Mr. Stephen Stares of Benton reports

BENTON AND METALS CREEK COMPLETE HYDROGEN-HELIUM SOIL GAS SAMPLING AT SMOKING GUN AND PARSON'S POND IN NEWFOUNDLAND, ACQUIRE ADDITIONAL CLAIMS

Benton Resources Inc. and Metals Creek Resources Corp. have entered into a purchase agreement with G2B Gold, an arm's-length party, whereby the companies will jointly acquire a 100-per-cent interest in two mineral licences encompassing 30 claim units in the Deer Lake basin and Parson's Pond area, subject to 2-per-cent net smelter royalty (NSR) to G2B, on the basis of 50-per-cent ownership to each of Benton and Metals Creek. No finders' fees are to be paid pursuant to this acquisition.

Purchase agreement terms

The companies can acquire 100 per cent (50 per cent Benton and 50 per cent Metals Creek) of G2B's interest in the properties in consideration of:

• The issuance to G2B of 120,000 common shares of Metals Creek and 82,500 common shares of Benton on the closing date which shall be five business days after the date the companies receive regulatory approval for the purchase agreement;
• A 2-per-cent NSR on the properties shall be retained by G2B and the companies will have the right, at any time, to purchase one-half of the NSR (that is, 1 per cent) by collectively paying $1-million to G2B.

In addition, Benton has entered into a separate agreement with G2B to purchase a 100-per-cent interest in one mineral licence, 040650M, consisting of four claim units, by issuing to G2B 17,500 common shares of Benton on the closing date which shall be five business days after Benton receives regulatory approval for the purchase. G2B will retain a 2-per-cent NSR on the mineral licence with Benton having the right, at any time, to purchase one-half of the NSR (that is, 1 per cent) by paying $1-million to G2B. The strategic mineral licence ties directly onto the company's Dominion copper-gold-zinc project in Newfoundland.

Both agreements remain subject to TSX Venture Exchange approvals.

In addition, the companies are pleased to announce the completion of two large-scale regional soil gas sampling programs at Parson's Pond and Smoking Gun hydrogen-helium projects. Rudy Willick of Rudiger ReChem and his team from Neuanlage, Sask., have collected over 700 samples which have been sent back to his Saskatchewan laboratory for analysis. Results are expected in the next two weeks and will be reported once received and compiled. The companies will plan an inaugural program to test favourable targets for hydrogen and helium.

Deer Lake basin property

The Smoking Gun project contains the Mills No. 1 drill hole in the southwest, in addition to the Claybar No. 3 drill hole to the northeast. The companies are excited about this new acquisition, as recent research from historical data have revealed highly anomalous helium with values up to 8,900 parts per billion (ppb) (see Table 1) in water collected from a historic drill hole (79-67). This hole is located approximately 11.8 kilometres from a drill hole (Mills No. 1) that encountered high pressure gas that flowed for a minimum of 12 months in a basin prospective for uranium-thorium. In addition, several mentions of gas are noted in Claybar No. 3, located 32 km to the NE of drill hole 79-67. These three holes potentially indicates an expansive system with favourable geological conditions for the generation and entrapment of gas.

Parson's Pond property

At Parson's Pond, the companies large land position covers a faverable large basin where research confirmed the presence of gas in several historical drill logs located 14.2 kilometres apart, significant gas hits observed C1 methane gas levels reaching 72 per cent. The area is underlain by thrust faulted rocks of the Humber Arm supergroup. Drill logs indicate unique sedimentary units composed of shales along with sandstones, containing fragments of serpentine and chrome. Of particular interest is the presence of the mineral glauconite, which, combined with these geological indicators, suggests a highly prospective environment for white hydrogen (natural hydrogen) to form within the basin. The presence of such high concentrations of methane alongside hydrogen indicators suggests a potentially active gas system within the basin. In addition, surface areas have been noted to vent gas within the project boundaries.

Survey parameters

The geochemical survey program begins with the preparation of sample vials and replacing the septa in the probes. The vials are evacuated to an absolute pressure of 20 pascals so that a sample extracted by a syringe is not contaminated with residual ambient air. A cordless rotary drill is used to drive a hollow probe of stainless steel to an average depth of about one metre to avoid barometric pumping which can affect gas concentrations in soil. Once the probe is purged of ambient air, a 30 cc sample is extracted and injected through the septum of a 12 cc vial. Other operations at the sampling site are the recording of co-ordinates by GPS and recording of sample numbers on the box cover. To avoid Hydrogen Artefacts in analysis, Rudiger Re-Chem utilizes a proprietary probe as well as detailed field notes for soil-gas surveys. The samples are shipped to Rudiger Re-Chem's lab in Saskatoon for analysis by a state-of-the-art gas chromatograph.

Hydrogen and helium demand

Hydrogen and helium have seen a significant increase in demand, with more expected in the future. Hydrogen is used as a fuel and a chemical building block, it helps create fertilizer for food, refines the gasoline in your car, and is increasingly being used to power clean trucks and ships as well as fuel for rocket propulsion for the launching of satellites. Helium is the world's ultimate cooler; its super-cold properties are essential for keeping MRI machines running and making the computer chips found in your phone and laptop. Artificial-intelligence-driven chip manufacturing is the primary growth engine for helium. Helium keeps our most advanced technology and medical equipment functioning.

In the neighbouring province of Nova Scotia, companies such as Quebec Innovative Metals Corp. are having success in the search for natural hydrogen. This success has generated further exploration in similar geological environments to that of the projects mentioned above.

Please note that the presence of gas or methane on these staked projects or gas discovered on adjacent properties does not guarantee the presence of hydrogen or helium. Further studies are required to validate their presence.

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 retains net smelter return (NSR) royalties with potential long-term cash flow.

Benton will focused its efforts on advancing its Dominion copper-zinc-gold project, Victoria West gold project, Stoney Caldera copper-gold project and its various hydrogen-helium projects on the west coast of Newfoundland.

We seek Safe Harbor.