Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX) is advancing the Great Burnt copper-gold project in central Newfoundland, in which it holds a 73.51% interest (deemed at 31 December 2025 after joint-venture partner Homeland Nickel stopped contributing). The project covers 25km of strike with six known copper-gold-silver zones, most still open; recent drilling confirmed a new VMS copper discovery at the End Zone and outlined a gold-copper horizon at the South Pond deposit. In July 2026 Benton agreed with privately held Silverback Metals Corp. to spin Great Burnt and other projects out into a new Silverback-led public company at a $15.0 million valuation, alongside a concurrent $10.0 million financing; Benton shareholders would hold 45% of the new company directly and Benton would keep 5% and a 1% royalty. The spin-out needs a shareholder vote (planned for about mid-October 2026), court approval and a TSX Venture listing. Benton also explores the Dominion gold-base metal project in Newfoundland, where channel sampling returned up to 30.53 g/t Au in September 2026.
Lifecycle Milestones
Jurisdiction (40%)9/10
Newfoundland and Labrador: Fraser PPI 2025 is 93.01 of 100 (rank 7 of 68), which maps to 9 on this site's scale. The Great Burnt project is in central Newfoundland, a Tier-1 Canadian mining jurisdiction.
Infrastructure (40%)No verified figure
Researched with nothing found: no source we could cite confirms or rules out an existing mill, road access, grid power, or tailings facility at Great Burnt Copper-Gold Project, Central Newfoundland, Canada (checked Sep 30, 2026; recheck due Mar 29, 2027). Counts at a neutral 5/10 until one does.
Nearby producing mine (20%)Not yet researched
No project coordinates on file yet, so distance to a producing mine can't be measured.
Acquisition Susceptibility
A relative ranking of how closely this company matches the profile of juniors that have actually been acquired — not a probability, and not a reason to buy. Acquisitions are rare: only a few dozen significant deals happen a year across a universe of thousands of juniors, so even a high score here describes a long shot. The strongest signal in the research, a producer that already owns part of the company, is scored from its disclosed strategic shareholders. A producer that is a joint-venture or earn-in partner on the project, rather than a shareholder, isn't captured yet.
How this score is built
- Disclosed pending dealSub-score: Not scored
A disclosed corporate action (not an acquisition or merger)
A corporate action of this kind says nothing about takeover susceptibility, so it isn't scored.
Weight 26.25% - Producer's strategic stakeSub-score: Not scored
No producer holds a disclosed stake on file (holder register researched) See holders
Not scored: most juniors that do get bought had no prior toehold, so a missing stake says little either way.
Weight 25% - Distance to a producing mineSub-score: Not yet researched
Distance not yet researched: no project coordinates on file
Distance can't be measured without coordinates, so excluded rather than counted as far.
Weight 22.5% - Lifecycle stageSub-score:3.5/10
Stage: Resource Definition
Feasibility and permitting score 10, where deals cluster, and production 5.5; earlier stages score less, down to 1 at grassroots.
Weight 15% · 57% here - JurisdictionSub-score:9/10
Canada: jurisdiction score 9/10
Our jurisdiction score, used as is: higher means lower political and permitting risk.
Weight 6.75% · 26% here - CommoditySub-score:8/10
Primary commodity: Copper
Gold 10, copper 8, silver 5, nickel and uranium 4, others 2: most majors' deals are for gold.
Weight 4.5% · 17% here
Weight is each input's share of the full score. “Here” is its share of this company's score: inputs that aren't scored are left out and the rest re-weighted, never counted as zero.
Your Rankings
Management Team
President, CEO & Director of Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX). 32+ years in mineral exploration; began career with Noranda Exploration on Hemlo and Geco. Operated Stares Contracting Corp. (Thunder Bay) for a decade before co-founding Benton Resources in 2004. Launched several TSX Venture companies including Clean Air Metals. He and his family received the PDAC Bill Dennis Award in 2007. Source: bentonresources.ca (leadership section).
