Kiziltepe Vein System Extended

RNS Number : 5489N

Ariana Resources PLC

01 February 2016

 

1 February 2016

AIM: AAU

Ariana Resources plc

KIZILTEPE VEIN SYSTEM EXTENDED

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), is pleased to announce the results from its final phase of drilling at Kiziltepe in 2015. Kiziltepe is part of the Red Rabbit Joint Venture with Proccea Construction Co. and will be 50% owned by Ariana once mine construction is completed in H2 2016.

Highlights:

• Three new exploration holes into Arzu Central, between the Arzu North and Arzu South production areas, confirms the potential of a 600m extension to the known mineralised strike length of the Arzu vein system.
   
• Best intercepts from this area include, 22m @ 2.93g/t gold + 29.76 silver, 10m @ 2.32 g/t gold + 46.79g/t silver and 5m @ 0.99g/t gold + 13.62 g/t silver.
   
• Near surface pre-production drilling over Arzu South provides for advanced scheduling before open-pit mining commences.
   
• Best pre-production drilling results include, 5m @ 3.23 g/t gold + 68.60g/t silver, 3m @ 4.98g/t gold + 74.57 silver and 4m @ 3.38 g/t gold + 76.40 g/t silver.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: 

"This is an extremely exciting development in the exploration of the Kiziltepe Mine area.  We have now confirmed the potential for Arzu Central to contain mineralisation of the same calibre as the rest of the Arzu vein system.  The results are fully in line with our expectations following the establishment an Exploration Target in this area, which has the potential to double the current resources at Kiziltepe and will become a key focus for further exploration efforts.  In time, such additions to the resource base may further increase the mine life of Kiziltepe well beyond the eight years currently planned.  In addition, we are pleased to note that we will be submitting new forestry permit applications to enable drilling through this area as part of a broader programme. 

"We are very encouraged by these results, following in such quick succession after the excellent drilling results from our Kizilcukur site, as announced on 18 January 2016.  We look forward to announcing further exploration drilling results during early 2016.  Such results are contributing significantly to our view that there will be extensions to the projected mine life at the Kiziltepe Mine."

Drilling Programme

In early October 2015, Ariana Resources successfully completed a series of deep (up to 150m) exploration holes at Arzu South (as announced 1 December 2015). Following the results of this initial phase of drilling, a second phase of exploration drilling was planned for Kiziltepe. This final phase of drilling, completed in early December 2015, was undertaken to achieve two objectives:

1)  Drill three deep (up to 150m) exploration holes; two on the northernmost accessible limits of the Arzu South vein, and one hole drilling the southern-most limits of the Arzu North vein.  

2)  Drill eleven shallow (10 to 30m) pre-production holes, testing the Arzu South vein near surface, where the Company expects to start open-pit mining operations.

In this phase of work, a total of 614m of Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling was completed at Kiziltepe (Table 1).  Of this, 357m was used to test part of the Arzu Central Target between the planned Arzu South and Arzu North production pits; an area which demonstrates potential to host significant mineralisation over a further 600m of strike length (Figure 1 and 2). Arzu Central first demonstrated significant potential for mineralisation during an exploration drilling campaign in 2011/2, where drilling on an extension of the Derya vein intercepted "bonanza" grade mineralisation; 12.1m @ 13.1 g/t gold + 187.6 g/t silver (16.5 g/t gold equiv.), including 1m @ 65.9g/t gold + 760 g/t silver (79.7g/t gold equiv.), as announced 20 May 2012 (Figure 1). The 2015 drilling, aimed to test the northern-most extension of Arzu South, and the southern-most extension of Arzu North, in order to increase the Company's confidence that a non-outcropping mineralised corridor exists between these two areas.

Two fenced holes were drilled on the Arzu South side of the Arzu Central Target. This was necessary to better understand the geometry of the mineralisation beneath a cover unit of pumice rhyodacite ignimbrite. Hole KTP-RC07-15, from 69m to 78m, intercepted an eight metre mineralised quartz vein, with no outcrop seen in the cap-rock at surface.  600m further along strike to the northwest, a single hole was drilled from the Arzu North end of the Arzu Central Target.  This hole was drilled due south into a region where the Arzu North quartz vein is obscured beneath the rhyodacite cap-rock unit. Hole KTP-RC19-15, from 105m to 110m, intercepted a five metre mineralised quartz vein. 

Significant vein intercepts as identified in this drilling programme add confidence to the potential of the Arzu Central Target to host an additional 92,000 oz gold and 1,100,000 silver (as announced 23 May 2013).  This area will need to be drill-tested further to improve confidence in this area to significantly add to the current resource base and to determine whether the vein system in this area will be amenable to underground mining in the future (Figure 3).

The Arzu South pre-production drilling totalled 255m for 11 holes, testing quartz vein mineralisation to an average depth of 23m.  All holes intercepted their targets as expected and provide infill results to confirm near surface grade distribution. With open-pit mining currently planned to commence ahead of the summer, the completed pre-production holes will help inform advanced scheduling before mining operations are initiated.

In 2015, Ariana successfully completed a total of 1,208 metres of RC drilling within the Kiziltepe Mine area. The results for phase one (594m) were announced on the 1 December 2015, with phase two (614m) released here. Both phases of drilling demonstrate the potential to significantly grow the Kiziltepe resource; current JORC reserves - 1.1M tonnes @ 3.1 g/t gold and 39.8 g/t silver for 115,000 oz gold and 1,470,00 oz silver. 

Sampling and Assaying Procedures

Samples were selected based on geological logging of RC chips during drilling, and sent for assay. All samples from the drilling programme undertaken by Ariana Resources plc, were prepared and assayed by 30g fire assay, and ICP-MS multi-element analysis, at the ALS Global preparation facility in Izmir.  Routine re-assaying of all samples assaying greater than 10 g/t of gold and 100 g/t of silver has also been completed by ALS Global.  Standard, blank and duplicate samples are being used in the sample batches, which is in line with the Company's quality control procedures.  Laboratory sample preparation, assaying procedures and chain of custody are appropriately controlled.  The Company maintains an archive of reference RC chip samples, in addition to all sample pulps and splits.

Click on, or paste the following link into your web browser, to view the associated PDF document:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/5489N_1-2016-1-31.pdf 

Contacts:

Ariana Resources plc	Tel: [phone]
Michael de Villiers, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director
Beaumont Cornish Limited	Tel: [phone]
Roland Cornish / Felicity Geidt
Beaufort Securities Limited	Tel: [phone]
Jon Belliss
Loeb Aron & Company Ltd.	Tel: [phone]
John Beresford-Peirse
IFC Advisory Limited	Tel: [phone]
Tim Metcalfe Graham Herring Heather Armstrong

Editor's Notes:

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 Africa, Australia and Europe.  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.  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.

Glossary of Technical Terms:

"g/t" grams per tonne

"JORC" the Joint Ore Reserves Committee

"m" Metres

"oz" Ounces

"Au" Gold

"Ag" Silver

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