5 February 2015
AIM: AAU
EQUITY INVESTMENT
TOTAL VOTING RIGHTS
Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration and development company focused on Turkey is pleased to announce that it has entered into an investment agreement with Metal Tiger plc (LON:MTR) ("Metal Tiger") that includes a direct equity investment of up to £150,000 by Metal Tiger for shares with attaching warrants in Ariana.
Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:
"Ariana is pleased to announce a strategic investment in the Company by Metal Tiger which adds to the Company's underlying cash position. The full amount of the investment, when received, is expected to provide Ariana with sufficient working capital for core Company operating costs until Q4 2015.
"This visibility of forward funding is key to enabling management of the Company to focus on development of our gold production plans at Kiziltepe; the furtherance of new exploration and development opportunities out of existing interests; and the generation of value in respect of our Joint Venture with Eldorado Gold Corporation, and in particular the Salinbas/Ardala asset.
"We are also keen to consider a variety of new opportunities that upcoming licence auctions could offer both Ariana and Metal Tiger shareholders."
Investment Agreement
The key terms of the investment agreement are as follows:
- Metal Tiger has made an initial investment of £75,000 for 8,333,333 Ariana new ordinary shares at a price of 0.9p per share ("the New Ordinary Shares"). This amount has now been paid to Ariana. Metal Tiger will also receive 8,333,333 warrants to subscribe for new ordinary shares in Ariana, within a three-year term at an exercise price of 1.8p per share;
- Metal Tiger will invest a further £75,000 for 8,333,333 Ariana shares at a price of 0.9p per share within 20 business days of Ariana confirming via an AIM announcement, receipt of the forestry permits, as previously advised to the market as a pre-requisite for process plant construction and gold production. The second instalment may be accelerated and paid earlier, at Metal Tiger's option. The second instalment commitment shall only remain available to Ariana provided the forestry permits are received by 30 June 2015. On payment of the second instalment Metal Tiger will receive an additional 8,333,333 warrants to subscribe for new ordinary shares in Ariana, with a three-year term at an exercise price of 1.8p per share;
- In the event that Ariana confirms via an AIM announcement that they have sold their interest in the Salinbas/Ardala project for cash or share consideration in excess of US$15 million, the price of any un-exercised warrants will increase by 50% to an exercise price of 2.7p per share.
Application will be made for the New Ordinary Shares which will rank, pari passu, with all existing ordinary shares in the Company to be admitted to trading on AIM ("Admission"). Admission is expected to take place on or around 12 February 2015.
Further to Admission, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 661,171,307 ordinary shares with a nominal value of 0.1p each, with voting rights ("Ordinary Shares"). The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in Treasury. Therefore the total number of Ordinary Shares in the Company with voting rights is 661,171,307.
Collaboration
Ariana and Metal Tiger have agreed to collaborate to identify and consider new resource investment opportunities in Turkey where both parties may be able to participate. Most notably both companies are keen to consider the additional opportunities that may arise in respect of fresh licence auctions due to take place in the next two months in Turkey. Further information will be provided to the market in respect of this collaboration in due course.
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 |
| Saif Janjua | |
| Loeb Aron & Company Ltd. | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 1128 |
| John Beresford-Peirse / Dr. Frank Lucas | |
| St Brides Partners Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
| Susie Geliher / Lottie Brocklehurst | |
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 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.
Ends