Kepez Bulk-Sample Results

3 September 2009 AIM / PLUS Markets: AAU KEPEZ METALLURGICAL AND BULK-SAMPLE RESULTS Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to announce the results of bulk-sampling and laboratory-scale metallurgical testwork conducted on material from the Kepez Gold Prospect in Balikesir Province, western Turkey. Highlights: * Recoveries of up to 89% and 95% on high and average grade material * High grade bulk-sample yields 16.95 g/t gold and 117 g/t silver * Average grade bulk-sample yields 6.83 g/t gold and 72 g/t silver * Thickness of mineralised broken rock estimated to be 2-3m Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: "These metallurgical results confirm our expectations that the Kepez mineralisation is metallurgically akin to the material already test-mined at Kiziltepe. The bulk-samples collected from the Kepez prospect have confirmed the potential for a high average grade within the mineralised zone. Drilling of the area provided an estimate of the thickness of the scree covering the vein of about 3m, which confirms earlier expectations and demonstrates the potential for around 25,000 tonnes of broken mineralised rock. "These results demonstrate that the Kepez prospect is likely to yield a resource of high grade material amenable to simple mining and processing at an established facility. The resource potential of the Kepez prospect will now be evaluated in future programmes and integrated within the development work being undertaken at the Kiziltepe deposit." Details of Programme Two bulk-samples totalling approximately 100 kg were collected from the Kepez prospect, which is located 6.5km ENE of the Kiziltepe deposit. One sample contained material known to represent the average grade of mineralisation at the prospect (7.14g/t Au) and the second sample contained material representative of the highest grade portions of the prospect (17.21g/t Au). This sampling followed the earlier grid sampling undertaken on the prospect and detailed in the announcement of 13th May 2009. These samples were processed at the Eti Gümüs A.S. ("Eti") laboratory under similar conditions to the testwork undertaken on material from Kiziltepe. The Kepez material was crushed and milled to 80% passing at 20 micron (the standard size fraction used at the Eti processing plant). The material was leached over a period of 32 hours and reagent consumption was moderate in both cases (e.g. between 0.17 and 0.51 kg/t NaCN). The high grade sample provided a head grade of 16.95 g/t gold and 117 g/t silver and the average grade sample provided 6.83 g/t gold and 72 g/t silver. Over the 32 hour leach period, the measured recovery of gold and silver from the high grade sample was 89.0% and 51.3% respectively. The recovery of gold and silver from the average grade sample was 95.2% and 80.6% respectively. These recoveries are in line with the recovery of gold and silver reported from laboratory-scale testwork on material from the Kiziltepe deposit. Due to the nature of the scree covering parts of the vein at Kepez, a drilling programme was designed to provide clarity on the potential thickness of the broken rock. Based on the performance of the drilling rig, this blanket of broken rock and heavily fractured ground is estimated to be 2-3 m in the areas drilled. This matches the figure provided by visual estimation of the outcrop area. The broken ground, containing an average surface grade of 7.14 g/t Au, is estimated to cover an area of 3200m2, which suggests potential for about 25,000 tonnes of material amenable to simple mechanical mining. The Company is presently considering how best to calculate a JORC compliant mineral resource for this area. 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. 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 the Kepez Prospect The Kepez prospect is located within the same 36km² ten-year renewable operating licence that hosts the Company's Kiziltepe prospect, which forms part of the Company's 100% owned Sindirgi gold project in Balikesir Province, western Turkey. Kepez lies 6.5km away from the current trial production area in the Kiziltepe Prospect. Ariana is currently assessing the potential of Kepez to yield a small high-grade resource amenable to open-pit mining. The prospect contains 3km of gold-silver bearing low-sulphidation epithermal quartz veins across an area of at least 2km by 0.5km. Individual veins are exposed for up to 600m and widths vary between 2m and 25m. The main veins trend N and NE, and are hosted either within Lower Miocene dacitic volcanic rocks or on the boundary between these rocks and underlying Upper Cretaceous ophiolitic sedimentary rocks. Three main vein systems have been defined by geological mapping, rock-saw channel and rock-chip sampling, the most important of which is the Karakaya Vein. Existing drilling on the Karakaya Vein shows that it dips between 40 and 50 degrees to the west and is developed along the contact between underlying ophiolitic rocks and overlying dacitic volcanic rocks. The Karakaya Vein was sampled during a rock-saw channel sampling programme conducted along the vein outcrop in 2006. Surface results on the Karakaya vein have been encouraging over 100m of strike, from which high grades have been encountered, although previous follow-up drilling of the down-dip extensions have tended to encounter lower grades. 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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