Ariana Resources plc : Drilling Programme: Phas...

26 October 2016
AIM: AAU

DRILLING PROGRAMME: PHASE TWO

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration and development company operating in Turkey, is pleased to announce that it has commenced a new drilling programme on the Kiziltepe Project following positive results from its Phase One 2016 programme.  Kiziltepe is part of the Red Rabbit Joint Venture with Proccea Construction Co. and will be 50% owned by Ariana once mine construction is completed in Q42016.

Highlights:

• Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling to focus on drilling new and existing veins across the Kiziltepe Sector, totalling approximately 3,500m.

• Drilling programme commenced yesterday at the Karakavak prospect to drill test the Main Vein for the first time.

• Drilling will continue to test the Arzu Central target area beneath cover and the Arzu Far South target area, among other locations at Kiziltepe.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: 

"We are very pleased to commence the Phase Two drilling programme swiftly following the announcement of positive results from our earlier work.  While Phase One successfully confirmed the presence of blind vein extensions within Arzu Central and identified the new Arzu South Parallel vein system, we require further drill testing to determine their potential.  Accordingly, 3,500m of drilling has been budgeted for the current programme.

As our partners continue to contribute towards the construction of the Kiziltepe Mine, we are committed to support their progress by continuing to explore in and around Kiziltepe, with the aim of further expanding our resource base and ultimately increasing mine life. Recent drilling programmes by the Company have demonstrated that our resource can be increased very cost efficiently by drilling for extensions of known vein systems. 

We are also confident that satellite deposits such as Karakavak, Kepez and Kizilcukur have the potential to further enhance the resource base and contribute towards an enhanced mining operation.  Last year we completed initial drilling at Kepez and Kizilcukur, with drilling at Karakavak now underway as part of the current programme."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

Contacts:

Ariana Resources plc	Tel: [phone] 3616
Michael de Villiers, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director
Beaumont Cornish Limited	Tel: [phone] 3396
Roland Cornish / Felicity Geidt
Beaufort Securities Limited	Tel: [phone] 8300
Jon Belliss
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited	Tel: [phone] 2500
Adam James / Tom Salvesen

Editor's Notes:

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 Africa, Australia and Europe.  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 developing 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 Eldorado Gold Corporation in north-eastern Turkey.  Eldorado owns 51% of this joint venture and are fully funding all exploration work on the JV properties, while Ariana owns 49%.  The total resource inventory within this JV is 1.09 million ounces of gold.

The Company's flagship assets are its Kiziltepe and Tavsan gold projects which form the Red Rabbit Gold Project.  Both 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 and now form part of a Joint Venture with Proccea Construction Co.  The total resource inventory at the Red Rabbit Project stands at c. 525,000 ounces of gold equivalent. 

Beaufort Securities Limited and Panmure Gordon (UK) 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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Source: Ariana Resources plc via Globenewswire