Ariana Resources plc : Drilling Programme and Broker appointment

3 mei 2016

3 May 2016
AIM: AAU

DRILLING PROGRAMME & BROKER APPOINTMENT

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), is pleased to announce its plans to commence a new drilling programme on the Kiziltepe Project following positive results from recent resource development work.  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.  At the same time, the Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited ("Panmure Gordon") as joint-broker.

Highlights:

• Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling to focus on drilling the extensions of several veins in the vicinity of the Kiziltepe Mine, totalling up to 4,000m.

• Drilling programme to be funded entirely from existing cash reserves by the Company and is expected to commence in July 2016.

• Drilling will be focused in part on drilling the Arzu Central target area beneath cover (Figure 1), subject to securing relevant permissions.

• New forestry permit application submitted to allow for access to the full strike length of the Arzu Central target area.

• Panmure Gordon appointed as joint-broker to develop institutional support of the Company and to enhance its market profile.

             
Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: 

"Recent announcements by the Company have demonstrated unequivocally that the resource base at the Kiziltepe Project will continue to grow with further drilling.  As our partners, Proccea, continue to focus on the delivery of the mine build, we are taking this opportunity to continue to develop the resource with the aim of delivering towards a significantly enhanced mining operation.  The drilling programme will be executed utilising existing funds, visibility on which has been secured.

The appointment of Panmure Gordon comes at this exciting time for the Company, as it approaches production from its first mine at Kiziltepe.  We look forward to working with the Panmure Gordon team to drive further institutional support of the Company at this pivotal moment in the development of the business."

Figure 1: Three-dimensional model of the Kiziltepe vein system (in yellow) looking north, showing the modelled ore zones and current drilling. The Arzu Central target area is shown in grey.

Contacts:

Ariana Resources plc	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7407 3616
Michael de Villiers, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director
Beaumont Cornish Limited	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
Roland Cornish / Felicity Geidt
Beaufort Securities Limited	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7382 8300
Jon Belliss
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886 2500
Adam James / Tom Salvesen
Loeb Aron & Company Ltd.	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 1128
Anthony Kluk

Editor's Notes

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 c. 525,000 ounces of gold equivalent. 

Beaufort Securities Limited and Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited are joint brokers to the Company and Beaumont Cornish Limited is the Company's Nominated Adviser.  Loeb Aron & Company Ltd. will continue to act as a market advisor to the Company until June 2016.

For further information on Ariana you are invited to visit the Company's website at www.arianaresources.com .

Ends

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