Benton Options Shebandowan North Property from Trillium North Minerals
January 12 2011 - 10:30AM
Marketwired
Benton Resources Corp. ("Benton" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE:
BTC) and Trillium North Minerals Ltd. ("Trillium") (TSX VENTURE:
TNM), a public company based in Toronto, Ontario have signed a
Letter of Intent ("LOI") which grants Benton the exclusive right to
earn up to 70% interest in 5 mineral claims totaling 27 units by
making various option payments and work commitments. Under the
terms set out in the LOI, Benton can earn an initial 50% interest
in the property by paying $80,000 in cash and 100,000 shares to
Trillium and completing $200,000 in exploration expenditures over 3
years. Benton can earn an additional 10% (taking its interest to
60%) by completing a further $200,000 in exploration expenditures
over a further 2 years and can earn an additional 10% (taking its
interest to 70%) by completing a further $600,000 in exploration
expenditures over a further 2 years.
The Shebandowan North property is located approximately 90 km
west of Thunder Bay, Ontario and adjoins Benton's newly acquired
100%-owned Shebandowan project located in the central portion of
the Shebandowan greenstone belt. Located less than 20 km along
strike to the west are the past producing Ardeen and Coldstream
gold deposits as well as the Moss Lake gold deposit. The Moss Lake
deposit hosts a NI 43-101 compliant resource of 56.1Mt grading 0.92
g/t gold containing approximately 1.51 million ounces of gold
(www.mosslakegold.com). The Coldstream deposit contains a historic
resource (non NI 43-101 compliant) of 5.1Mt grading 1.4 g/t gold
(www.altoventures.com). Approximately 20 km along strike to the
west of the North Shebandowan project sits the Swamp River /
Band-Ore gold deposit with a historic resource (non NI 43-101
compliant; Canadian Mines Handbook, 1998-99, p.63) of 998,000T
grading 0.12 oz/T gold (approximately 905,000t grading 4.11 g/t)
and the Vanguard Copper-Zinc-Gold deposit is situated only 4 km
along strike to the east (www.trilliumnorth.com). Historic base
metal production from the Shebandowan greenstone belt consisted of
8.7 million tons grading 2.07% nickel, 1% copper and approximately
3 g/t combined platinum group metals plus gold (www.nap.com) with
current measured and indicated resources (NI 43-101 compliant)
totaling 2.58 million tonnes grading 0.91% nickel, 0.62% copper,
1.09 g/t palladium, 0.34 g/t platinum, and 0.23 g/t gold (NAP NR,
October 25, 2007).
A till sampling survey covering the Shebandowan greenstone belt
was completed by the Ontario Geological Survey ("OGS") in 2002. The
survey identified a 5 km trend of samples containing high counts of
pristine gold grains taken on Benton's newly acquired ground. Other
OGS till sampling programs completed in northern Ontario have
identified similar areas of anomalous gold grain counts in the
samples which have led to significant gold discoveries. The recent
gold discovery by Northern Superior Resources Inc and Rainy River
Resources Ltd on their TKP joint venture in Northern Ontario and
the Rainy River deposit located near Emo, Ontario are two such
examples. In addition, historical prospecting has identified high
grade copper values with associated highly anomalous gold. Benton
has initiated an exploration program consisting of grid
establishment and ground geophysical surveys (magnetic and induced
polarization) to help define diamond drill targets.
President Stephen Stares comments, "This early stage project
demonstrates Benton's commitment to find inexpensive, early stage
properties to build value quickly for our shareholders. We believe
that this project is in a highly prospective area and through an
aggressive exploration program, we will be able to evaluate the
potential to discover economic mineralization on the property."
The Letter of Intent is subject to TSX Exchange approval.
Benton is a Canadian based junior with multiple joint ventures
and a diversified property portfolio in Gold, Nickel, Copper, and
Platinum group elements. The Company currently has approximately
$12.7 million in cash, owns approximately 55.37 million shares and
2.43 million warrants in Coro Mining Corp. (TSX: COP), holds
523,053 shares of Stillwater Mining Company (NYSE: SWC), holds
782,500 million shares in Marathon Gold Corp. (TSX: MOZ), holds 1.6
million shares in Puget Ventures (TSX VENTURE: PVS), holds 4
million shares of Mineral Mountain Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:
MMV), and holds 815,000 shares of Bell Copper Corporation (TSX
VENTURE: BCU).
Clinton Barr (P.Geo.), V.P. Exploration for Benton Resources
Corp., is the qualified person responsible for this release.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Benton Resources
Corp.,
Stephen Stares, President
Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to
the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that such
forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties.
THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Contacts: Benton Resources Corp. Stephen Stares (807) 475-7474
(807) 475-7200 (FAX) www.bentonresources.ca Investor Relations
Clair Calvert (204) 799-2086