Benchmark's Fully-Funded 2020 Gold-Silver Exploration Program Targets New Discoveries and a New Mineral Resource Estimate

Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 7, 2020) - Benchmark Metals Inc. (TSXV: BNCH) (OTCQB: CYRTF) (WKN: A2JM2X) (the "Company" or "Benchmark") - is pleased to announce plans for its 2020 exploration program on the Lawyers Project in the Golden Horseshoe of British Columbia. The company is planning an expanded exploration program, including up to 50,000 metres of expansion and definition drilling that will result in a new NI43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate. The Program will commence in the early Spring and will continue into fall 2020. Multiple large drill defined Au-Ag zones, within an extensive 10km² alteration zone at the heart of the Lawyers Project, will be tested by 4-5 drill rigs.

John Williamson, CEO commented, "Benchmark has planned an aggressive exploration program to accelerate the definition and growth of new and existing gold-silver zones at its road-accessible project. The expanded scope of work for the 2020 exploration program has been designed to advance numerous exploration targets and expand and categorize existing drill defined exploration targets into NI 43-101 resources. In parallel the company is working towards defining economic parameters, collecting baseline environmental data, geotechnical data and expanding metallurgical studies in anticipation of a future preliminary economic assessment."

Program Highlights:

• Up to 50,000 metres of drilling (2 RC drill rigs and 2-3 diamond drill rigs);
• Induced Polarization (IP) and Magnetotellurics (MT) geophysical survey;
• Ground magnetics/VLF at multiple zones;
• Detailed bedrock, alteration, and structural mapping;
• Extensive soil and rock sampling across new exploration targets;
• Advancing 6+ tertiary targets for new discovery potential;
• Advancing Cu-Au porphyry target areas;
• Metallurgical work is ongoing;
• Commencing geotechnical data collection;
• Baseline environmental data collection.

Drilling will focus on confirming and expanding the drill defined Cliff Creek, Amethyst Gold Breccia (AGB), Duke's Ridge and Phoenix zones. All zones have gold-silver mineralization outcropping at surface and remain open in all directions. The zones range from 500 metres (m) to 1.2 kilometres (km) strike length, +300 m widths and depths to +300 m. Cliff Creek is the most advanced target with a drill-defined, bulk-tonnage Exploration Target of 1,682,000 ounces gold equivalent (AuEq) up to 1,923,000 ounces AuEq with an average grade ranging from 1.71 grams per tonne (g/t) AuEq up to 1.73 g/t AuEq utilizing a 0.5 g/t gold cutoff (Feb. 28, 2020 news). The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target are conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource.

Benchmark will execute an expanded scope of work for the fully-funded, 2020 exploration program. The program will focus on the definition and expansion of key exploration target areas within a 10km² radiometric anomaly, including exploration drilling at new or previously untested occurrences. Cliff Creek will see drilling along its entire 1.2 km current strike length, as well as north and south of the currently defined mineralization.

The Duke's Ridge-Phoenix trend will also see extensive drilling along its strike extent including the possible connector zone to Cliff Creek. Drilling at AGB will follow-up on excellent results from 2019 north and south of the historically mined areas and down-dip of the known mineralization. Additionally, high-priority drill targets have been defined to test the newly discovered Marmot East zone within the larger Marmot zone. The structure, mineralization, and alteration relationships at the Marmot zones are consistent with other zones on the Lawyers Trend.

Early stage grassroots exploration is planned for the Round Mountain and E-Grid areas north and west of the Cliff Creek where additional positive radiometric anomalies exist.

Figure 1: Plan view map of exploration target areas over radiometric anomalies.
To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6169/54222_e0991dbf84fa38db_001full.jpg

The Silver Pond Clay (SPC) and Black Lake porphyry copper-gold targets will also be explored, including drilling at SPC where clay mineralogy zonation indicates a potential porphyry source/target within 1 km of Cliff Creek. This potential porphyry target is underlain by a circular magnetic anomaly modeled from the 2018 VTEM airborne geophysical survey. The Black Lake porphyry target is defined by a large copper-in-soil anomaly and prospective stratigraphy (Stuhini-Toodogoone contact) coupled with the Black Lake Intrusive Suite which hosts part of the Kemess deposits.

Quality Assurance and Control

Results from samples were analyzed at ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Vancouver, Canada (an ISO 9001:2008 accredited facility). The sampling program was undertaken by Company personnel under the direction of Rob L'Heureux, P.Geol. A secure chain of custody is maintained in transporting and storing of all samples. Gold was assayed using a fire assay with atomic emission spectrometry and gravimetric finish when required (+10 g/t Au). Analysis by four acid digestion with 48 element ICP-MS analysis was conducted on all samples with silver and base metal over-limits being re-analyzed by atomic absorption or emission spectrometry. Rock chip samples from outcrop/bedrock are selective by nature and may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on the project.

It should be noted that the Cliff Creek Exploration Target has not been optimized or pit constrained and may include ounces that have been mined. In addition, further drilling is planned in 2020 in order to mitigate the effects of the unsampled historic intervals that intersect the Cliff Creek mineralization solids and to provide material for critical metallurgical studies that are currently ongoing. The potential quantity and grade of the exploration target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the exploration target being delineated as a mineral resource.

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Dufresne,
M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Benchmark Metals Inc.

Benchmark is a Canadian mineral exploration company with its common shares listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada, the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States, and the Tradegate Exchange in Europe. Benchmark is managed by proven resource sector professionals, who have a track record of advancing exploration projects from grassroots scenarios through to production.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

s/ "John Williamson"
John Williamson, Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Jim Greig
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +1 604 260 6977

NEITHER 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.

This news release may contain certain "forward looking statements". Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this news release and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.

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