Metals Creek and Benton hire Rudy Willick for hydrogen-helium sampling at Smoking Gun and Parson's Pond

Thunder Bay, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 23, 2026) - Metals Creek Resources Corp. (TSXV: MEK) (OTC Pink: MCREF) (FSE: M1C1) (the "Companies" or "Metals Creek") and Benton Resources Inc. (TSXV: BEX) (the "Companies" or "Benton") are pleased to announce they have hired Rudy Willick of Rudiger Re-Chem from Neuanlage, Saskatchewan to complete two large regional scale Soil Gas Sampling programs at Parson's Pond and Smoking Gun Hydrogen-Helium projects. Rudy is a well-known scientist in the Hydrogen-Helium space, having completed significant targeting for such companies as Max Power Mining Corp. The soil sampling program will commence in mid to late July, and is expected to take 2 to 3 weeks to finalize the field portion of the service. After all samples are collected, Rudiger Re-Chem will analyze all sample vials for Hydrogen, Helium, Neon, CO2, and C1-C4 Hydrocarbons.

All final data and a summary report will be supplied to the companies. Deer Lake Basin Property Acquisition The Smoking Gun Project contains the Mills No.1 drill hole in the Southwest in addition to the Claybar No. 3 drill hole (Figure 1) to the NE. The Companies are excited about this new acquisition, as recent research from historical data has revealed highly anomalous helium with values up to 8,900 parts per billion (ppb) (see Table 1) in water collected from a historic drill hole (79-67).

This hole is located approximately 11.8 km from a drill hole (Mills No. 1) that encountered high pressure gas that flowed for a minimum of 12 months in a basin prospective for uranium-thorium. In addition, several mentions of gas are noted in Claybar No. 3, located 32 km to the NE of drill hole 79-67. Ref:  https://gis.gov.nl.ca/mods/ModsCard.asp?NMINOString?temp=n&NMINOString=012H/03/Btm002 Hole 79-67 is located 11.8 km northeast of hole Mills No.1, which produced high pressure gas (see Figure 1).

With the presence of high-pressure gas in hole Mills No. 1 and highly anomalous helium from water samples in Hole 79-67, this potentially indicates an expansive system with favorable geological conditions for the generation and entrapment of gas. Parson's Pond Property Acquisition At Parson's Pond, the Companies large land position covers a favorable large basin (see Figure 2) where research confirmed the presence of gas in several historical drill logs located 14.2 km apart, significant gas hits observed C1 methane gas levels reaching 72%. The area is underlain by thrust faulted rocks of the Humber Arm Supergroup.

Drill logs indicate unique sedimentary units composed of shales along with sandstones, containing fragments of serpentine and chrome. Of particular interest is the presence of the mineral glauconite, which, combined with these geological indicators, suggests a highly prospective environment for white hydrogen (natural hydrogen) to form within the basin. The presence of such high concentrations of methane alongside hydrogen indicators suggests a potentially active gas system within the basin.

In addition, surface areas have been noted to vent gas within the project boundaries (Ref. NALCOR ENERGY - OIL AND GAS INC FINAL WELL REPORT For Nalcor Energy et al SEAMUS #1 https://www.gov.nl.ca/em/files/publications-energy-nalcorseamusfwr.pdf and NALCOR ENERGY - OIL AND GAS INC FINAL WELL REPORT For Nalcor Energy et al Finnegan #1 https://www.gov.nl.ca/em/files/FinniganFWR.pdf ). The Companies hired Neil Pendock to conduct early target identification using hyperspectral satellite imagery identifying hot spots for testing Hydrogen and Helium.

A detailed evaluation of the Seamus and Finnegan wells show potential leakage of both gases near the historical well heads. Neil Pendock stated, "New exploration data confirms significant natural Hydrogen and Helium systems in Western Newfoundland." An integrated re-evaluation of advanced satellite imagery and legacy drill data has confirmed highly anomalous concentrations of natural "white" hydrogen (H 2 ) and helium (He) across the Parson's Pond area of western Newfoundland. The findings mark a major milestone for the province's emerging unconventional and clean energy sector.

The target identification program utilizes high-resolution Sentinel-2 spectral endmember mapping calibrated against legacy physical assets, notably the Seamus #1 and Finnegan #1 wells. Key Findings From the Well Analyses: Seamus #1 Well: Originally drilled as a deviated wildcat to 3,160 meters, historical logs confirm this stratigraphic test intersected a highly active gas plumbing system. Modern geochemical processing shows that Seamus is highly anomalous in H 2 , CO 2 , and CH 4 .

