SALINBAS GOLD PROJECT UPDATE

RNS Number : 8423P

Ariana Resources PLC

15 October 2019

 

15 October 2019

AIM: AAU

SALINBAS GOLD PROJECT UPDATE

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the exploration and development company with gold mining operations in Turkey, is pleased to announce that it has been granted a renewal of an operational licence at the Salinbas Gold Project ("Salinbas" or "the Project"). Salinbas is located in the Hot Gold Corridor and is 100% owned by Ariana through its shareholding in Greater Pontides Exploration B.V. ("GPE").

Highlights:

·    Ardala operational licence renewed for 5 years (expiring 3^rd June 2024) by the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs ("MAPEG").

·    Ardala operating permit increased in area substantially, covering the known extents of the Salinbas, Salinbas North and Ardala mineralisation.

·    All three licences (Ardala, Salinbas and Hizarliyayla) comprising the Salinbas Project are now secured as operational licences, with further renewals permissible.

·    Resource drilling programmes on the licences are expected to recommence from Q2 2020.

·    Environmental baseline and scoping studies underway.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"The renewal of this key licence for the Salinbas Project is a major milestone for the Company.  The Ardala licence contains a large part of the existing Salinbas gold-silver JORC Resource and the entirety of the Resource established for the Ardala copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry.  We are also particularly pleased that MAPEG has accepted our application for a significant increase in area of our operating permit, which now provides us with the right to undertake mining activities across the entire mineralised area within the licence.

As a result of these recent positive project developments for the Project, the Company is committing to the immediate commencement of an environmental baseline study and associated scoping work required in advance of an Environmental Impact Assessment.  We are also going to undertake further drill planning so that the Company will be in a position to undertake dedicated resource drilling of this Project from Q2 2020."

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]
Dom Barretto / 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:

"JORC" the Joint Ore Reserves Committee

Ends.

 

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