Thunder Bay, Ontario — January 14, 2026 — Leads & Copy — Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX) has announced preliminary gold recovery results from its South Pond (SP) Gold-Copper Deposit, showing recoveries up to 88.4%.
Stephen Stares, President and CEO of Benton Resources, expressed satisfaction with the initial test results, noting they demonstrate outstanding recoveries for a first-pass evaluation of the SP Deposit. Stares is optimistic that further optimization and additional testing could improve recoveries even further.
The company collected a 20 kg composite sample from 16 drill holes throughout the South Pond Gold-Copper Deposit to develop an initial understanding of gold recoveries at the SP deposit using standard bottle-roll tests. The samples were shipped to SGS Canada Inc. in Lakefield, Ontario, for analysis, including sample preparation, head assay analysis, and standard cyanide leaching.
SGS performed three separate 24-hour recovery tests with varying criteria to determine gold recovery. The company noted that the metallurgical results are laboratory-scale only and should not be construed as supporting any mineral resource, reserve, or production estimates.
Previous operators on the project completed initial metallurgical grindability and floatation testwork in 2021 on the Great Burnt Copper Deposit (GBCD) at SGS Lakefield Laboratories. A 60-kilogram composite sample of mineralized core averaging 2.82% Cu was submitted for a series of seven tests. The average copper recovery of the seven tests completed was 94.7% while SGS concluded that “predicted plant performance would be the production of a 25% Cu concentrate at 96% recovery”. Since the time of this test Benton has expanded the GBCD from 650m to 950m strike length where it remains open.
Barry Sparkes (P.Geo.), Exploration Manager for Benton Resources Inc., a ‘Qualified Person’ under National Instrument 43-101, has approved the scientific and technical disclosure in this news release and prepared or supervised its preparation.
Core and rock samples, including standards, blanks and duplicates, are submitted to Eastern Analytical Ltd., Springdale, Newfoundland 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 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) @ 30g + ICP-34 method that delivers a 34-element package utilizing a 200 mg subsample totally dissolved in four acids and analyzed by ICP-OES analytical technique. Over limits are analysed with Eastern’s atomic absorption method, using a 0.200 g to 2.00 g of sample, digested with three acids. All reported assays are uncut. Eastern Analytical Ltd. achieved ISO 17025 accreditation in February 2014 (for more details on the scope of accreditation visit the CALA website). Grab samples are selective in nature and may not represent the average mineralization of a bedrock exposure.
Benton Resources is focused on advancing its high-grade Copper-Gold Great Burnt Project in central Newfoundland, which has an NI-43-101 compliant Mineral Resource estimate of 667,000 tonnes @ 3.21% Cu Indicated and 482,000 @ 2.35% Cu Inferred. The Project has an excellent geological setting, covering 25km of strike and boasts six known Cu-Au-Ag zones over 15km that are all open for expansion. Further potential for discovery is excellent given the extensive number of untested geophysical targets and Cu-Au soil anomalies. Phase 1 and 2 drill programs returned impressive results including 25.42 m of 5.51% Cu, including 9.78 m of 8.31% Cu, and 1.00 m of 12.70% Cu. Drilling at the South Pond Gold Zone, approximately 7.5 km north of the Great Burnt Copper-Gold Zone, has confirmed a robust gold-mineralized system over 2.5 km with results of 74.20 m of 1.43g/t Au and 43.75 m of 1.62g/t Au and is open for expansion in all directions.
Stephen Stares, President & CEO
Phone: 807-474-9020
Email: sstares@bentonresources.ca
Source: Benton Resources Inc.
