Final Results
4 May 2010
AIM / PLUS Markets: AAU
FINAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2009
Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration and
development company focused on Turkey, announces its final results for the year
ended 31 December 2009. Â The period witnessed the evolution of our strategy for
project development in western Turkey and the reporting of our first positive
exploration results from our joint venture in north-eastern Turkey.
Highlights:
* First gold production from Kiziltepe
* Developing the Red Rabbit Joint Venture
* Positive results from European Goldfields Joint Venture
Post Period Events:
* Positive results for Red Rabbit economic and environmental scoping
* Positive geophysical results from Kiziltepe
* Placing raises GBP 1,000,000
Michael Spriggs, Chairman, commented:
"2009 was a year of change and new challenges for the Company. Â It was marked by
the production of our first gold; this positive outcome accelerated our progress
and enhanced our vision for the economic development of the Red Rabbit Project.
 We are now working to conclude a joint venture agreement on Red Rabbit which
aims to fast-track the project through to production.
"We have laid out a clear strategy for the future growth of the Company and are
currently pursuing several new initiatives that aim to create long term value
for shareholders. Â While the Red Rabbit project forms a core component of this
strategy, we are also cognisant of our strengths as a Turkish focused
exploration company and recognise that further development of our project
pipeline will act as a mechanism of growth."
The Company is pleased to announce that the report and accounts for the year
ended 31 December 2009, is being posted to shareholders and will be available on
the website:www.arianaresources.com <
http://www.arianaresources.com/>. Â The
report and accounts include a notice of the 2010 Annual General Meeting which
will be held at The East India Club, 16 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4LH on
10 June 2010 at 11.00am.
Contacts:
Ariana Resources plc Tel: 020 7407 3616
Michael Spriggs, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director
Beaumont Cornish Limited Tel: 020 7628 3396
Roland Cornish
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. Â 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. Â 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. Â 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. Â Both
projects contain a series of prospects, within two prolific mineralised
districts in the Western Anatolian Volcanic and Extensional (WAVE) Province in
western Turkey. Â This Province hosts the largest operating gold mines in Turkey
and remains highly prospective for new porphyry and epithermal deposits. Â These
core projects, which are separated by a distance of 75km, are presently being
assessed as to their economic merits. Â 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
atwww.arianaresources.com <
http://www.arianaresources.com/>.
Chairman's Statement
I characterised 2008 as a period in which Ariana Resources made the transition
from exploration to development. With our transition fully underway, the past
year represented a year of consistent delivery against our demanding exploration
and development targets, highlighted by the production of Ariana's first gold in
July 2009. Taking the Company a step further towards an operating mine and
cashflow generation, trial mining at our Kiziltepe Project in western Turkey
culminated in the production of 387 oz gold.
There are three broad thrusts to Ariana's strategy. All of these have seen
significant progress during the past year and I shall review each in turn.
First, our two flagship projects, Kiziltepe and TavÅŸan, continue to build
momentum. They form the core of our strategy to develop a near-term gold
producing operation in this region. These two gold-silver deposits differ in
character geologically (and lie 75km apart), but over the past year we have
developed a very strong strategic and economic case for developing them as an
integrated project. The combined entity, which we have called 'Red Rabbit',
gives Ariana a resource inventory of over 400,000 oz gold equivalent.
Packaging the two in this way has enabled the Company to move towards their
joint venture development. Ariana has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding
with a Turkish company, Proccea Construction Co., for the potential development
of Red Rabbit. Proccea is a leading construction company with considerable
international experience of gold mine and processing plant development.
Proccea has already contributed a goodwill payment of US$500,000 to the Company.
Under the envisaged agreement, Proccea will commit US$8m to the JV for an
earn-in share of 50%, to take the project to the construction stage by funding
an Environmental Impact Assessment, feasibility study and to developing the
processing plant.
