4 April 2014
AIM: AAU
KIZILTEPE MINING LICENCE AND PERMIT RENEWAL
Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to announce an update on permitting for its Kiziltepe gold-silver mine, part of the Red Rabbit Project, which it holds in a joint venture with Proccea Construction Co.
Highlights:
Mining licence containing the Kiziltepe gold-silver mine has been extended for a further 5 plus 15 years by the General Directorate of Mining Affairs ("GDMA").
Mining permit for gold and silver attached to the new mining licence has also been granted.
Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:
"This is a very significant step towards the construction of a gold-silver mine at our flagship asset at the Kiziltepe Sector of the Red Rabbit Project. We are highly encouraged by the speed at which our mining licence application was processed and are now well-placed to commence the final permitting and construction phase of the Kiziltepe mine. I look forward to providing further updates at this exciting time for Ariana, as we progress towards mine construction during the course of 2014.
Permitting Update
Prior to commencing final permitting for the Kiziltepe gold-silver mine, the Company and its partners, Proccea Construction Co., took a decision in January 2014 to submit an application for the extension of the mining licence containing the Kiziltepe mine. The Kiziltepe mining licence and mining permit were due for renewal by October 2014 and under the present permitting process it was logical to accelerate the renewal before applications for forestry permits, in particular, were made.
The GDMA has now issued the relevant licence renewal for an initial five years from 2 April 2014, which will be extended automatically for a further fifteen years in the event that mining commences within the first five year period. Now that the mining licence and mining permit has been extended by the GDMA, the Company will apply for all outstanding permits to enable mine construction to commence within the shortest possible time-frame.
Contacts:
Ariana Resources plc | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7407 3616 |
Michael de Villiers, Chairman | |
Kerim Sener, Managing Director | |
Beaumont Cornish Limited | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 |
Roland Cornish / Felicity Geidt | |
Beaufort Securities Limited | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7382 8300 |
Saif Janjua | |
Loeb Aron & Company Ltd. | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 1128 |
John Beresford-Peirse / Dr. Frank Lucas | |
St Brides Media & Finance Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
Susie Geliher / Lottie Brocklehurst | |
Editors' note:
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 475,000 ounces of gold equivalent.
Beaufort Securities Limited and Loeb Aron & Company Ltd. 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