VP, Exploration of Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX). P.Geo (PEGNL); B.Sc. Geology, Memorial University of Newfoundland (1994). 25+ years in gold and base-metal exploration across Canada and the USA with junior and senior exploration firms. Source: bentonresources.ca.
CFO of Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX, since the company's 2012 founding). CPA, CA; Honours B.Comm, Lakehead University. Previously CFO/controller at Alset Energy Corp. and Metals Creek Resources Corp.; 7+ years in public accounting, earned CA designation at Ernst & Young LLP (2002). Source: bentonresources.ca.
Exploration Manager of Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX). P.Geo; B.Sc. (Hons) Geology, Memorial University of Newfoundland (2004); Mineral Technology diploma, College of the North Atlantic (1996). 25+ years across gold, base metals, uranium, PGEs and industrial minerals, with regulatory/permitting expertise. Source: bentonresources.ca.
Director of Metals Creek Resources Corp.; also a director of Benton Resources Inc. 30+ years of prospecting experience, including 8 years with Noranda Exploration. Co-owner of Stares Contracting Corp.; co-recipient of the "Bill Dennis Prospector of the Year" Award (2007).
Director of Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX). CPA, CA; Partner at MNP in Thunder Bay. 30 years in assurance, tax and business advisory serving First Nations, nonprofits, professionals and resource companies; CA earned 1984 following a B.Admin, Lakehead University; held leadership roles including Treasurer at the George Jeffrey Children's Treatment Centre. Source: bentonresources.ca.
Director of Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX); also President of Pirate Gold Corp. P.Geo; Memorial University of Newfoundland graduate; 30+ years in mineral exploration, nearly a decade with Inco Ltd. on North American and international projects, contributing to the Bobby's Pond deposit discovery. Led the Valentine Lake gold deposit discovery now advanced by Marathon Gold; held VP Exploration roles at Cornerstone Resources, Crosshair Exploration and Golden Dory Resources. Currently President and CEO of Sokoman Minerals Corp./Pirate Gold Corp.
Director of Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX). P.Geo; geologist and mineral-exploration consultant with 50 years in the mineral industry. Held senior positions at Excellon Resources, Noranda, Watts Griffis and McQuat, and Hudson Bay Mining; directed major precious/base-metal exploration programs and managed field offices across Canada, the US, Europe, Africa and Latin America (particularly Mexico and Chile). Source: bentonresources.ca.
Legal Counsel / Corporate Secretary of Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX); also Corporate Secretary of Silver Valley Metals Corp. University of British Columbia law graduate (1979, LLB); practicing Vancouver solicitor since, specialising in resource and securities law. Director or officer at publicly-traded companies including Asanko Gold, Auryn Resources Corp., Coro Mining Corp., Canada Rare Earth Corp. and Sokoman Minerals Corp.
Insiders, Investors & Smart Money
Notable shareholders and insiders whose involvement is worth knowing about, plus what we're seeing from institutional/large-investor activity.
No smart-money tracking (institutional/large-investor activity) for this miner yet — this is a planned feature, not live data.
No notable insiders tracked for this miner yet.
Reports, Presentations & Documents
Benton Resources is advancing the Great Burnt copper-gold project in central Newfoundland, in which it holds a 73.51% interest after joint-venture partner Homeland Nickel stopped contributing. The project's resource is 24,131 t of copper indicated, with no measured category, plus 12,882 t inferred, and it covers 25km of strike with six known copper-gold-silver zones, most still open. In July 2026 Benton agreed with Silverback Metals to spin Great Burnt and other projects out into a new public company at a $15.0 million valuation alongside a $10.0 million financing, a deal that needs a shareholder vote planned for about mid-October 2026, court approval and a TSX Venture listing. Benton also explores the Dominion gold-base metal project in Newfoundland, where channel sampling returned up to 30.53 g/t gold in September 2026.