Mr. Stephen Stares reports

BENTON FINALIZES BEDIVERE AGREEMENT

Benton Resources Inc.'s agreement to acquire a 100-per-cent interest in the Bedivere property has been finalized. The final agreement has been submitted to the TSX Venture Exchange for final approval. Benton previously announced the signing of the letter of intent on Nov. 1, 2016, with Traxxin Resources Inc., but the final agreement will involve Benton, Traxxin and two individual prospectors. The terms of the agreement remain the same.

Under the terms of the option and subject to regulatory approval, Benton can earn a 100-per-cent interest in the property, which consists of 109 units in 12 claims by paying to Traxxin (80 per cent) and two prospectors (10 per cent each) $450,000 and issuing three million shares over a four-year period on the following schedule:

• $45,000 and 300,000 company common shares on signing;
• $85,000 and 600,000 company common shares on first anniversary of signing;
• $95,000 and 600,000 company common shares on second anniversary of signing;
• $100,000 and 600,000 company common shares on third anniversary of signing;
• $125,000 and 900,000 company common shares on fourth anniversary of signing.

The property will be subject to a 3-per-cent net smelter return royalty in favour of Traxxin, of which 1 per cent can be purchased by Benton at the company's election for $1-million. In addition, the company must spend a total of $1-million in exploration expenditures over the four-year period with a minimum of $250,000 expended within the first year from the date of the letter of intent. The company will also grant to Traxxin a 1-per-cent net smelter return royalty on surrounding ground staked by the company as long as the company or any of its affiliates holds an interest in the optioned claims.

The new Traxxin gold discovery has returned surface grab samples ranging from trace up to 1,281 grams per tonne gold (41 ounces), some of which contain impressive visible gold (see the company's website for photos). These samples were taken from a small pit that was dug on the west side of a large quartz vein system that ranges from four metres to at least 20 metres wide before being lost under shallow overburden. The new gold zone sits in the Marmion batholith and lies on a major northeast structural splay similar to that of the Hammond Reef gold deposit (National Instrument 43-101 global measured and indicated resource: 196.4 million tonnes of 0.86 gram per tonne gold; NI 43-101 global inferred resource: 75.7 million tonnes of 0.72 gram per tonne gold) currently owned by Yamana Gold and Agnico Eagle.

Clinton Barr, PGeo, vice-president, exploration, for Benton Resources, is the qualified person responsible for this release and has prepared, supervised and approved the preparation of the scientific and technical disclosure contained within the release.

We seek Safe Harbor.