As explained in greater detail in the Business Review, the initial emphasis will
be on the development of Kiziltepe. A scoping study carried out post year-end by
international consultants Wardrop Engineering concluded very positively,
indicating that a 150,000 tonne/year mine could successfully be developed with
initial production from 2012 and a mine life in excess of five years. Even with
a very conservative price and other assumptions, the project demonstrates very
robust economics.
This is an appropriate point to comment on the gold price. Among the complex
range of factors that influence the bullion market, it is evident that the
upward pressure which has taken gold to record levels of over US$1,100 per ounce
reflects the weakness of the US dollar as much as the strength of investment
demand. The consensus view is that this plateau of elevated (dollar) gold price
strength will be maintained.
I had mentioned last year that we had entered into an agreement with a local
mining group, Eti Gümüş A.S. to carry out the trial mining and processing of ore
from Kiziltepe. This was successfully completed but, as the scope of the project
shifted with the strategic move to proceed along the Red Rabbit route, Ariana
agreed to reduce its share of the trial mining gold production from 50% to 40%.
The second strategic thrust is the joint venture programme entered into with our
major shareholders, European Goldfields Limited, focusing on potentially much
larger targets in north-eastern Turkey. Â Under the banner of the Greater
Pontides Project, this programme (Ariana 49%) is carrying out reconnaissance
exploration on highly prospective copper-gold porphyry targets on which initial
drilling had been carried out in the 1990s. In the vicinity of the Ardala
property, which Ariana contributed to this programme, a soil sampling programme
yielded a major geochemical anomaly which was later named the SalinbaÅŸ prospect.
The results from this prospect area were sufficiently encouraging to warrant the
initiation of a phased drilling programme during the year.
The third leg of Ariana's activities remains its core competence of focused
exploration within the broad WAVE (Western Anatolian Volcanic and Extensional)
province of western Turkey. Our geologists demonstrate a powerful case for the
likelihood of a multi-million ounce gold deposit discovery being made in the
WAVE province, and are pursuing a vigorous programme of exploration combined
with the quest for suitable property acquisitions in this still underexplored
region. As has been frequently observed, many of the major existing gold
deposits in this province have been discovered within 1.5km of a tarred road!
Our Company is fortunate to have the support of consistently loyal and
well-informed shareholders. Their backing has continued to underpin our
strategy. At the beginning of the year, Ariana completed a placing for £500,000
in which European Goldfields maintained their 20% holding. In September 2009, we
raised an additional £800,000, again with the solid support of our institutional
and other shareholders. A further £1,000,000 was raised post year end in March
2010.
Outlook
The events of the past year have created a platform from which your Company can
advance towards its medium-term objectives. It is our intention to fast-track
Red Rabbit towards production and therefore early cash flow; we have a portfolio
of highly prospective exploration projects, and we have an unrivalled pool of
technical and management expertise and local knowledge.
We are occasionally asked to comment on the political situation in Turkey, and
its planned progress towards EU membership. We respond by pointing out that we
(and many other western companies) continue to operate very effectively and
securely in Turkey, a country with one of the most favourable mining codes and
tax regimes anywhere in the region, and with the full support of government.
We thank our shareholders, for whom we believe firmly that their sustained
confidence in our Company will be shown to be fully justified. Our progress over
past years demonstrates clearly that we deliver what we promise. At the same
time, we recognise that our Company is at that tantalising stage of development
where the share price does not fully reflect the momentum we are generating.
Against that background, there are growing signs of a return of investor
confidence in the mining sector of the AIM market. A number of UK brokers are
now reporting an improving climate for raising funds for developing projects.
In summary, I hope I have shown that, with the prospect of profitable gold
production, we are on the threshold of the next exciting phase of our Company's
evolution. I thank our hard working operational teams on the ground in Turkey,
our advisers, and my experienced and dedicated team of fellow directors.
Michael Spriggs
Chairman
30 April 2010
Business Review
Summary
Ariana continues to execute upon its exploration and development strategy in
Turkey. During the past year the Company successfully made the transition from
exploration to development, with its first gold pour undertaken in early July.
