6 July 2015
AIM: AAU
RED RABBIT GOLD PROJECT UPDATE AND LAND ACQUISTIONS
Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the Anglo-Turkish gold exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to announce a positive update from its Kiziltepe Gold-Silver Mine ("Kiziltepe") following the receipt of forestry approvals. Kiziltepe is the initial mine targeted at the Red Rabbit Gold Project ("Red Rabbit") in western Turkey, a joint venture ("JV") between Ariana and Proccea Construction Co. ("Proccea"), where construction is expected to commence shortly.
Highlights:
- 100% of the freehold land in the tailings dam and process plant sites of Red Rabbit Project has been acquired.
- Permission to utilise Treasury (Government) lands within the project area has been granted.
- Environmental Impact Assessment area has been increased and granted following an application to the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning.
- 95% of total land required for Red Rabbit has been acquired, with remaining land to be purchased in the coming months.
- Major contractor bidding process underway.
Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:
"We are very pleased to have secured over 95% of the surface rights for the project following the receipt of our forestry permit approvals. This is particularly significant progress on the critical path to construction, allowing site works at the tailings dam and process plant sites to be initiated early in the development programme.
"Meanwhile other project development work is continuing at pace, with site surveys complete and process plant component and mining contractor bidding now underway. We look forward to finalising this bidding process in the coming weeks, in order for long lead items to be ordered and for the mining contractor to be mobilised to site as we progress towards our first gold pour targeted for H2 2016."
Development Update
The JV has remained focused on acquiring additional freehold land in the infrastructure footprint areas of the Kiziltepe sector of the Red Rabbit Project. In addition to the freehold land previously acquired over the Arzu South open-pit area, the JV has now obtained 100% of the required freehold land in the tailings dam and process plant site areas. An application to utilise Treasury properties for the duration of the project has also been granted. The partnership is now focusing on obtaining all remaining land required for the project, which is primarily located along the pipeline route to the tailings dam. In total, 637,902m2 of freehold land has now been acquired by the JV partnership.
An application to the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning has been granted to extend the Environmental Impact Assessment area designated for the mine site in order to provide additional operational flexibility. The extension to the EIA is located in the vicinity of the waste rock dump and will provide sufficient space to store topsoil for use in later mine site reclamation.
Detailed site surveying work has been completed at the process plant area and for access roads ahead of construction start-up. Geotechnical drilling within the foundations area of the process plant site is due to be initiated once trees have been felled by the Department of Forestry. Final engineering specifications for the process plant and a bidding period for crushing, grinding and ADR components have been initiated. Engineering and design work has been completed for general infrastructure facilities including those for support and management buildings.
Final quotes are being obtained from mining contractors, ahead of mobilisation to site following construction start-up. The timing of start-up is contingent on the felling of trees by the Department of Forestry primarily in the process plant and tailings dam locations. Further guidance on the project schedule will be provided in due course.
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