14 May 2019
AIM: AAU
SALINBAS LICENCE, FORESTRY PERMITS AND DRILLING
Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the exploration and development company with gold mining operations in Turkey, is pleased to announce several positive developments on its 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:
· Salinbas licence renewal to operational status approved for 10 years by the General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs ("MAPEG") and relevant fees are paid.
· Ardala licence forestry permits for full drilling programme secured and site preparation including road-building is underway.
· Reverse Circulation ("RC") drill rig has been mobilised to site and a 2,000m drilling programme is commencing imminently.
· Trial mining at the Ardala Au-Cu-Mo porphyry has provided for a c.10,000 tonne stockpile on site containing evidence of significant mineralisation.
Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:
"This is an excellent set of outcomes for the future development of the Salinbas Project, which have converged simultaneously. Now that we have secured all of the permits required for the drilling of the Ardala licence we have much greater flexibility to drill-test some of the key targets defined in earlier exploration. An initial 2,000m of RC drilling is due to commence on the Ardala licence imminently and is expected to conclude by early June. In addition, achieving the upgrade of the Salinbas licence to operational status is a particularly important development, as it will secure our rights to that property for 10 years."
Salinbas Licence
The General Directorate of Mining and Petroleum Affairs ("MAPEG") has approved an operational licence covering part of the Salinbas Project for 10 years. The relevant fees have been paid to MAPEG in order for the licence to be certificated. It is expected that the licence will be formally granted in due course. The Salinbas Licence encompasses the "Discovery Outcrop" of the Salinbas deposit and the JORC Indicated part of the Global Resource for Salinbas. Consequently it is one of the most important licences held by the Company over the Project.
Ardala Licence
Forestry Permits
Forestry permits enabling up to 10,000m of drilling were granted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and have now been assigned locally to the operating subsidiary Pontid Madencilik San. ve Tic. Ltd. Site preparation, including road-building for the purposes of the drilling programme is underway. In addition, existing roads have been made ready for further drilling in the trial mining area and the vicinity of the Ardala Porphyry and to enable access for heavy machinery for the purposes of further trial mining.
Trial Mining
Further trial mining on the Ardala licence was conducted recently as part of a programme of work scheduled for 2019 and as specified to the Turkish Government. Over 10,000 tonnes of mineralised material has now been extracted from the trial mining area and stockpiled on site. Rock-chips and channel samples from the mining area and stockpiles provide average grades of 0.27 g/t Au, 0.14% Cu and 72 g/t Mo. A recent site inspection by MAPEG concluded successfully and reported upon accordingly. The Company expects that the licence will enter its renewal period at MAPEG in June 2019 in good-standing; renewal of the licence is expected to occur during the latter part of 2019.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.
Contacts:
Ariana Resources plc |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7407 3616 |
Michael de Villiers, Chairman |
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Kerim Sener, Managing Director |
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Beaumont Cornish Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 |
Roland Cornish / Felicity Geidt |
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Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886 2500 |
James Stearns / Atholl Tweedie |
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Yellow Jersey PR Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3004 9512 |
Tim Thompson / Felicity Winkles / Harriet Jackson / Henry Wilkinson |
[email protected] |
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. 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.
Ends.
