Licence Acquisitions and Transfers Update

19 August 2008
AIM / PLUS Markets: AAU

              LICENCE ACQUISTIONS AND TRANSFERS UPDATE

Ariana  Resources  plc   ("Ariana"  or  "the   Company"),  the   gold
exploration and development company focused on Turkey, announces that
it has acquired new  exploration ground in the  vicinity of its  main
projects and that licence transfers are complete on six core licences
for the Tavsan project.

Highlights:

- Nine new licences acquired in western Turkey

- Six licences transferred for the Tavsan project

- Total  ground-holding  at  approximately  1050  km2,  excluding  JV
licences in eastern Turkey

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"The acquisition  of new  ground helps  us to  build our  exploration
portfolio within the WAVE project area, in which we are expecting  to
delineate a  resource of  1  million ounces  of  gold in  the  coming
years.  The completion of  the first phase  of licence transfers  for
the Tavsan project  allows the Company  to begin formal  work on  the
project,  with  the  aim   of  demonstrating  its  evident   resource
potential.

"Following our recent  dealings on  the Tavsan  project, our  licence
portfolio in western  Turkey is  now even  more focused  on the  WAVE
project area, which enables  an ease of logistics  and better use  of
our human and  financial resources.   The Company holds  some of  the
best exploration properties in western Turkey and we look forward  to
developing our licence portfolio and target stream yet further."

New acquisitions

Nine new exploration licences have been acquired in western Turkey in
regions  surrounding  our  main  project  development  areas.   These
licences build on the strategic ground holdings around our  principal
projects and offer the opportunity to define new exploration  targets
for drill-testing.

Tavsan transfers

Five operating and one exploration licence within the package of  ten
licences purchased from  Odyssey Resources have  been transferred  to
Galata Madencilik San. ve Tic. Ltd., Ariana's local subsidiary.   The
licences transferred include several priority licences, which contain
the existing 43-101 resource  established by Odyssey Resources.   The
remaining four licences are pending transfer.

Contacts:


Ariana Resources plc               Tel: [phone]
Michael Spriggs, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director

Beaumont Cornish Limited           Tel: [phone]
Roland Cornish

Lothbury Financial                 Tel: [phone]
Michael Padley / Louise Davis

Loeb Aron & Company Ltd            Tel: [phone]
Peter Freeman / Frank Lucas

Alexander David Securities Limited Tel: [phone]
Nick Bealer / David Scott


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 exploring a portfolio of prospective licences selected
on the basis of its in-house geological and remote-sensing database.

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.

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

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