Mr. Stephen Stares reports

BENTON PROVIDES END OF YEAR UPDATE

Benton Resources Inc. has provided its shareholders with a year-end update on activities and progress. With metal prices reaching record highs, Benton is well positioned to benefit from its exposure to several top-tier copper, gold, platinum, palladium and lithium projects.

The company thanks its shareholders for their continued support and looks forward to an exciting 2026 as it advances its Newfoundland projects. Highlights for Benton's recent advancements include the following:

• Expanded the Great Burnt copper deposit from 650 metres to 950 m of strike length;
• Delineated a 2.7-kilometre-wide, shallow gold-copper deposit at South Pond;
• Discovered a new VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) system in the End Zone area, with assays pending;
• Discovered several gold occurrences north of the Great Burnt copper deposit;
• Discovered new high-grade gold float at South Pond, extending potential;
• Large drilling program planned for 2026;
• Metallurgical testing results for gold recovery at South Pond expected shortly;
• Well financed, with approximately $2.9-million in cash and $3-million in equities;
• Acquired strategic claims from Noble Mineral Exploration Ltd., extending the northern strike of the Great Burnt property by 1.0 kilometre;
• Completed 26,637 m of drilling since acquiring the Great Burnt project in late 2023;
• Planning early-2026 airborne geophysical survey over the southern half of Great Burnt project, where the company has identified a large copper-in-soil geochemical anomaly;
• Acquired the large and strategic Dominion project, located eight km north of Equinox Gold's Valentine gold deposit, with multiple new discoveries of high-grade gold, zinc and copper;
• Acquired the Victoria West project, located less then two km along strike of Equinox Gold's Frank zone;
• Benton holds 24.6 million shares and a 0.5-per-cent NSR (net smelter return) royalty in Clean Air Metals Inc.'s Thunder Bay North platinum/palladium/copper/nickel project;
• Completed the spinout of Vinland Lithium Inc., with Benton holding 2.0 million shares and a 1-per-cent NSR royalty on the killick lithium project;
• Acquired the Stoney Caldera copper-gold project, adjacent to Pirate Gold Corp.;
• Launched a new website.

Stephen Stares, president and chief executive officer of Benton Resources, stated: "It has been an exciting year for Benton, marked by numerous achievements in 2025. We would like to wish our shareholders a very happy holiday season and a healthy and prosperous 2026. I am confident that our projects will continue to deliver positive results and new discoveries throughout the upcoming year ahead. I look forward to the remaining drill results coming in the early new year and the recommencement of exploration and drilling in January 2026."

To date, Benton has drilled 26,637 m from late 2023 to present at Great Burnt and South Pond, with some highlights listed below.

Great Burnt highlights:

• GB-23-02: 13.00 m of 8.31 per cent Cu, including 3.00 m of 12.80 per cent Cu;
• GB-23-04: 26.87 m of 7.18 per cent Cu, including 11.16 m of 10.28 per cent Cu;
• GB-23-07: 12.30 m of 7.20 per cent Cu, including 7.00 m of 10.60 per cent Cu;
• GB-23-12: 25.42 m of 5.51 per cent Cu, including 1.00 m of 8.77 per cent Cu, 82.00 grams per tonne silver and 4.43 g/t Au;
• GB-23-15: 22.59 m of 5.03 per cent Cu, including 0.50 m of 20.00 per cent Cu;
• GB-23-16: 13.67 m of 5.80 per cent Cu, including 1.00 m of 20.60 per cent Cu;
• GB-23-18: 8.17 m of 4.22 per cent Cu, including 7.05 m of 4.11 per cent Cu;
• GB-23-21: 24.00 m of 5.81 per cent Cu, including 7.00 m of 11.47 per cent Cu;
• GB-23-22: 21.68 m of 3.59 per cent Cu, including 2.00 m of 15.3 per cent Cu;
• GB-24-23: 7.00 m of 2.02 per cent Cu, including 4.00 m of 3.01 per cent Cu;
• GB-24-32: 11.29 m of 3.10 per cent Cu, including 6.63 m of 5.57 per cent Cu;
• GB-24-33: 20.92 m of 2.26 per cent Cu, including 2.98 m of 4.17 per cent Cu;
• GB-24-37: 18.10 m of 1.99 per cent Cu, including 4.50 m of 7.24 per cent Cu;
• GB-24-49: 22.00 m of 7.47 per cent Cu, including 8.00 m of 11.93 per cent Cu;
• GB-25-60: 21.70 m of 4.14 per cent Cu, including 3.00 m of 17.85 per cent Cu;
• GB-25-65: 12.30 m of 2.49 per cent Cu, including 4.8 m of 5.27 per cent Cu.

