KIZILCUKUR GOLD PROJECT UPDATE

RNS Number : 1672K

Ariana Resources PLC

12 December 2018

 

12 December 2018

AIM: AAU

KIZILCUKUR GOLD PROJECT UPDATE

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the exploration and development company with gold mining operations in Turkey, announces an update on resource development activities at its wholly-owned Kizilcukur Gold Project ("Kizilcukur" or "the Project"). Kizilcukur is located 22km to the northeast of the Kiziltepe Mine* ("Kiziltepe") and is being developed with a view to trucking and processing at Kiziltepe in the future.

Highlights:

·     1,000m diamond drilling programme due to commence imminently at Kizilcukur.

·     Drilling to be focused on the planned Zeki Pit area, with the aim of improving the classification of JORC resources to the Measured and Indicated categories.

·     Kizilcukur vein system demonstrates potential to extend across an area of 2.3km x 0.3km, much of which remains undrilled.

·    Optimal trucking route to the Kiziltepe plant has been determined and these transport costs will be reflected in an internal feasibility study.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"We look forward to commencing a new drilling programme at our Kizilcukur Project, with the objective of defining a high-grade zone amenable to open-pit mining.  Previous scoping-level work on the project outlined this open-pit potential and the new drilling is designed to improve confidence in the Mineral Resource as part of our internal feasibility study.  Following successful metallurgical testwork, announced earlier this year, we envisage the mining and trucking of Kizilcukur ore to the Kiziltepe plant for processing.  We are looking to advance Kizilcukur to the point of a decision to mine during 2019, following which various options for the further development of the project will be considered."

*Kiziltepe is part of the Red Rabbit Joint Venture ("JV") with Proccea Construction Co. and is 50% owned by Ariana. 

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

Project Summary

The Kizilcukur Project consists of one operational licence located in the Balikesir Province in Western Turkey (coordinates: 626150 mE; 4360440 mN). The property lies 22km to the northeast (straight line) and 50km by road from the Kiziltepe Sector of the Company's Red Rabbit Project. A royalty will be payable to Dogu Akdeniz Mineralleri San. ve Tic. Ltd. of 2% Net Smelter Return on commercial production from the Project.  Ariana has the option to sell the project to Zenit Madencilik San. ve Tic. A.S. (the operating company for the Kiziltepe Mine) at three times the exploration cost.

The Project covers an area containing a series of sub-parallel quartz veins hosted by ophiolitic units that trend northwest and extend for about two kilometres. The Main Vein exhibits classic low-sulphidation epithermal features and attains a maximum true width of 8m. The western quartz vein extends over a strike length of 820m. Composite rock-chip sampling of 80m strike along this quartz vein returned encouraging assay results of 6m at 3.3 g/t gold, 2m at 9.6g/t gold and 1m at 7.2 g/t gold prior to drill-testing. The peak rock-chip assay result in this area was 152 g/t gold and 1,320 g/t silver.

A JORC 2012 compliant Mineral Resource estimate was prepared for the Kizilcukur Project and Whittle optimisation conducted in 2016 identified the potential for the development of three open pits.  The Mineral Resource in Indicated and Inferred JORC categories stands at c.308,000 tonnes at 2.11g/t gold + 73.4g/t silver (for 33,000 oz gold equivalent) and demonstrates potential for further growth with additional drilling.  The management resource target for future exploration at Kizilcukur is currently 500,000 tonnes at >2 g/t gold + >70g/t silver (c. 50,000 oz Au equivalent).

Trial mining commenced within the central part of the Zeki Pit during 2017.  This pit is the largest and highest grade of the three pits defined following Whittle optimisation of the Kizilcukur resource.  The General Directorate of Mining Affairs approved blasting operations on the licence as part of the Mining Permit (as announced on 18 November 2015).  Further trial mining is being planned for the 2018/19 period.

Contacts:

Ariana Resources plc	Tel: [phone]
Michael de Villiers, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director
Beaumont Cornish Limited	Tel: [phone]
Roland Cornish / Felicity Geidt
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited	Tel: [phone]
James Stearns / Atholl Tweedie
Yellow Jersey PR Limited	Tel: [phone]
Tim Thompson / Felicity Winkles / Harriet Jackson / Henry Wilkinson	[e-mail]

Editors' Note:

The information in this announcement that relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Dr. Kerim Sener BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, Managing Director of Ariana Resources plc. Dr. Sener is a Fellow of The Geological Society of London and a Member of The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and has sufficient experience relevant to the styles of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that has been undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined by the 2012 edition of the Australasian Code for the Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) and under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies.  Dr. Sener consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

About Ariana Resources:

Ariana is an exploration and development company with mining operations focused on epithermal gold-silver and porphyry copper-gold deposits in Turkey, the largest gold producing country in Europe. The Company is developing a portfolio of prospective licences originally selected on the basis of its in-house geological and remote-sensing database, which now contain a total of 1.6 million ounces of gold and other metals (as at end-2017). Ariana's objective is to cost-effectively add value to its projects through focused exploration and to develop its operations, primarily through well-financed joint ventures. 

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, form part of a 50:50 Joint Venture with Proccea Construction Co. The Kiziltepe Sector of the Red Rabbit Project is fully-permitted and is currently in production. The total resource inventory at the Red Rabbit Project and wider project area stands at c. 605,000 ounces of gold equivalent (as at end-2017). At Kiziltepe a Net Smelter Return ("NSR") royalty of up to 2.5% on production is payable to Franco-Nevada Corporation. At Tavsan an NSR royalty of up to 2% on future production is payable to Sandstorm Gold.

In north-eastern Turkey, Ariana owns 100% of the Salinbas Gold Project, comprising the Salinbas gold-silver deposit and the Ardala copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry among other prospects. The total resource inventory of the Salinbas project area is c. 1 million ounces of gold equivalent. A NSR royalty of up to 2% on future production is payable to Eldorado Gold Corporation.

Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited are broker 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.

Glossary of Technical Terms:

"Ag" chemical symbol for silver;

"Au" chemical symbol for gold;

"g/t" grams per tonne;

"JORC" the Joint Ore Reserves Committee;

"m" Metres;

"oz" Troy ounces;

Ends.

 

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