KIZILTEPE QUARTERLY OPERATIONAL UPDATE

RNS Number : 2749U

Ariana Resources PLC

22 November 2019

 

22 November 2019

AIM: AAU

KIZILTEPE QUARTERLY OPERATIONAL UPDATE

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the exploration and development company operating in Turkey, is pleased to announce its operating results for the quarter ended 30 September 2019 for the Kiziltepe Mine ("Kiziltepe" or "the Project").  Kiziltepe is part of the Red Rabbit Joint Venture ("JV") with Proccea Construction Co. and is 50% owned by Ariana through its shareholding in Zenit Madencilik San. ve Tic. A.S. ("Zenit").

Operational Highlights*:

·   Record gross quarterly income of US$11.76 million at the average realised gold price of US$1,476 per ounce, against an average revenue per gold ounce of US$1,696 (due to silver credit).

·     Production of 6,933 ounces of gold during the quarter ending 30 September 2019.

·    2019 gold production to the end of Q3 2019 totals 20,667 ounces of gold; on track to achieve annual production guidance of 25,000 ounces of gold.

·     Operating cash costs for the quarter are estimated at US$540 per ounce^#.

·     Operational mill availability running at 99.6% and utilisation at 99.4% for the period. 

·     55,174 tonnes ore milled during the period ending 30 September 2019 at an average head grade of 4.47 g/t Au. 

·     Process recoveries of gold remain high at 93.6% by the end of the quarter. 

·   78% of the US$33 million capital loan for Kiziltepe has been repaid as at quarter ending 30 September 2019; on track to fully repay loan by April 2020.

* All figures are given gross with respect to the JV.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: 

"The third quarter results from the Kiziltepe Mine continue to build on a very successful year of operations.  Operating cash costs per ounce for the period are estimated at US$540 per ounce, reflecting in part the pushback on the southern boundary of the Arzu South pit and the commencement of pre-stripping at Arzu North and Derya, in addition to a build-up of process plant consumables inventory and increased maintenance.

"The gold price continued to remain very favourable throughout the period, averaging US$1,474 per ounce - 13% above our feasibility base-case.  This pricing environment is now reflected in our Q3 results, which demonstrates record quarterly revenue for the mine to date."

Current Developments:

·     Production of ore from the open-pit was 47,933 tonnes over the period, with a peak rate of over 17,444 tonnes achieved in August.

·     Gross capital loan repayments by Zenit to Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi A.S. have been made on their scheduled basis and have amounted to US$25.8 million in aggregate as at the end of September 2019 (c. US$7.2 million remaining); c. US$3.1 million was repaid in Q3 2019.

·   Mining operations have commenced in the Arzu North and Derya areas, supplementing production from the Arzu South pit, which is nearing the end of its operational life.  

* All production figures are quoted gross with respect to the JV in this announcement.

^# Operating cash costs are inclusive of on-site costs and off-site charges and royalties specific to the project. It also includes adjustments for stockpile balances at the end of each quarter, in addition to an adjustment for by-product silver. They exclude finance costs, taxes and development capital. The definition used to derive the cash costs is essentially the same as that used within the feasibility study. This cash cost was calculated based on unaudited figures obtained from Zenit.

Table 1: Production statistics for the Kiziltepe Mine in Q3 2019 and for the period mid-March 2017 to end-September 2019 (life of mine to date). 

Measure	Unit	Q3 2019	Q2 2019	Q1 2019	Total Production Life of Mine to Date
Plant feed grade	g/t Au	4.47	4.18	4.83	4.27
Process recovery of gold	%	93.6	95.2	93.7	93.0
Gold produced	Troy Ounces	6,933	6,438	7,296	57,931
Silver produced	Troy Ounces	89,478	82,988	84,109	563,823
Gross income (gold/silver sold)	US$'000	11,758	9,670	10,860	84,126
Operating cash cost of production	US$/oz	540	589	399	n/a(1)
Average realised gold price	US$/oz	1,476.17	1,307.34	1,310.71	1,300.14
Average revenue per gold ounce(2)	US$/oz	1,696.01	1,496.42	1,488.51	1,452.18

(1)        Cash costs are not provided for the purposes of the life of mine due to the operation having been in ramp-up during part of the period. Costs incurred during the ramp-up period are not reflective of estimated operating costs over the longer term.   

(2)        Average revenue per gold ounce accounts for both the gold and silver sold during the period and is calculated by dividing the gross income by only the gold ounces sold in the period. 

Summary of Project

The Kiziltepe operation is currently expected to deliver approximately an average of 20,000 oz gold equivalent per annum over eight years of initial mine life, for a total of up to 160,000 oz gold equivalent based on current resources. The operating company, Zenit Madencilik San. ve Tic. A.S. (50:50 JV between Ariana and Proccea) will continue to make repayments against its loan from Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi A.S. based on a contractual schedule. Construction capital loan repayments will have been completed by April 2020 and, during this time, excess cash-flow from the operation is being used to make proportional repayments of loans provided by Ariana and Proccea jointly to the JV for exploration and development respectively. After the repayment of all loans, profits from the operation will be shared on a 51:49 basis between Ariana and Proccea respectively.

Commercial production was initiated at Kiziltepe during July 2017 and formal quarterly production reporting commenced. The Company also completed a new resource estimate for the project based on recent drilling and geological interpretation. Detailed technical and economic assessments will be completed on several satellite vein systems which are not currently in the mining plan, in anticipation of these being developed in future years. The Company is currently targeting a minimum ten-year mine life, which will require the addition of a further 40,000 oz gold equivalent in reserves outside of the four main pits (Arzu South, Arzu North, Banu and Derya) that are currently scheduled to be mined. Management is confident that this can be achieved assuming the conversion of existing resources to reserves.

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

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]
Atholl Tweedie / James Stearns
Yellow Jersey PR Limited	Tel: [phone]
Harriet Jackson / Dom Barretto / Henry Wilkinson	[e-mail]

Editors' Note

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. An 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:

"Au" chemical symbol for gold;

"g/t" grams per tonne;

"oz" Troy ounces.

Ends.

 

END

 

 

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