Benton and Metals Creek Commence Hydrogen-Helium Soil Gas Sampling at Smoking Gun and Parson's Pond in Newfoundland
Benton begins hydrogen and helium soil gas sampling across two prospective basins in Newfoundland.
Benton Resources Inc. and partner Metals Creek Resources Corp. have commenced large-scale regional soil gas sampling programs at their Parson's Pond and Smoking Gun Hydrogen-Helium projects in Newfoundland. The field program will collect approximately 650 to 750 samples over a 2 to 3-week period. Samples will be analyzed for hydrogen, helium, neon, CO2, and hydrocarbons by Rudiger Re-Chem using state-of-the-art Gas Chromatographs.
The survey methodology utilizes cordless rotary drills to drive stainless steel probes to approximately 1 meter depth, evacuating vials to 20 pascals to prevent contamination and avoid hydrogen artifacts. This release serves as the operational execution of the June 23, 2026 announcement regarding the hiring of Rudy Willick and the expansion of the hydrogen/helium land package.
The Smoking Gun Project (Deer Lake Basin) contains historical drill holes showing highly anomalous helium values up to 8,900 ppb and a hole that sustained high-pressure gas flow for over 12 months. The Parson's Pond Property sits on a favorable basin underlain by thrust-faulted rocks, with historical methane hits up to 72% and surface gas vents noted.
Benton Resources Inc. (BEX) has commenced a soil gas sampling program, a direct follow-up to previously announced exploration plans. The technical approach is standard for early-stage natural hydrogen and helium exploration, focusing on geochemical sampling to identify prospective zones for future drilling.
No new financial terms, valuation changes, or material resource updates were disclosed. The market was already aware of the planned sampling program and the partnership with Metals Creek.
Benton Resources Inc. is a junior mineral exploration company focused on Newfoundland, Canada. Its flagship Great Burnt copper-gold project holds a NI 43-101 resource of 667,000 tonnes at 3.21% Cu (Indicated) and 482,000 tonnes at 2.35% Cu (Inferred). The company has also delineated the South Pond gold-copper zone with wide intercepts.
Management is actively diversifying into the emerging natural hydrogen and helium sector through a 50/50 joint venture with Metals Creek Resources Corp. Benton is executing a spinout of the Great Burnt project into a new public entity, Silverback Metals Corp., to unlock value and attract dedicated capital for the copper-gold asset.