In parallel with this, the Company continued to deliver against its exploration
strategy in western Turkey. Ariana's resource inventory contains 401,000 ounces
gold equivalent, of which approximately 342,000 ounces are gold.
Progression of the Company's principal projects led to the creation of "Red
Rabbit", a single integrated project containing the Kiziltepe and TavÅŸan
resources. The strategic packaging of Kiziltepe and TavÅŸan, enabled the Company
to enter into Joint Venture ("JV") negotiations for the development of the
project area, culminating in a Memorandum of Understanding ("MoU") with Proccea
Construction Co. ("Proccea"). As part of the MoU, Proccea made a US$500,000
goodwill payment to the Company which is held in escrow pending JV completion.
Earning in to a 50% stake in a new JV company, Proccea has proposed to commit a
further US$8m to fund an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Feasibility
Study and the development of the processing plant.
Meanwhile, the Greater Pontides JV with European Goldfields delivered
significant exploration results from the SalinbaÅŸ prospect which occurs within
the Ardala Project area. Exploration and drilling continues in this highly
prospective region. Separate to this JV, the Company has also started a new
exploration programme initially focused on western Turkey.
At the beginning of the year, the Company completed a placing for £500,000 in
which European Goldfields Limited maintained their position in Ariana at
approximately 20%. In September a placing for £800,000 was undertaken and was
supported by institutional investors. Post year end in March 2010 a further
£1,000,000 was raised.
Core project area
The Company is focused on the Western Anatolian Volcanic and Extensional (WAVE)
province in western Turkey. This province hosts three operating gold mines and
remains highly prospective for large epithermal and porphyry deposits. The
Company considers the exploration and development risk in this region to be low
due to excellent infrastructure and established gold mining operations.
Within the WAVE province, the Company has created a combined project named "Red
Rabbit" comprising the Kiziltepe and TavÅŸan sectors. Other exploration projects
in western Turkey include the Ivrindi and Demirci projects. The region
surrounding these projects is named the WAVE Project Area, with our base of
operations in Sındırgı located strategically at its core.
Ariana is targeting a million ounce gold resource within the WAVE Project Area
and our strategy is designed to build steadily on our existing resource base in
the region via exploration and future acquisitions. Elsewhere, other exploration
opportunities are being evaluated on an ongoing basis to further enhance the
early-stage value of the project pipeline, and renewed emphasis is being placed
on the discovery of a multi-million ounce stand-alone deposit in Turkey.
Exploration of the core project area was reinitiated in the latter part of 2009
following a hiatus caused by macroeconomic circumstance. Our exploration
programmes are designed to identify areas in which new licence packages can be
established. An agreement with Newmont Mining Corporation and Lydian
International was completed during the year, to provide access to data over one
of these interest areas. Post year end a licence that came as part of this
package was relinquished as it could not be upgraded to operational status.
Red Rabbit Project
Kiziltepe Sector
The Kiziltepe Sector ("Kiziltepe") contains several prospect areas which are
located within the Sındırgı Gold Corridor. Kiziltepe lies 130km northeast of the
coastal city of Izmir. Kiziltepe was acquired in 2005 from Newmont Mining
Corporation for US$400,000, with a royalty of up to 2.5% on future gold
production from the project assigned to Franco-Nevada Corporation. Current JORC
compliant resources stand at 186,000 ounces gold equivalent, although a review
of this resource is now underway following a revision to the geological model.
The Kiziltepe Sector contains 45km of outcropping low-sulphidation epithermal
quartz veins, which are hosted principally by dacitic volcanic units of Miocene
age. Three distinct vein fields occur in an area covering approximately 12km by
6km and are well serviced by asphalt road and forestry tracks. Individual veins
are exposed at surface for 750m in strike length and are between 1m and 14m
wide.
Post year-end, Wardrop Engineering ("Wardrop") completed a positive scoping
study of the Kiziltepe Sector. At an estimated production rate of 150,000 tonnes
of ore per annum over a mine life targeted to be greater than five years, the
scoping study estimates a project cash cost of between US$350-400 per ounce. The
expected process route is Carbon-in-Leach (CIL) and preliminary designs for the
process plant have been prepared by Proccea. A preliminary site plan, including
the position of the pits, processing plant, waste rock dump and tailings storage
facility has been prepared.
