Benton Resources and Sokoman Minerals Commence Diamond Drilling Grey River JV Project, Southern Newfoundland Phase 1 Program Approximately 2,000 metres
Benton Resources and Sokoman Minerals
Commence Diamond Drilling Grey River JV
Project, Southern Newfoundland
Phase 1 Program Approximately 2,000 metres
Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 12, 2021) - Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX)
("Benton") and Sokoman Minerals Corp. ("Sokoman") (TSXV: SIC) (OTCQB: SICNF) (jointly "the
Alliance") are pleased to announce that Phase 1 diamond drilling has commenced at the Grey River JV
gold project (the "Project") on the south coast of Newfoundland. The Project is targeting high-grade gold
mineralization similar in style to the Pogo gold deposit in the Tintina Belt of Alaska.
Grey River Project: Proposed Oct 2021 Drilling on 1VD Airborne Mag & VLF
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The Project is centered on the community of Grey River, a deep-water, ice-free harbour on the south
coast of the Island of Newfoundland, 32 km to the east of the town of Burgeo, and 38 km southeast of the
Golden Hope JV gold project. The Alliance's claims straddle a deep-seated, east-west trending, ductile
shear zone that separates a large enclave of Late Precambrian amphibolite, gabbro, metasediments,
felsic metavolcanics and mafic orthogneisses from a batholith-scale, syn-kinematic suite of Siluro-
Devonian granitoid rocks. The east-west shear zone at Grey River, and parallel structures immediately
offshore, are fundamental crustal breaks along which metal-rich, mid- to late-Devonian granites were
emplaced, along the southern coast of the Island.
Rocks in this area of southwestern Newfoundland are unusually enriched in Au, Mo, Cu, W, F and Bi.
A 5
km- by 10 km-long area within, and adjoining the property, is particularly metal-rich, hosting:
1
.
multiple mesothermal/intrusion-related Au-rich (+/- Bi-Ag-Sb-Pb-Zn) quartz veins
2
.
a porphyry Mo-Cu deposit (Moly Brook)
3
.
a vein-type wolframite-rich W deposit (Grey River #10)
4
.
a diffusely bounded, high-purity, locally auriferous, silica deposit (Gulch Cove)
Each appears to be associated with features in the regional aero magnetics and are also reflected in
regional Government lake-sediment geochemistry coverage. The primary focus of the Alliance's
exploration is quartz-vein-hosted, structurally controlled / intrusion-related, high-grade Au (+/- Ag, Bi, Sb)
in both the granitic and adjacent metamorphic terrains.
Previous exploration at Grey River has identified gold mineralization in several settings:
1
.
in base-metal-rich and sulphide-poor, quartz veins and veinlets in the gneisses and related
metamorphic rocks, including regional-scale silica bodies
2
.
in quartz veins with coarse-grained sulphides in granite
3
.
in sulphide-poor, quartz stock-works in sericitized granite
4
.
in stockwork-style quartz and quartz-sulphide veinlets with or without pervasive silica replacement
in granite
Gold grades reported from historic grab and channel samples range from less than 1 g/t to more than
225 g/t Au, locally with 200-300 g/t Ag, with or without anomalous Bi, Sb and W. The 225 g/t Au chip
sample is from a 20-30 cm-wide zone of pyritic alteration immediately adjacent to an 8 km-long,
diffusely-bounded, quartz-rich zone. The highly anomalous value coincides with the large, elongated,
high-purity silica body (12M tonnes >95% SiO) which was drilled by the Newfoundland Government in
1967, as part of an Island-wide, silica-assessment program. The silica body lies in mica schists, along
the boundary with amphibolite gneisses and mica-schists, and along the flank of a prominent
aeromagnetic high. Its origin is unclear with past workers proposing different origins including meta-
quartzite, quartz vein, silica replacement.
The style, grades, setting and Au-Ag-Bi-W-Sb geochemical
signature of the gold mineralization, have drawn comparisons with the high-grade Pogo gold mine in the
Tintina Gold Belt of Alaska and Yukon which is gold in diffusely bounded quartz bodies in amphibolite
grade gneisses.
The Pogo mine has produced 3.9 million oz gold at 13.6 g/t gold (to end of 2019), with
Mineral Reserves of more than 7 million oz gold.
