m in the Star Zone and 32.0 g/t Au over 5.9 m on the Powell Zone.
2021 drilling has confirmed grade continuity between historical drill holes in the Starr Central target area and results indicate high-grade gold mineralization extends along strike. Several thick high-grade gold zones identified with such intercepts as: 1.11 g/t AU over 34.9 m, 1.14 g/t Au over 25.75 m, and 4.1 g/t Au over 14.2 m.
Kraken Project
50/50 JV with Sokoman, currently spinning out to create Vinland Lithium financed by Piedmont
A large district-scale project consisting of 3,146 claims (78,650 hectares) accessed by the Burgeo Highway in southwestern Newfoundland. Covers extensions of two major structures linked to significant gold prospects and deposits in southern Newfoundland. Rock units and structures on the Property are also related to those associated with new orogenic gold discoveries in central Newfoundland, including Sokoman’s 100%-owned Moosehead Project and New Found Gold’s Queensway Project.
Area is host to at least two significant gold deposits including the past-producing Hope Brook Gold Mine (First Mining – Big Ridge Gold) and the advanced Cape Ray Project (Matador Mining).
Phase 1 Winter Drilling Program (5 holes – 1,025 m) returned 0.95% Li2O over 8.40 m from 47.8 m to 56.2 m, including 1.76% Li2O over 0.8 m. Phase 2 Drilling Program (18 holes – 3,073 m) was completed in 2022. Assay results of 13 out of 18 holes returned significant 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.
Exploration is financed by Piedmont Lithium. In the process of spinning it out as Vinland Lithium IPO.
Grey River Project
50/50 JV with Sokoman, seeking JV or option partner
324 claims (8,100 hectares) centred on an ice-free harbour on the south coast of Newfoundland.
Historic grab samples and channel samples from the property range from less than 1 g/t to over 225 g/t Au, locally with 200-300 g/t Ag – not drill tested. A 5-km-wide by 10-km-long corridor on the property hosts several styles of gold and associated base metal mineralized zones including multiple mesothermal and intrusion-related Au-rich (+/- Bi-Ag-Sb-Pb-Zn) quartz veins; Pogo Type (high grade Au deposit in Alaska >10 M tonnes at 13.6 g/t Au).
Highest gold grades coincide with a large, elongated high-purity silica body, possibly large veins or meta- quartzite (12M tonnes >95% SiO) drilled by the Newfoundland Government in 1967.
Style, grades, setting and geochemical signature compare well with the high-grade Pogo gold mine within the Tintina Gold Belt of Alaska and Yukon. The Pogo mine, up to the end of 2019, had produced 3.9 million oz gold at 13.6 g/t gold, with reserves of more than 7 million oz gold.
The successful summer 2021 field work had resulted in identifying visible gold in a portion of the mineralized zone, and adding several other mineralized horizons that did not appear to be previously sampled. Multiple gold showings are known along most of its length ranging from 100-200 ppb Au to 225 g/t Au.
Kepenkeck Project
50/50 JV with Sokoman, seeking JV or option partner
595 claim units over 15,625 hectares located near the NE extension of the Hermitage Flexure and along trend from Canstar Resources’ Golden Baie Project. New road access, little historical work, and favourable geology located on a major structure.
While exploring for gold in 2022, Benton and Sokoman discovered high-grade uranium where 5 samples were collected from a radioactive area of black topsoil and sandy till returned significant uranium values grading between 0.06% to 1.86% U308. The area sits in favourable geology along the projected contact of a hot radioactive granite and sedimentary unit that could host a high-grade roll-front and/or low-grade granite-type uranium deposit.