A revised geological model for the mineralisation at Kiziltepe (including 'vein'
and 'halo' types) has been completed. Including currently Inferred resources,
the Company is targeting in its revised geological resource model a total
resource of vein and halo mineralisation at a 1 g/t Au cut-off as being between
1.4Mt and 1.7Mt at gold grades between 2.5 and 3.5 g/t and silver grades between
50 and 70 g/t. The average in-pit resource grade is expected to be 3.5 to 4.5
g/t Au and 50 to 70 g/t Ag. Based on the current resource estimate, one central
pit is envisaged on Arzu South with satellite pits at Banu, Derya, Arzu North
and Kepez. The overall strip ratio at Kiziltepe is targeted between 8:1 and
12:1.
During the year, the Company completed trial mining operations at the Arzu South
vein at Kiziltepe. A total of 5,177 tonnes of dry ore from Kiziltepe was
processed by Eti Gümüş A.S. ("Eti") at their Gümüşköy plant, for total gold
production of 387 ounces. According to the trial processing agreement with Eti,
50% of this gold production was to be allocated to Ariana. Following discussions
concerning a longer-term processing arrangement it was evident that other more
commercially advantageous routes existed. On this basis Ariana agreed to receive
40% of the gold from trial mining to enable the Company to progress the project
independently of Eti. In addition to proving the integrity of the geological
model and the economic viability of Kiziltepe, the high profile nature of the
trial enabled Ariana pursue other development options with enhanced confidence.
TavÅŸan Sector
The TavÅŸan Sector ("TavÅŸan") lies 75km from the Kiziltepe Sector, 210km
northeast of the coastal city of Izmir. TavÅŸan was purchased in 2008 from
Odyssey Resources for US$500,000 and 3,000,000 shares in the Company at 5p per
share, with a retained royalty of up to 2% on future gold production from the
project assigned to Teck Cominco. Current JORC compliant resources stand at
215,000 ounces gold equivalent.
The TavÅŸan prospect contains 4km of outcropping gold mineralised jasperoid,
which is located along a low-angle thrust fault separating underlying Jurassic
limestone from overlying Late Cretaceous ophiolitic rocks. The outcropping
jasperoid occurs in an area covering approximately 4km by 4km and is well
serviced by asphalt road and forestry tracks. Individual segments of jasperoid
are exposed at surface for 500m and are up to 20m thick. Due to the relatively
gently dipping nature of the jasperoid, much of the mineralisation is
potentially open-pittable at a very low strip-ratio.
Due to the simplicity of the project and acceptable metallurgical recoveries
reported in column-leach testwork, the Company considers merit in its
development as a heap-leach operation capable of delivering up to 30,000 ounces
per annum. The Company envisages production at a rate of 1Mt per annum via the
development of a linked series of shallow pits across the prospect. An internal
preliminary economic assessment of TavÅŸan has been completed and demonstrates
its viability. TavÅŸan will now be developed as an integral part of the Red
Rabbit Project.
Greater Pontides Project
Reconnaissance exploration in eastern Turkey for large porphyry Cu-Au and
related deposits identified potential in north-eastern Turkey and resulted in
the acquisition of the Ardala Project by the Company. This project, in addition
to several other licences, is now being advanced through a Joint Venture
agreement with European Goldfields Limited. A Joint Venture exploration company,
49% owned by Ariana Resources and named Pontid Madencilik San. ve Tic. Ltd., was
established in 2008. The Joint Venture includes a free-carry to Bankable
feasibility at 20% or 10%, for initial projects or new projects, respectively.
Ardala and SalinbaÅŸ
The Ardala prospect is located in the Pontide Metallogenic Province of Turkey
and lies approximately 80km southeast of the coastal city of Hopa and 20km east
of Artvin. The prospect was acquired according to a royalty agreement for which
a 1.5% NSR will be payable in the event that the project enters production.
