Ariana Resources plc : Positive Drilling Results from Arzu Central

12 October 2016
AIM: AAU

POSITIVE DRILLING RESULTS FROM ARZU CENTRAL

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration and development company operating in Turkey, is pleased to announce further results for its Phase One drilling programme of 2016, completed during early September at the Kiziltepe Project.  The results reported here relate to drilling within the Arzu Central target area at Kiziltepe.  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 Q416. 

Highlights:

• Drilling intercepts the widest zone of sulphidic quartz vein mineralisation ever encountered on the Kiziltepe Project, with at least 20m of true width, ending in mineralised quartz.
   
• Best intercepts overall include 10m @ 2.4g/t gold + 28.3g/t silver, 15m @ 1.5g/t gold + 16.4g/t silver, 6m @ 2.3g/t gold + 55.2g/t silver and 5m @ 1.2g/t gold + 34.5g/t silver.
   
• 1,086m of Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling for six initial holes was completed in Arzu Central, in order to improve understanding of the geometry of the mineralisation ahead of Phase Two drilling.
   
• New mineralisation identified in the footwall of the Arzu North vein system, which appears to extend beneath the cap rock sequence and remains otherwise untested. 
   
• Preparations for Phase Two of the 2016 drilling programme are complete, with at least 3,500m currently planned.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: 

"We are exceptionally pleased with these drilling results, as they collectively and unequivocally demonstrate the continuity of mineralisation within the Arzu Central target area.  The results confirm that the mineralised structure remains consistent for at least a further 200m beyond the northern end of the current Arzu South pit and, most significantly, that the vein system appears to be increasing in width.  Meanwhile, zones of stockwork mineralisation and alteration have been identified in three further holes along strike, which potentially narrowly missed the vein due to targeting that was based on the original model.  We now know that the vein is likely to be positioned 10-20 metres to the south of the original target.

Following a revision of our drill targeting based on these results, we are now well-positioned to execute Phase Two of our drilling programme in late October for at least 3,500m.  There is clearly potential for us to start the work on converting the Exploration Target established for Arzu Central in to a JORC Inferred resource with substantial new drilling, some of which will be completed as part of the current programme."

Drilling Programme

Final results have now been received for the drilling completed within the Arzu Central target area as part of Phase One of the 2016 drilling programme. These results include the assay data for six initial holes drilled into the Arzu Central (or Gap Zone) target.   A total of 3,002m of Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling has now been completed as part of Phase One, with 1,086m located in the Arzu Central area.  A further 3,500 meters of RC drilling has been planned for Phase Two of the 2016 programme, scheduled to start in late October. 

Drilling in the Arzu Central area during the 2016 campaign required a two-phase approach. Before a full exploration drilling programme could be designed to extensively test the potential for significant mineralisation within Arzu Central, the geological team planned several "pilot" holes to generate detailed information on: 1) the geometry of non-outcropping mineralisation along the NW end of Arzu South and; 2) the morphology of the overlying pumice ignimbrite cap rock, which obscures any surface indications of mineralisation across Arzu Central.

The results received for Phase One drilling at Arzu Central has indicated that the orientation of mineralisation between Arzu South and Arzu North is orientated at 315 degrees, differing by approximately 7 degrees from the previous interpretation (322 degrees). This was identified by the drilling of two holes (KTP-RC19-16 and KTP-RC21-16), which were positioned to target mineralisation from the northern most extents of known vein intercepts at the NW end of Arzu South. Both holes intercepted significant and wide mineralised quartz and stockwork zones, with best results returning 10m @ 2.4g/t Au + 28.3g/t Ag, 6m @ 2.3g/t Au + 55.2g/t Ag and 5m @ 1.2g/t Au + 34.5g/t Ag.  The latter two intercepts were identified within a 50m (downhole) quartz vein and sulphidic stockwork zone ending in mineralisation, which due to the oblique nature of drilling in to this target, is estimated to be at least 20m wide (true width).  This is the widest continuous zone of mineralisation ever encountered at Kiziltepe and is highly significant to future exploration.

