Ariana Resources plc : Lithium Investment Update

26 April 2016
AIM: AAU

DAKOTA - LYNAS FIND LITHIUM PROJECT UPDATE

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), is pleased to provide an update on the exceptional drilling results from its 7.64% strategic investment in Dakota Minerals' Lynas Find Lithium Project, in the Pilgangoora region of Western Australia.  The results included 35m @ 2.1%, 35m @ 1.75% and 40m @ 1.52% Li₂O, with an overall weighted average grade of 1.75% Li₂O. These results confirm the continuation of the Pilgangoora system, now the second largest hard rock lithium deposit in the world, into Dakota's Lynas Find Lithium Project. 

Full details of the announcement included details of the drilling programme and highlights can be found through the following link:

http://dakotaminerals.com.au/index.php/asx-announcements/2016/download?path=1547787.pdf

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: 

"Our team are highly encouraged by Dakota Minerals' excellent maiden drilling results on the Lynas Find project in the Pilgangoora region of Western Australia.  In the interests of Ariana's shareholders, we are leveraging our exploration targeting capabilities and our ability to commercialise new project opportunities outside of the gold sector.  The synergy between global gold bearing systems and those of the emerging and highly exciting technology-metals sector are proving to be an excellent fit for the company.

The Ariana team is continuing to identify further technology-metals projects, with a special focus on lithium. We expect to commercialise these projects according to the model applied to Dakota Minerals." 

Contacts:

Editor's Notes

Competent Person:
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 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.