The prospect hosts a porphyry copper-gold (plus molybdenum) mineralised system
associated with a series of nested quartz-diorite intrusions of Eocene age
within an Upper Cretaceous volcano-sedimentary sequence. Exposed parts of the
porphyry have dimensions of 600m by 700m and interpretation of ground magnetic
data suggests further lateral continuity beneath limestone units. Twenty-seven
drill holes were undertaken on part of the mineralised system in the early
1990s for which an outline (non-JORC) resource of 20Mt at an average grade of
0.25% Cu, 0.45 g/t Au and 65 ppm Mo was established. A phased programme of
drilling commenced on the southern margins of the porphyry system during 2009.
A major new soil anomaly, named the SalinbaÅŸ Target, was discovered on the
property, to the south-west of the area drilled by previous operators. The
SalinbaÅŸ Target is just over 1km from the area drilled in the 1990s and has a
strike of about 1km and width of 0.3km. An additional licence was secured in
this area to cover the SalinbaÅŸ Target and trenching identified multiple zones
of high-grade mineralisation, highlights of which included 33m at 9.6 g/t Au and
46m at 8.3 g/t Au. A phased programme of drilling programme commenced during the
year.
Outlook
Our focus for 2009 was to deliver consistently and decisively against our goals
for the year. As a consequence of this we launched the Red Rabbit Project and it
is our primary intent to fast-track this into production. The successful
completion of trial production, our first cash-flow and significant developments
on our Red Rabbit Project reflect a strong year of growth and a positive
springboard to propel Ariana into a formal development phase during the year
ahead. Meanwhile renewed prospect-scale and regional exploration has been
producing several encouraging results which will, in time, provide us with a
growing pipeline of new exploration opportunities.
Dr Kerim Sener
Managing Director
30 April 2010
Consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 31 December 2009
    2009 2008
Note £'000 £'000
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Administrative costs     (425) (608)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other income     18 -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating loss     (407) (608)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Share of loss of associate    11b - (25)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investment income     5 29
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loss on ordinary activities before tax    4 (402) (604)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tax    6 - -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loss for the year     (402) (604)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other comprehensive income
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exchange differences on translating foreign    1 25
operations
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other comprehensive income for the year net of tax    1 25
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total comprehensive income for the year     (401) (579)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loss for the year attributable to owners of the    (402) (604)
parent
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total comprehensive income attributable to owners of the   (401) (579)
parent
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loss per share (pence):
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Basic and diluted     0.27 0.71
Continuing operations
None of the Group's activities were acquired or discontinued during the current
or previous year.
The accompanying notes form part of these financial statements.
Consolidated statement of financial position
for the year ended 31 December 2009
    2009 2008
Note £'000 £'000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Assets
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Non-current assets
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trade and other receivables    12 126 126
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intangible assets    9 3,910 3,401
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Land, property, plant and equipment    10 197 230
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interest in associates    11b - -
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total non-current assets     4,233 3,757
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current assets
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trade and other receivables    13 192 302
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash and cash equivalents     908 143
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total current assets     1,100 445
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total assets     5,333 4,202
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equity
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Called up share capital    15 1,709 927
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Share premium     4,738 4,282
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other reserves     720 720
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Share options     100 100
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Translation reserve     64 63
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retained earnings     (2,448) (2,046)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total equity     4,883 4,046
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liabilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current liabilities
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trade and other payables    14 450 156
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total current liabilities     450 156
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total equity and liabilities     5,333 4,202
Consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 December 2009
 Share Share Other Share Translation Retained
 capital premium reserves options reserve earnings Total
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changes in
equity to 31
December 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Balance at 1 Â 713 3,419 720 7 38 (1,442) 3,455
