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: [phone]
Michael Spriggs, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director

Beaumont Cornish Limited           Tel: [phone]
Roland Cornish

Lothbury Financial                 Tel: [phone]
Michael Padley / Libby Moss

Alexander David Securities Limited Tel: [phone]
Nick Bealer / David Scott

Loeb Aron & Company Ltd            Tel: [phone]
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

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