Nov 2 2016
Benton Resources Inc. ("Benton" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") to enter into an option agreement (the "Option") with Traxxin Resources ("Traxxin"), a privately owned company, to acquire a 100% interest in their Bedivere Property located 130km west of Thunder Bay, Ontario and 18km north of Highway 11/17 accessible by new logging roads in the area.
Recent prospecting by Traxxin resulted in a new high grade gold discovery where surface grab samples have returned assays ranging from trace up to 1281gpt gold (41 ounces), some of which contain impressive visible gold (see Company website for photos). These samples were taken from the Traxxin occurrence in a small pit that was dug on the west side of a large quartz vein system that ranges from 4m to at least 20m wide before being lost under shallow overburden. The Traxxin occurrence has been traced on surface for 250m. Benton completed limited due diligence surface sampling along the 250m long partially exposed quartz system and confirmed the presence of highly anomalous gold from trace to 2.5gpt gold. In addition the Company had previously identified gold in surface sampling 1.5km to the southwest along the same structure which graded from trace up to 3.4gpt gold indicating that the system could potentially have a substantial strike length. The new gold zone sits in the Marmion batholith and lies on a major northeast structural splay similar to that of the multi-million ounce Hammond Reef deposit (NI 43-101 Global M&I Resource: 196.4 Mt @ 0.86gpt Au, NI 43-101 Global Inferred Resource: 75.7 Mt @ 0.72gpt Au; currently owned by Yamana Gold and Agnico Eagle), lying parallel to the west in of the Traxxin discovery, also lying in the Marmion batholith. Recent government sampling from the Traxxin Zone also confirmed high grades up to 115gpt gold (3.7 ounces) and previous lake sediment sampling performed by the Ontario Geological Survey (Dyer, R.D. 1999. Lake Sediment and Water Geochemical Data from the Atikokan-Lumby Lake Area; Northwestern Ontario. Ontario Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Release - Data 43) exhibits some of the highest grades of gold in the survey sitting along the same structure which also hosts the Sandy Lake occurrence where grades of up to 1.57gpt gold in selective grab samples have been obtained. The structure is completely untested with diamond drilling and has seen little historical exploration despite the 4km of intermittent gold mineralization.
Under the terms of the Option and subject to regulatory approval, Benton can earn a 100% interest in the Property which consists of 109 units in 12 claims by paying to Traxxin $450,000 and issuing 3,000,000 shares over a four year period on the following schedule:
- $45,000 and 300,000 Company common shares on signing the LOI;
- $85,000 and 600,000 Company common shares on first anniversary of signing the LOI;
- $95,000 and 600,000 Company common shares on second anniversary of signing the LOI
- $100,000 and 600,000 Company common shares on third anniversary of signing the LOI, and;
- $125,000 and 900,000 Company common shares on fourth anniversary of signing the LOI
The Property will be subject to a 3% NSR royalty in favour of Traxxin of which 1% 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 LOI. The Company will also grant to Traxxin a 1% NSR on surrounding ground staked by the Company as long as the Company or any of its affiliates holds an interest in the optioned claims.
Stephen Stares, Company President and CEO stated, "Our team is extremely pleased to have executed an agreement on such a prospective new high grade gold discovery with many specimens containing impressive visible gold. Benton will commence systematic exploration work immediately and will initiate permitting for trenching and diamond drilling as soon as possible."