South Pond highlights:

• SP-24-01: 18.80 m of 1.13 g/t Au and 5.96 m of 2.06 g/t Au;
• SP-24-03: 43.75 m of 1.62 g/t Au, including 4.00 m of 3.99 g/t Au;
• SP-24-07: 74.20 m of 1.43 g/t Au, including 8.00 m of 2.94 g/t Au;
• SP-24-08: 14.00 m of 1.23 g/t Au, including 4.00 m of 2.33 g/t Au;
• SP-24-09: 24.00 m of 1.48 g/t Au, including 7.00 m of 2.03 g/t Au;
• SP-24-10: 20.00 m of 1.04 g/t Au and 25.00 m of 1.54 g/t Au;
• SP-24-12: 27.07 m of 1.08 g/t Au, including 5.00 m of 2.11 g/t Au;
• SP-24-13: 19.75 m of 1.42 g/t Au, including 4.00 m of 3.08 g/t Au;
• SP-24-15: 22.50 m of 1.24 g/t Au, including 4.00 m of 2.08 g/t Au;
• SP-24-23: 6.75 m of 2.90 g/t Au;
• SP-24-28: 27.40 m of 1.00 g/t Au, including 3.00 m of 2.92 g/t Au;
• SP-24-30: 8.00 m of 2.07 g/t Au, including 2.00 m of 4.83 g/t Au;
• SP-24-32: 54.50 m of 1.88 g/t Au, and 12.00 m of 3.34 g/t Au;
• SP-25-54: 17.13 m of 2.02 g/t Au, including 5.00 m of 3.98 g/t Au;
• SP-25-55: 23.00 m of 1.10 g/t Au, including 6.68 m of 2.81 g/t Au.

Note: Widths quoted are true core length; true widths are estimated at approximately 70 per cent to 90 per cent of core lengths.

Qualified person

Stephen House, PGeo, vice-president of exploration for Benton Resources, the qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release and prepared or supervised its preparation.

Quality assurance/quality control protocols

Core and rock samples, including standards, blanks and duplicates, are submitted to Eastern Analytical Ltd. of Springdale, Nfld., for preparation and analysis. All samples were acquired by saw-cut (channels/drill core), with one-half submitted for assay and one-half retained for reference, or by hand (rocks) and delivered, by Benton personnel, in sealed bags, to the Springdale lab of Eastern Analytical, which is an accredited assay lab that conforms to the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025. Samples are analyzed using Eastern's Au (fire assay) at 30 grams plus ICP-34 method that delivers a 34-element package utilizing a 200-milligram subsample totally dissolved in four acids and analyzed by ICP-OES analytical technique. Overlimits are analyzed with Eastern's atomic absorption method, using a 0.200-gram-to-2.00-gram sample, digested with three acids. All reported assays are uncut. Eastern Analytical achieved ISO 17025 accreditation in February, 2014. Grab samples are selective in nature and may not represent the average mineralization of a bedrock exposure.

About Benton Resources Inc.

Benton Resources is a well-financed mineral exploration company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BEX. Benton has a diversified, highly prospective property portfolio and holds large equity positions in other mining companies that are advancing high-quality assets. Whenever possible, Benton Resources retains NSR royalties with potential long-term cash flow.

Benton is focused on advancing its high-grade-copper-gold Great Burnt project in central Newfoundland, which has a mineral resource estimate of 667,000 tonnes at 3.21 per cent copper indicated and 482,000 tonnes at 2.35 per cent copper inferred. 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. Further potential for discovery is excellent given the extensive number of untested geophysical targets and copper-gold soil anomalies. Phase 1 and phase 2 drill programs returned impressive results, including 25.42 m of 5.51 per cent Cu, including 9.78 m of 8.31 per cent Cu, and 1.00 m of 12.70 per cent Cu. Drilling at the South Pond gold zone, approximately 7.5 kilometres north of the Great Burnt copper-gold zone, has confirmed a robust gold-mineralized system over 2.5 kilometres, with results of 74.20 m of 1.43 g/t Au and 43.75 m of 1.62 g/t Au, and the gold zone is open for expansion in all directions.

We seek Safe Harbor.