A further four holes were drilled directly into the original Arzu Central target. Two were situated on the Arzu South side of Arzu Central, and the remaining two were drilled on the Arzu North side of Arzu Central. Three of these holes (KTP-RC09-16, KTP-RC10-16 and KTP-RC11-16), were positioned to test the original Arzu Central target which was developed by extrapolating the structure between Arzu South and Arzu North (Figure 1).  Instead, these holes confirmed the presence of a greater thickness of pumice ignimbrite cap rock than originally modelled (by up to 40m).  Also towards the north-east the cap rock unit dips at 30 degrees to the north, which is significantly steeper than expected. Some stock-work and narrow vein mineralisation, typical of that seen in the Arzu North footwall, was intercepted towards the end of hole KTP-RC11-16, suggesting that it may have just missed the main structure.  Meanwhile KTP-RC25-16 intercepted significant mineralisation in the immediate footwall of Arzu North, for 15m @ 1.5g/t Au + 16.4g/t Ag, indicating that a completely untested additional vein is located in this position.  Importantly, this hole identified the potential for other mineralised structures occurring between Arzu North and Derya.

From this initial round of drilling, it is clear that significant mineralisation occurs within the Arzu Central target zone (Figure 1 and 2).  Importantly, this mineralisation trends in a manner different to that originally modelled and so planned holes for Phase Two of the 2016 programme have been reviewed and revised in the light of the new data.

Table 1:  Significant RC drilling results from the 2016 programme, arranged in order of the gram x metre intercepts (down-hole gold equivalent grade multiplied by intercept thickness).  The intercepts reported in this table are the down-hole lengths.  Intercept grades have been calculated using a 0.5 g/t Au minimum cut-off with up to 2m internal waste allowed. 

FIGURE 1 IS ATTACHED http://hugin.info/138153/R/2048379/765861.pdf 

Figure 1 shows a three dimensional image looking down on the Arzu Central area, showing the current Whittle pit shells.  The positions of all new and historic drill holes are shown, with drill traces and intercept locations.  Several new holes were located to intercept the mineralisation beneath the pumice ignimbrite cap rock sequence and are representative of part of the Arzu Central target area.  Several new vein trends were identified and these will be tested as part of the Phase Two programme.

FIGURE 2 IS ATTACHED http://hugin.info/138153/R/2048379/765862.pdf 

Figure 2 shows a long-section through the Arzu structure showing the position of new drilling.  The contours show the gram x metre intercepts.  The approximate outlines of the open-pits at Arzu South and North are also shown and these give an indication of the limits of previous resource modelling.  The continued identification of mineralisation beyond these areas in to Arzu Central is encouraging and provides further resource upside.  Note that the upper ignimbrite is not flat-lying and that it thickens towards the centre of the Arzu Central target.

Sampling and Assaying Procedures

269 samples were selected based on geological logging of RC chips during drilling and sent for assay. All samples from the drilling programme undertaken by Ariana Resources plc, were prepared and assayed by 30g fire assay, and ICP-MS multi-element analysis, at the ALS Global laboratory in Izmir.  Routine re-assaying of all samples assaying greater than 10 g/t of gold and 100 g/t of silver has also been completed by ALS Global.  Standard, blank and duplicate samples are being used in the sample batches, which is in line with the Company's quality control procedures.  Laboratory sample preparation, assaying procedures and chain of custody are appropriately controlled.  The Company maintains an archive of reference RC chip samples, in addition to all sample pulps and splits.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

Contacts:

Editor's Notes:

Dr Kerim Sener, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, is the Managing Director of Ariana Resources plc.  A graduate of the University of Southampton in Geology, he also holds a Master's degree from the Royal School of Mines (Imperial College, London) in Mineral Exploration and a doctorate from the University of Western Australia.  He is a Fellow of The Geological Society of London and has worked in geological research and mineral consultancy in Africa, Australia and Europe.  He has read and approved the technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement. 

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. 

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

Glossary of Technical Terms:

"Ag" Silver

"Au" Gold

"g/t" grams per tonne

"m" Metres

"oz" Ounces

Ends