Tim Froude, President and CEO of Sokoman, says
: "We are very pleased to begin this program at
Grey River, which will be the first drilling program directed at the gold potential of the large quartz zones
or bodies in the eastern portion of the property. Historical sampling results include chip/channel samples
of 225 g/t Au, and widespread grab-sample values from less than detection to 3.8 g/t Au. None of the
gold enriched areas, which occur over an 8 km strike length of the silica body, have been drill tested. We
are focusing on areas of anomalous gold with 8 to 10 reconnaissance holes using data from the recently-
completed, high-resolution, magnetic/electromagnetic airborne survey that identified potential structures
correlating with the gold enriched areas."
Steve Stares, President and CEO of Benton, says: "
With the rapid pace in which the Alliance has
advanced the Grey River project to its inaugural drill program, I'm very excited to see what this large
silica system might hold as we carry out this first phase of drilling."
QP
This news release has been reviewed and approved by Timothy Froude, P. Geo., a "Qualified Person"
under National Instrument 43-101 and President and CEO of Sokoman Minerals Corp.
COVID-19 Protocols
To ensure a working environment that protects the health and safety of the staff and contractors,
Sokoman is operating under federally and provincially mandated and recommended guidelines during
the current COVID-19 alert level.
About Benton Resources Inc.
Benton Resources Inc. is a well-funded mineral exploration company listed on the TSX Venture
Exchange under the symbol BEX. Following a project generation business model, Benton has a
diversified, highly-prospective property portfolio in Gold, Silver, Nickel, Copper, and Platinum Group
Elements and currently holds large equity positions in other mining companies that are advancing high-
quality assets. Whenever possible, BEX retains Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalties for potential long-
term cash flow. Benton has also recently entered into a 50/50 strategic alliance with Sokoman Minerals
Corp. (TSXV: SIC) through three large-scale joint venture properties including Grey River, Golden Hope
and Kepenkeck in Newfoundland that are now being explored.
About Sokoman Minerals Corp.
Sokoman Minerals Corp. is a discovery-oriented company with projects in the province of Newfoundland
and Labrador, Canada. Sokoman's primary focus is its portfolio of gold projects; flagship, advanced-
stage Moosehead, Crippleback Lake (optioned to Trans Canada Gold Corp.) and East Alder (optioned
to Canterra Minerals Corporation) along the Central Newfoundland Gold Belt, and the district-scale Fleur
de Lys project in northwestern Newfoundland, that is targeting Dalradian-type orogenic gold
mineralization similar to the Curraghinalt and Cavanacaw deposits in Northern Ireland. Sokoman also
recently entered into a strategic alliance with Benton Resources Inc. through three, large-scale joint-
venture properties including Grey River, Golden Hope and Kepenkeck in Newfoundland.
Sokoman now controls, independently and through the Benton alliance, over 150,000 hectares (>6,000
claims - 1500 sq. km), making it one of the largest landholders in Newfoundland, in Canada's newest
and rapidly-emerging gold districts. The Company also retains an interest in an early-stage
antimony/gold project (Startrek) in Newfoundland, optioned to White Metal Resources Inc., and in
Labrador, the Company has a 100% interest in the Iron Horse (Fe) project which has Direct Shipping
Ore (DSO) potential.
Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of
mineralization hosted on Sokoman's property.
Sokoman would like to thank the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador for financial support of the
Fleur de Lys Project through the Junior Exploration Assistance Program.
To learn more, please contact:
Sokoman Minerals Corp.
Timothy Froude, P.Geo., President & CEO
Phone: 709-765-1726
Email:
CHF Capital Markets
Cathy Hume, Director, Investor Relations
Phone: 416-868-1079 x 251
Email:
Benton Resources Inc.
Stephen Stares, President & CEO
Phone: 807-475-7474
Email:
Website:
www.bentonresources.ca
,
www.sokomanmineralscorp.com
:
@BentonResources
,
@SokomanMinerals
:
@BentonResourcesBEX
,
@SokomanMinerals
LinkedIn:
@BentonResources
,
@SokomanMinerals
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this
release.
Investors are cautioned that trading in the securities of the Corporation should be considered
highly speculative. Except for historical information contained herein, this news release
contains forward- looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may
differ materially. Sokoman Minerals Corp. will not update these forward-looking statements to
reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. More detailed information about potential
factors that could affect financial results is included in the documents filed from time to time with
the Canadian securities regulatory authorities by Sokoman Minerals Corp.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/99368