Benz Mining Corp. provided an update on exploration activities in the Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt, located in the James Bay area of Quebec. Dahrouge Geological Consultants and Major Drilling, the two contracting groups selected by Benz to conduct the 2023 diamond drilling campaign in the Company's Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt projects, have mobilised to the Eastmain Camp and drilling has commenced.

The objective of the diamond drilling campaign is to follow up previous gold intersections and to expand the resources at the E Zone and D Zone prospects. Drilling is also planned to commence in March 2023 at the Julien and Michel prospects, following up on previous positive drill results. The first drillhole for the 2023 winter exploration campaign targets extensions to the newly discovered E Zone at the Eastmain gold project.

E Zone is a substantial virgin gold discovery made by Benz by testing electromagnetic targets, both ground and down-hole electromagnetic survey (DHEM). A helicopter portable drill rig is scheduled to mobilise in February to drill critical minerals targets. The first target to be drilled will be a large induced polarisation (IP) anomaly located at Ruby Hill West, coincident with soils geochemical anomalies including lithium, nickel and copper.

This area is completely under shallow cover so no surface outcrop is exposed making it an extremely exciting target given the circa 4km long Li, Cs, Ta soil anomaly wrapping around a magnetic intrusive body. Benz is also waiting for multielement analysis of multiple surface samples of pegmatites collected in 2022. Results from those rock chips samples will guide the future drilling programs at the Ruby Hill West prospect commencing after the snow melts, with soil and till surficial geochemical surveys and further prospecting along the pegmatite trend.

The initial area to target will follow up on Benz's successful maiden program which intersected multiple spodumene bearing pegmatites with best intercept being 30m at 0.9% Li2O from 2.6m depth in an area that hasn't been explored previously. The E Zone prospect is located 3km to the SE of the Mine portal and 1km to the SE of the D Zone prospect. E Zone is a virgin discovery made by Benz under glacial cover following electromagnetics targeting in 2020.

To date, Benz has drilled 33 holes into E Zone with 11 of those holes returning assays of over 8.0g/t gold. Gold has been intersected in wide spaced drilling in an area that measures 700m by 600m from surface down to 350m vertical depth and is still open at all sides. Benz has followed mineralisation all the way to subsurface with the shallowest mineralised horizon intercepted in drillhole EM21-234 with 1.6m at 2.9g/t from 4.4m.

At E Zone, mineralisation occurs in several settings. A strongly deformed and altered horizon mostly located at the contact of the volcanosedimentary sequence and a deformed altered tonalite intrusion structurally interpreted as sitting in the hanging wall of the Mine horizon. This horizon is strongly altered in biotite, sericite and carbonate and is cut by sulphide and quartz veins.

Garnet porphyroblast are observed as well, sulphides are mostly pyrrhotite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite with rare molybdenite. Visible gold has been observed in this setting in several holes associated with quartz veins. Strongly sericite, albite and carbonate altered and locally deformed tonalite with quartz, carbonate and tourmaline veins and veinlets.

Pyrite, sphalerite and locally arsenopyrite (with pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite) are observed in association with quartz veins. Visible gold has been observed in several holes in this setting. This tonalite intrusion has a variable thickness over the area, dips parallel to foliation (45 dg to the NE) and seems to pinch out to the west.

Th company have identified it over an area of 700 m by 500m. Monzonite and quartz diorite were observed in the margins of this intrusion. Gold mineralisation can be found associated with shears and quartz - albite veins throughout the intrusion but more abundantly in the upper half and closer to the sheared contact with the volcanic sequence.