The hydrogen signature at Seamus is particularly intense, soaring over ten times higher than regional background levels. Finnegan #1 Well: Located within the same thrust-faulted complex, Finnegan exhibits a distinct, high-value noble gas and clean energy profile, measuring highly anomalous in He and H 2 . Finnegan’s hydrogen concentrations exceed background baselines by more than threefold, paired with a distinct helium signature that suggests deep-seated basement fault connectivity.

A Multi-Gas Frontier While western Newfoundland has long been recognized for its classic thermogenic methane (CH 4 ) "shows" and source rocks like the Green Point Shale, this new data shifts the spotlight toward non-hydrocarbon, high-value gas exploration. The structural architecture of the Parson's Pond area—where allochthonous sedimentary sequences are thrust over deep carbonate platforms—serves as the ideal geological engine for generating natural hydrogen through serpentinization. Simultaneously, deep conduit faults are successfully tapping into the Precambrian basement to channel helium toward the surface.

Figure 1: Smoking Gun Project Location Map To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/943/302526_b7b448af94977acc_002full.jpg Figure 2: Parson's Pond Project Location Map  To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/943/302526_b7b448af94977acc_003full.jpg Survey Parameters The geochemical survey program begins with the preparation of sample vials and replacing the septa in the probes. The vials are evacuated to an absolute pressure of 20 pascals so that a sample extracted by a syringe is not contaminated with residual ambient air. A cordless rotary drill is used to drive a hollow probe of stainless steel to an average depth of about 1 meter to avoid barometric pumping which can affect gas concentrations in soil.

Once the probe is purged of ambient air a 30cc sample is extracted and injected through the septum of a 12cc vial. Other operations at the sampling site are the recording of coordinates by GPS and recording of sample numbers on the box cover. To avoid Hydrogen Artefacts in analysis, Rudiger Re-Chem utilizes a proprietary probe as well as detailed field notes for soil-gas surveys.

The samples are shipped to Rudiger Re-Chem's lab in Saskatoon for analysis by a state-of the art Gas Chromatographs. Hydrogen and Helium Demand Hydrogen and helium have seen a significant increase in demand, with more expected in the future. Hydrogen is used as a fuel and a chemical building block, it helps create fertilizer for food, refines the gasoline in your car, and is increasingly being used to power clean trucks and ships as well as fuel for rocket propulsion for the launching of satellites.

Helium is the world's ultimate cooler; its super-cold properties are essential for keeping MRI machines running and making the computer chips found in your phone and laptop. AI-driven chip manufacturing is the primary growth engine for helium. Helium keeps our most advanced technology and medical equipment functioning.

In the neighboring province of Nova Scotia, companies such as Quebec Innovative Metals Corp are having success in the search for Natural Hydrogen. This success has generated further exploration in similar geological environments to that of the projects mentioned above. Please note that the presence of gas or methane on these staked projects or gas discovered on adjacent properties does not guarantee the presence of hydrogen or helium.

Further studies are required to validate their presence. About Metals Creek Resources Corp. Metals Creek Resources Corp. is a junior exploration company incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario, is a reporting issuer in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, and has its common shares listed for trading on the Exchange under the symbol "MEK". Metals Creek has earned a 50% interest in the Ogden Gold Property including the former Naybob Gold mine, located 6 km south of Timmins, Ontario and has an 8 km strike length of the prolific Porcupine-Destor Fault (P-DF).

Metals Creek has also jointly acquired through staking on a 50/50 basis with Benton Resources, potential natural white hydrogen projects in Newfoundland. The Smoking Gun Prospect was selected after research uncovered highly anomalous helium with values up to 8,900 parts per billion (ppb) in water collected from an historic drill hole. These licenses are located within the Deer Lake Basin, which is thought to be a prospective environment for the presence Helium (He) and Natural (White) Hydrogen (H₂) .

At Parson's Pond , research of historical drill logs in two holes 14.2 km apart, have observed C1 methane gas levels reaching 72%. The area is underlain by thrust faulted rocks of the Humber Arm Supergroup. Drill logs indicate unique sedimentary units composed of shales along with sandstones containing fragments of serpentine and chrome .

Of particular interest, is the presence of the mineral glauconite , which, combined with these geological indicators, suggests a highly prospective environment for the potential formation of white hydrogen, (natural hydrogen) to form within the basin. The presence of such high concentrations of methane alongside hydrogen indicators suggests a potentially active gas system within the basin. In addition, surface areas have been noted to vent gas within the project boundaries.

Additional information concerning the Company is contained in documents filed by the Company with securities regulators, available under its profile at www.sedarplus.ca . 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. Alexander (Sandy) Stares, President and CEO 709-424-1141 Metals Creek Resources Corp MetalsCreek.com Twitter.com/MetalsCreekRes Facebook.com/MetalsCreek To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/302526 Newsfile Corp. June 23, 2026 - 5:30 AM PDT News by QuoteMedia www.quotemedia.com