Acquisition of Muratdag Gold Project

30 April 2009 AIM / PLUS Markets: AAU ACQUISITION OF THE MURATDAG GOLD PROJECT Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration and development company focused on Turkey, announces the acquisition of the Muratdag Gold Project from Newmont Altin Madencilik Limited Sirketi, a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE:NEM) ("Newmont"). Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: "The acquisition of the Muratdag Project has helped secure a foothold for the company in the highly prospective Muratdag exploration region, which is located approximately 130 km to the east of Sindirgi and 75km south east of Tavsan. The Project is an advanced exploration asset and its addition to the Company's exploration portfolio has further increased the value of our project pipeline in western Turkey. The project is located on the same regionally mineralised stratigraphic horizon as our Tavsan and Demirci projects. "While our focus remains on the development of the Sindirgi and Tavsan projects in the near to medium term, we are also ensuring that our longer-term future in Turkey is secured by the acquisition of advanced exploration projects which we intend to advance up the project value curve." About the Muratdag Project The Muratdag Project contains extensive areas of listwaenite-hosted gold mineralisation which are located within a thrust-sequence of Upper Cretaceous ophiolite and Jurassic carbonates, lying in the vicinity of an Oligocene granitoid. The gold mineralisation is associated with silicification and haematite/limonite alteration. There are several geological similarities between this project and the Tavsan and Demirci gold projects currently being explored by the Company. All three projects lie on the same stratigraphic horizon, which is understood to be a regionally significant for gold mineralisation. A 1.5 x 1.5 km soil geochemical anomaly, defined by the 50 ppb Au threshold, has been located on the project; gold mineralised listwaenite in this area demonstrates grades up to 2.1 g/t Au in rock-chip samples. Some of the higher grade gold samples have been collected from areas coincident with high ground magnetic anomalism. Such areas are high priority exploration drill targets. A large partially eroded silica cap overlying the ophiolite sequence demonstrates the intensity of the mineralisation event. The lower parts of the ophiolite system have been recommended as a potential drilling target, based on its stratigraphic position, although no drilling has been undertaken on the project to date. The northern part of the project also contains significant BLEG (Bulk Leach Extractable Gold) and conventional stream-sediment anomalies (19.2 ppb Au and 18.0 ppb Au, respectively) which have not been followed-up previously and are possibly sourced from intrusion-related gold mineralisation in the nearby granitoids. The definitions for technical terms used in this announcement are provided in the glossary on the Company website www.arianaresources.com/s/Glossary.asp. Further details on the Muratdag Project will be made available on the Company website in due course. Terms of the Agreement Ariana has acquired the core licence containing the Muratdag Project and its accompanying exploration data from Newmont in exchange for a royalty on commercial production. Three other contiguous licences in the vicinity, which have already been relinquished by Newmont, form the Area of Interest ("AOI") and will be subject to the same royalty terms as the core licence. The data comprises stream-sediment, rock-chip and soil sampling results in addition to ground magnetic data and geological mapping over the AOI. The consideration payable to Newmont by Ariana for the project is a 1% Net Smelter Return royalty on future gold / minerals production within the AOI. A separate 1% Net Smelter Return royalty is payable to Lydian International Ltd. (LYD:TSX) ("Lydian") on the same terms, as these licences were previously subject to a Joint Venture agreement between Newmont and Lydian. Ariana submitted the required report for upgrade of the licence to operational status prior to the deadline of 26th April 2009. Further reconnaissance work on the licence is scheduled to be undertaken following the grant of the 10 year operational licence. The Company has no expenditure commitments on the licence and does not envisage commencing formal work for 12 months. Contacts: Ariana Resources plc Tel: 020 7407 3616 Michael Spriggs, Chairman Kerim Sener, Managing Director Beaumont Cornish Limited Tel: 020 7628 3396 Roland Cornish Lothbury Financial Tel: 020 7011 9411 Michael Padley / Libby Moss Alexander David Securities Limited Tel: 020 7448 9820 Nick Bealer / David Scott Loeb Aron & Company Ltd Tel: 020 7628 1128 Peter Freeman / Frank Lucas Editors' note: Dr Kerim Sener, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, is the Managing Director of Ariana Resources plc. A graduate of the University of Southampton in Geology, he also holds a Master's degree from the Royal School of Mines (Imperial College, London) in Mineral Exploration and a doctorate from the University of Western Australia. He is a Fellow of The Geological Society of London and has worked in geological research and mineral consultancy in Southern Africa and Australia. He has read and approved the technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement. About Ariana Resources Ariana is an exploration and development company focused on epithermal gold-silver and porphyry copper-gold deposits in Turkey. The Company is exploring a portfolio of prospective licences selected on the basis of its in-house geological and remote-sensing database, on its own in western Turkey and in Joint Venture with European Goldfields Limited in north-eastern Turkey. The Company's flagship assets are its Sindirgi and Tavsan gold projects. Both projects contain a series of prospects, within two prolific mineralised districts in the Western Anatolian Volcanic and Extensional (WAVE) Province in western Turkey. This Province hosts the largest operating gold mines in Turkey and remains highly prospective for new porphyry and epithermal deposits. These core projects, which are separated by a distance of 75km, are presently being assessed as to their economic merits. The total resource inventory of the Company stands at 401,000 ounces of gold equivalent. Loeb Aron & Company Ltd. and Alexander David Securities Limited are joint brokers to the Company and Beaumont Cornish Limited is the Company's Nominated Adviser. For further information on Ariana you are invited to visit the Company's website at www.arianaresources.com. Ends ---END OF MESSAGE--- This announcement was originally distributed by Hugin. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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