Mr. Tim Froude of Sokoman Minerals reports

SOKOMAN AND BENTON ANNOUNCE START OF 2023 DRILLING PROGRAM AT THE KRAKEN LITHIUM AND HYDRA CESIUM DISCOVERIES IN SOUTHWESTERN NEWFOUNDLAND

Sokoman Minerals Corp. and Benton Resources Inc. (the alliance) have started the 2023 drilling program which will see a minimum of 5,000 metres drilled on the 50/50 Golden Hope joint venture (GHJV). The GHJV was formed by the alliance in 2021 to explore the mineral potential of an underexplored structural belt of rocks in southwestern Newfoundland hosting past-producing gold operations. Within the first week of exploration, the alliance had discovered the very first hard-rock lithium dike on the island, and in the fall of 2022, the alliance discovered the very first cesium-rich dike. These two areas of mineralization are now known as the Kraken lithium pegmatite field and the Hydra dike. Drilling will commence at the Killick zone, part of the Kraken lithium pegmatite field, where holes completed in late 2022 all returned significant lithium mineralization.

Killick dike drilling:

• 1.04 per cent Li2O (lithium oxide) over 15.23 m, including 4.18 m of 1.48 per cent Li2O and 2.98 m of 1.23 per cent Li2O in GH-22-27, and 9.50 m of 1.08 per cent Li2O from GH-22-26.

Other dikes tested include:

• 0.95 per cent Li2O over 8.40 m, including 1.76 per cent Li2O over 0.80 m in GH-22-01 on the Kraken Main dike;
• 5.50 m at 1.16 per cent Li2O within a wider intersection of 20.82 m averaging 0.60 per cent Li2O in drill hole GH-22-15 on the East dike.

Drilling will also test any new dikes uncovered during the continuing soil geochemical and trenching program along strike to the east of the Kraken lithium pegmatite field, where in 2022, lithium-in-soil geochemical anomalies of similar strength to the discovery dike area lie four kilometres along strike to the east of known dikes. A select number of holes will also be completed at the high-grade Hydra dike 12 km northeast of the Kraken lithium pegmatite field once trenching and sampling have been completed. A 1.2 m long channel sample collected at Hydra in late 2022 returned 8.76 per cent Cs2O (cesium oxide), 0.41 per cent Li2O, 0.025 per cent Ta2O5 (tantalum pentoxide) and 0.33 per cent Rb2O (rubidium oxide) (see news release dated Dec. 1, 2022). The dike is only partially exposed (five to six metres wide) and additional sampling is required to determine width of mineralization. All proposed work is fully permitted and financed with a $3-million to $4-million budget for the entire lithium and cesium programs.

Tim Froude, president and chief executive officer of Sokoman, says: "We are very pleased to be starting the 2023 drilling program, and along with our JV partner Benton Resources, anticipate a successful program. The initial holes will target extending the Killick dike mineralization which has returned our best drill results to date, and once trenching has been completed at Hydra, testing the high-grade cesium mineralization defined in late 2022."

Stephen Stares, president and CEO of Benton, says: "We are extremely excited to kick off the field season at the GHJV and I'm confident that we'll have another successful year on this newly discovered lithium-cesium belt. With our large land position, high demand for these much-needed critical metals and rapidly growing concerns to cut harmful emissions, Benton and Sokoman are truly in a rare position to unlock Newfoundland's potential for LTC-type pegmatite discoveries while increasing shareholder value."

Quality assurance/quality control protocols

Rock and core samples were submitted to SGS Canada Inc. in Grand Falls-Windsor, Nfld., for preparation and then sent to the SGS Canada analytical laboratory in Burnaby, B.C. All samples submitted were taken or saw-cut by Sokoman/Benton personnel and delivered in sealed bags directly to the Grand Falls-Windsor prep lab by Sokoman/Benton personnel. SGS Canada 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, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analytical techniques. All reported assays are uncut. Soil samples were collected by Sokoman/Benton personnel utilizing a standard Dutch-auger collecting B horizon soil where possible. Where B was not present, the material collected was noted. The soil samples were sent to Eastern Analytical Ltd., in Springdale, Nfld., for lithium, tantalum, tin and niobium assaying by four-acid digestion and analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy. Eastern Analytical achieved ISO 17025 accreditation in February, 2014.

Qualified person

This news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Froude, PGeo, president and CEO of Sokoman Minerals, and Stephen House, PGeo, vice-president, exploration, for Benton Resources, both the qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.

About Sokoman Minerals Corp.

Sokoman Minerals 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-per-cent-owned Moosehead, Crippleback Lake (available for option) and East Alder (optioned to Canterra Minerals Corp.) along the central Newfoundland gold belt, and the district-scale Fleur de Lys project near Baie Verte 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 entered a strategic alliance with Benton Resources through three large-scale joint venture properties, including Grey River Gold, Golden Hope and Kepenkeck in Newfoundland. Sokoman now controls independently and through the Benton alliance more than 150,000 hectares (greater than 6,000 claims -- 1,500 square kilometres), making it one of the largest landholders in Newfoundland, Canada's newest and rapidly emerging gold districts. The company also retains an interest in an early-stage antimony/gold project (Startrek) in Newfoundland, optioned to Thunder Gold Corp. (formerly White Metal Resources Inc.), and in Labrador, the company has a 100-per-cent interest in the Iron Horse (iron) project that has direct shipping ore (DSO) potential.

About Benton Resources Inc.

Benton Resources is a well-financed 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 of gold, silver, nickel, copper, platinum group elements, and, most recently, lithium and cesium assets. In addition, it currently holds large equity positions in other mining companies that are advancing high-quality assets. Whenever possible, Benton retains net smelter return (NSR) royalties with potential long-term cash flow.

Benton entered a 50/50 strategic alliance with Sokoman Minerals through three large-scale joint venture properties, including Grey River Gold, Golden Hope and Kepenkeck in Newfoundland that are now being explored.

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