3 June 2015
AIM: AAU
FORESTRY PERMIT APPROVAL RECEIVED
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 received confirmation, through its Joint Venture company, Zenit Madencilik San. ve Tic. A.S. ("Zenit"), that the Prime Ministry in Turkey has formally approved its application to the Department of Forestry and Water Affairs ("DFWA") for the Red Rabbit Gold Project ("Red Rabbit") in west Turkey, and that the DFWA has approved the permits subject to the payment of statutory fees.
Highlights:
- Initiation of Kiziltepe mine construction phase at Red Rabbit to follow the issue of forestry permits by DFWA.
- DFWA has confirmed the approval of the permit application, subject to the payment of statutory forestry fees by Zenit within the next three months.
- US$33 million construction finance facility already secured with Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi A.S.
- Construction timeline to be announced in due course to specify targeted production timescales.
- Production targeting 21,000 oz gold equivalent per annum in the first five years of the eight year life of mine at Kiziltepe with extension anticipated.
Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:
"This is a significant milestone for Ariana, moving us a step closer to becoming a gold producer. This critical permit approval has been a long time coming but through perseverance and good-faith we have obtained the result we sought and expected. As a result, the construction phase of our Kiziltepe Mine is now just around the corner. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate our partners, Proccea Construction, for the successful conclusion of this process, the diligence and patience of the JV team, and to thank our shareholders for their support during the past year. Proccea are in the process of compiling a revised construction timeline for our Kiziltepe mine, and I look forward to being able to provide clear guidance to gold production in the coming weeks."
Deniz Aybars, Managing Director, Proccea Construction, commented:
"We are delighted that we can now press on with the development of the Kiziltepe mine, and deliver on our joint objective to become the next Turkish gold mining company. We see significant opportunities for growth in this sector in the years ahead and we value the partnership that we have established with Ariana Resources. This partnership provides the foundations of a unique turn-key approach to the discovery and development of gold projects throughout the region."
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 |
| Saif Janjua | |
| Loeb Aron & Company Ltd. | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 1128 |
| John Beresford-Peirse / Dr. Frank Lucas | |
| 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