Ariana Resources plc : 100% surface rights obtained at Arzu South

2 September 2014
AIM : AAU
ARIANA RESOURCES PLC 
100% SURFACE RIGHTS OBTAINED AT ARZU SOUTH

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the Anglo-Turkish gold exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to announce an update from its Kiziltepe Gold-Silver Mine ("Kiziltepe") following the Company's recent approval of US$33 million of funding with a Turkish investment bank.  Kiziltepe is the initial mine targeted at the Red Rabbit Gold Project ("Red Rabbit") in western Turkey, a joint venture between Ariana and Proccea Construction Co. ("Proccea").  

Highlights:

• 100% of the freehold land in the Arzu South open-pit area of Red Rabbit Project has been acquired

• Detailed engineering plans are in preparation with the Proccea team ahead of start of construction targeted in Q4 2014

• Permissions to utilise grid power and local water are in process

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"We are pleased to have completely de-risked surface rights over our primary gold-silver reserve at Arzu South, following careful and patient negotiations with local landowners.  This is testament to the strength of our local relations and community support for the development of the Red Rabbit Project.

"It is reassuring to note that our partners, Proccea Construction Co., remain focused on completing further land acquisitions across the project area in advance of receiving final permits for construction start-up.  Owning 100% of the surface rights at Arzu South is a critical step towards the successful initiation of mining at Kiziltepe and we look forward to updating shareholders on future progress."

Development Update

The Company and its JV partners, Proccea, have been focused on acquiring additional freehold land in the vicinity of the planned Arzu South open-pit within the Kiziltepe sector of the Red Rabbit Project and in the tailings dam and waste-rock dump areas.  To date 100% of the required freehold land has been purchased in the Arzu South area in addition to certain peripheral areas, which will be necessary for other mine infrastructure.  The partnership has also started the land acquisition process in the tailings dam area, with one large block purchased to date.  A small parcel of land has also been acquired at the waste-rock dump site.  In total, 358,128m² of freehold land has now been acquired by the JV partnership.

Proccea are currently working on detailed engineering plans for mine construction and are preparing for construction start-up in Q4 2014, pending the grant of land access permits.  Permissions to utilise grid electricity and water through the local authorities are in process and are continuing to plan. 

Contacts:

About Ariana Resources:

Ariana is an Anglo-Turkish exploration and mine development company focused on advancing 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 that 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.  The Company has recently updated its AIM Rule 26 section, including an update to its major shareholders list.

Ends