January 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loss for the  - - - - - (604) (604)
year
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other
comprehensive - - - - 25 - 25
income -
exchange
differences on
translating
foreign
operations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total - - - - 25 (604) (579)
comprehensive
income
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Share based - - - 93 - - 93
payments
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue of share  214 863 - - - - 1,077
capital
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Balance at 31 Â 927 4,282 720 100 63 (2,046) 4,046
December 2008
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Changes in
equity to 31
December 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Loss for the  - - - - - (402) (402)
year
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other
comprehensive - - - - 1 - 1
income -
exchange
differences on
translating
foreign
operations
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total - - - - 1 (402) (401)
comprehensive
income
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Issue of share 782 559 - - - - 1,341
capital
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Expenses - (103) - - - - (103)
offset against
share premium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Balance at 31 Â 1,709 4,738 720 100 64 (2,448) 4,883
December 2009
Consolidated statement of cash flows
for the year ended 31 December 2009
    2009 2008
Note £'000 £'000
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash flows from operating activities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash generated from operations    16a (1) (613)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash outflow from operations     (1) (613)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash flows from investing activities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purchase of land, property, plant and    - (231)
equipment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Payments for intangible assets (excluding capitalised   (477) (1,125)
depreciation)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purchase of an interest in     - (25)
associates
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Interest received     5 28
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash used in investing     (472) (1,353)
activities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash flows from financing activities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proceeds from issue of share capital     1,238 927
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash proceeds from financing      1,238 927
activities
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash    765 (1,039)
equivalents
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash and cash equivalents at      143 1,182
beginning of year
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash and cash equivalents at end of     908 143
year
Principal accounting policies
This statement has been prepared using accounting policies and presentation
consistent with those applied in the preparation of the statutory accounts of
the Group and under the historical cost convention.
1. Basis of preparation
The Group consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance
with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the
European Union, effective for the Group's reporting for the year ended 31
December 2009.
The separate financial statements of the Company are presented as required by
the Companies Act 2006. As permitted by that Act, the separate financial
statements have been prepared in accordance with IFRS.
These financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost
convention, and the accounting policies have been applied consistently
throughout the Group. These financial statements have also been prepared on the
going concern basis, further details of which are set out in note 3.
2. Loss per share
The calculation of basic loss per share is based on the loss attributable to
ordinary shareholders of £402,000 (2008: £604,000) divided by the weighted
average number of shares issued during the year 149,308,164 (2008: 85,067,170)
in issue. There is no dilutive effect of share options or warrants on the basic
loss per share.
3. Going concern
As an exploration company the directors are mindful that there is an ongoing
need to monitor overheads and costs associated with delivering the exploration
programme, and raise additional working capital on an ad hoc basis to support
the Group's activities.
The Company raised £1,000,000 before costs from the issue of new ordinary shares
in April 2010 and the directors are confident that this will provide sufficient
financial resources for the foreseeable future.
4. Summary Accounts
The summary accounts set out above do not constitute statutory accounts as
defined in Section 435 of the Companies Act 2006 in respect of the 2009 Accounts
or by Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985 in respect of the 2008 Accounts. The
summarised consolidated statement of comprehensive income together with the
consolidated statement of financial position, the summarised consolidated
statement of changes in equity and the summarised consolidated statement of cash
flow for the year then ended have been extracted from the Group's 2009 audited
statutory financial statements. Â The auditor's report on the statutory financial
statements for the years ended 31 December 2009 and 2008 were unqualified and
did not contain any statement under Section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act
2006.
5. Preliminary Statement
Copies of the Annual Report will be sent to shareholders that have elected to
receive hardcopy documents in May and will be available from the Company at
Bridge House, London Bridge, London, SE1 9QR. The full financial statements will
be made available on the Company's websitewww.arianaresources.com
<
http://www.arianaresources.com/> at the same time they are mailed to
shareholders.
The Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held at The East India Club,
16 St James's Square, London, SW1Y 4LH on 10 June 2010 at 11.00am.
For further information, see the Company's websitewww.arianaresources.com
<
http://www.arianaresources.com/>
[HUG#1411117]