Kinik Drilling Underway

Ariana Resources PLC
16 January 2007


16 January 2007
AIM: AAU

                  DRILLING UNDERWAY AT THE KINIK GOLD PROSPECT


Ariana Resources plc ('Ariana' or 'the Company'), the gold exploration company
focused on Turkey, announces the commencement of a diamond-drilling programme at
the Company's 100% owned Kinik gold prospect in Balikesir Province, western
Turkey.


   • Drilling will test a 750m long gold in soil anomaly
   • Drill rig mobilised and eleven diamond core drill holes planned
   • Previous gold grades up to 10.4 g/t Au from channel sampling
   • Prospect discovered by Ariana's remote sensing programme


The Kinik prospect is located in the Ivrindi gold project, which covers an area
of 90km(2) in Balikesir province, western Turkey, and lies 70km to the northwest
of the Company's Sindirgi Project. The prospect was identified by the Company's
remote sensing programme. A 48m long reconnaissance channel sample along a
road-cut within the prospect area determined the potential for significant gold
grades, with high grade zones of 3.2 g/t over 10m, 3.1 g/t over 5m and 1.4 g/t
over 13m (using a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off) with a peak grade of 10.4 g/t Au.
Subsequent rock-chip sampling undertaken by the Company at two separate
locations 250m and 900m east and northeast, respectively, of this channel
returned grades above 1 g/t Au. A follow up systematic surface soil sampling
programme was completed in late 2005. This work identified an extensive (750m by
50m) gold in soil geochemical anomaly (above 50ppb Au) along the faulted contact
of altered andesitic volcanic rocks and limestone units.


An initial eleven diamond core holes are planned in the current drilling
programme, to depths of up to 100m, to test the continuity of gold
mineralisation beneath the soil anomaly. If the results are positive, they will
be used to guide a follow up drilling programme for resource estimation.


Steven Poulton, Chief Executive, commented:

'We are focused on rapidly drill testing our exploration discoveries. The
results from the Kinik prospect indicate the presence of a potentially
significant gold mineralised system at depth which our drilling programme is
designed to test. Definition of Kinik and other prospects demonstrates the
success and value of the Company's remote sensing strategy. We will drill test
the Kinik prospect while drilling at the Sindirgi gold project is also on-going.
We look forward to updating shareholders on the results from these programmes.'


About the Kinik Prospect

The Kinik prospect is situated in a regional-scale structural corridor which
contains known occurrences of epithermal gold-silver and antimony
mineralisation. The prospect area contains Late Oligocene to Mid-Miocene age,
variably altered, andesitic volcanic rocks, which are juxtaposed against
limestone of Permo-Triassic age. The juxtaposition of these units is caused by a
series of closely-spaced, ENE-trending, north- and south-dipping normal faults
related to graben formation during the Late Miocene.


Dr Kerim Sener, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, is Ariana's Exploration Director. 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 the Northern Territory of
Australia. He has read and approved the technical disclosure in this regulatory
announcement.


Contacts:
Ariana Resources plc
Steven Poulton, Chief Executive                         Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]                         Mobile: [phone]

Bankside Consultants
Michael Padley / Susan Scott                            Tel: [phone]


Editors' note:

About Ariana Resources

Ariana is a dynamic exploration company focused on the discovery of epithermal
gold-silver and porphyry copper-gold deposits with multi-million ounce potential
within the Tethyan metallogenic belt of Turkey. The Company has a portfolio of
prospective licences covering 1,755km2, selected on the basis of its advanced
in-house remote sensing database.

The Company's flagship asset is the 235km2 Sindirgi gold project, which targets
a series of prospects, within a prolific mineralised district in western Turkey.
The project hosts over 45km of gold-silver bearing epithermal quartz veins. 
A drilling programme is currently focussed on defining gold resources (in
compliance with the JORC code) at the prospects of Kiziltepe and Kepez.

Ambrian Partners Limited and King & Shaxson Capital 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




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