Ariana Resources plc : Positive Drilling Results from Arzu South

19 October 2016
AIM: AAU

POSITIVE DRILLING RESULTS FROM ARZU SOUTH

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 at the SE end of the Arzu South vein 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:

• 645 meters of Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling for 7 holes was completed on the SE end of Arzu South, to drill-test the southern end of the Arzu South vein to within 15m of surface and targeting the southern extents of the recently discovered Arzu South Parallel vein trend ("ASP").
   
• Best intercepts from the southern end of Arzu South include, 5m @ 6.9g/t gold + 138.5g/t silver, 7m @ 4.0g/t gold + 23.9g/t silver and 2m @ 4.1g/t gold + 35.4g/t silver.
   
• Intercepts testing the ASP vein returned with anomalous grades including, 1m @ 3.7g/t gold + 9.7g/t silver, 1m @ 1.7g/t gold + 85.1g/t silver and 1m @ 0.5g/t gold + 30.5g/t silver.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: 

"Although the drilling at the southern end of Arzu South comprised only seven holes, we are especially encouraged to have determined the continuity of high-grade and near-surface mineralisation at the very end of the Arzu South vein.  The current in-pit resource does not encompass this mineralisation, suggesting that the pit will capture additional ounces which have the potential to form part of the final reserve. 

In addition, this drilling has confirmed the continuity of the ASP vein trend right through to the southern end of Arzu South.  It appears that the southern end of the ASP trend disperses in to wider zones of sub-economic stockwork mineralisation than at the northern end of Arzu South. Despite this, new work at the far southern end of Arzu South, demonstrates that the main vein structure jogs to the east and continues for perhaps a further 200m - this section of the vein system, referred to as Arzu Far South, remains completely untested by drilling and will now form part of the Phase Two programme."

Drilling Programme

On 14 September 2016, Ariana announced the completion of Phase One of its 2016 drilling programme. That announcement outlined the primary objectives for the Phase One programme, which included drilling at the southern end of Arzu South. 

Seven RC drill holes totalling 645 meters were drilled to primarily test the southern extensions of Arzu South and of the Arzu South Parallel ("ASP") vein, which was identified during 1:1,000 scale geological and alteration mapping within the limits of pre-stripping undertaken recently by the mining team (Figure 1).

The Arzu South vein was specifically targeted in three shallow holes which were drilled to test the structure within 15 vertical metres from surface at the southernmost limits of the currently designed Arzu South pit. Results from these holes include, 5m @ 6.9g/t Au + 138.5g/t Ag, 7m @ 4g/t Au + 23.9g/t Ag and 2m @ 4.1g/t Au + 35.4g/t Ag (Table 1). These intercepts reinforce the potential for high-grade ore to be accessed within the early stages of mining in this area. In particular, the southernmost two holes at the end of Arzu South intercepted mineralisation which lies outside of the current resource model but inside the Whittle pit shell.  This will have the effect of increasing in pit reserves. 

In addition, two hundred meters of ASP vein strike was tested on three drill fences (100m fence spacing), testing the structure to a maximum vertical depth of 85 meters below surface and, in two places, intercepting the Arzu South vein on each fence.  Results from the ASP trend returned with intercepts including, 1m @ 3.7g/t Au + 9.7g/t Ag, 1m @ 1.7g/t Au + 85.1g/t Ag and 1m @ 0.5g/t Au + 30.5g/t Ag (Table 1). Compared to the drilling results in the northwest of Arzu South, ASP appears to decrease in width, from a maximum thickness of 4m to an approximate minimum thickness of 1m in the southeast. However, grades remain consistently anomalous along strike and depth, except to the far southeast, where the structure appears to disperse in to wider zones of low grade stockwork mineralisation. As an additional vein and stockwork zone sitting within the Whittle pit shell of Arzu South, ASP will potentially contribute to the resource, in addition to reducing waste-rock excavated from the footwall of the Arzu South vein.

Reporting of significant results for the Phase One drilling programme is now complete.  Plans for Phase Two of the 2016 programme are being finalised and drilling is currently scheduled to start on 24 October 2016 for a total of 3,500m.  This represents a significant expansion to our original drilling plans for 2016 and is considered especially warranted given the exploration success of the earlier phase of the programme.      

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.  The location of intercepts relative to the Whittle optimised pit shell is also identified, demonstrating that considerable additional mineralisation has been discovered within or just to the margins of the Whittle pit.  Where ASP was intercepted these are identified, otherwise the intercepts relate to the main Arzu South vein trend.

Figure 1

FIGURE 1 is a map of the SE end of the Arzu South pit, showing the limits of the feasibility designed pit and the recent Whittle optimisation.  The positions of all new and historic drill collars are shown, with drill traces and intercept locations identified for all recent holes.  The ASP vein trend (with associated low-grade stockwork zones) is apparent even at the southern end of Arzu South and these initial holes demonstrate the continuity of mineralisation along this trend, though to a lesser degree than the NW end of Arzu South.  The Arzu Far South target area is also shown, which will be drill-tested for the first time as part of the Phase Two programme.

Sampling and Assaying Procedures

178 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