27 July 2015
AIM: AAU
PLACING AND SUBSCRIPTION TO RAISE £1,000,000
Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the Anglo-Turkish gold exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to announce that it has raised £1,000,000 before expenses. The proceeds of the Placing and Subscription will be used primarily for further exploration and resource development of the Kiziltepe Sector of the Red Rabbit Gold Project in western Turkey ("Red Rabbit") where first gold production is expected to commence in H2 2016 and for additional working capital.
Details of the Placing and Subscription
The Company has placed 77,777,778 new ordinary shares (the "Placing Shares") and 33,333,333 new ordinary shares (the "Subscription Shares") to raise £1,000,000 (before expenses) at a price of 0.9 pence per new ordinary share. Proccea Construction Co. ("Proccea"), Ariana's JV partner on Red Rabbit, and Directors of the Company have subscribed in the Subscription as follows:
| Subscription | Number of Subscription Shares issued | Shareholding in Ariana after the Subscription | Percentage of issued share capital |
| Proccea | 11,111,111 | 22,602,021 | 2.82% |
| Michael de Villiers | 6,111,112 | 19,911,112 | 2.48% |
| Dr Kerim Sener | 2,222,222 | 12,410,201 | 1.55% |
The Directors' subscription ("Directors' Subscription") is a related party transaction under the AIM Rules, and William Payne, the independent director, having consulted with the nominated adviser, considers the Directors' Subscription to be fair and reasonable so far as shareholders are concerned.
Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares and Subscription Shares to be admitted to trading and it is expected that Admission will occur, and dealings in the Placing Shares and Subscription Shares will commence on 30 July 2015.
The Placing Shares and Subscription Shares will, when issued, rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued shares of Ariana, including the right to receive any dividends and other distributions declared following Admission.
As at the date of Admission, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 802,060,195 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 802,060,195.
Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:
"This fundraising provides the Company with the funds required to continue its planned exploration and resource development work at the Kiziltepe Sector of the Red Rabbit Gold Project. In the past 18 months the Company has systematically established multiple resource target areas and has advanced several of these to the point of drill-testing.
"Together with our partners, Proccea, we recognise the potential for the project to yield additional resources that can ultimately be fed in to the mining schedule and increase mine life of Kiziltepe where we anticipate our first gold pour in H2 2016, currently targeting 20,000 oz per annum. We are very pleased to have the support of our partners in this fundraising ahead of imminent mine construction; like us, they understand the value of additional exploration and resource development at this important time in the development of the mine.
"We look forward to updating shareholders further with exploration and mine construction news in the coming months."
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 | |
| Loeb Aron & Company Ltd. | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 1128 |
| John Beresford-Peirse | |
| St Brides Partners Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
| Lottie Brocklehurst / Felicity Winkles | |
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