www.arianaresources.com
Ariana is an AIM-listed and PLUS-traded gold exploration and development company which aims to develop new gold mines in Turkey. Ariana is lead by an experienced board and is spearheaded by a focused Turkish management team. Current resources stand at approximately 400,000 ounces of gold in western Turkey, with two key projects under development: the high-grade Kiziltepe prospect and the heap-leachable Tavsan prospect. An exploration joint venture with European Goldfields (20% shareholders in Ariana) in northeastern Turkey is focused on the Ardala copper-gold porphyry and surrounding areas. Ariana holds a large and prospective licence portfolio from which a pipeline of new exploration targets is being generated for drill-testing utilizing an ‘in-house’ drilling team. Exploration and development success is being delivered via a strategy which integrates geoscientific knowledge and new technologies to identify and advance prospects for drill-testing. Ariana aims to develop a portfolio of licences in western Turkey which contain an aggregate of one million ounces of gold; a target which it is already on the way to achieving.
Ariana Resources says Red Rabbit in Turkey is building momentum
Ariana Resources (AIM: AAU) told investors that 2009 was a year of change and new challenges. The company said that its two flagship projects, Kiziltepe and Tavşan - which were recently combined to form the ‘Red Rabbit’ project - continue to build momentum.
“[2009] was marked by the production of our first gold; this positive outcome accelerated our progress and enhanced our vision for the economic development of the Red Rabbit project”. Ariana Chairman Michael Spriggs commented.
“We are now working to conclude a joint venture agreement on Red Rabbit which aims to fast-track the project through to production ... We have laid out a clear strategy for the future growth of the Company and are currently pursuing several new initiatives that aim to create long term value for shareholders.”
“While the Red Rabbit project forms a core component of this strategy, we are also cognisant of our strengths as a Turkish focused exploration company and recognise that further development of our project pipeline will act as a mechanism of growth."
Ariana has been working alongside Procea, a Turkish turn-key construction firm, to finalise their proposed Red Rabbit joint venture. In October 2009, the companies agreed the terms of the 50-50 joint venture, whereby it is envisaged that Procea will earn into Ariana’s Red Rabbit project to develop a long term gold mining operation in Turkey.
In the current financial year the development of the Red Rabbit project has accelerated. In March, the company announced results from a geophysical programme which located several anomalies and defined significant exploration upside on the Kiziltepe area of Red Rabbit. Subsequently, Ariana has been gearing up for a fresh drilling campaign on the Kiziltepe gold prospect.
Last month, Ariana raised £1 million through a placing of 50 million new shares at 2p each to certain institutional investors. Most recently, on the 19 April 2010, Ariana said it was working hard to ensure the proposed joint venture starts-up in May.
An initial programme of drilling comprising several short test holes will be focused on three distinct trends that the anomalies coincided with, including one in the immediate vicinity of Arzu South, another beneath a hill which conceals part of the Arzu structure and one in the vicinity of the Vein 5 structure. Ariana plans to cover no more than 1,000 metres in the initial programme.
In February, Ariana completed a scoping study and an environmental scoping assessment along with preliminary designs of the processing plant.
The scoping study was based on an envisaged production of 150,000 tonnes of ore per annum over a mine life greater than five years.
Ariana is targeting in its revised geological resource model a total resource of vein and halo mineralisation at a 1 g/t cut-off as being between 1.4 Mt (million tonnes) and 1.7 Mt at gold grades between 2.5 and 3.5 g/t and silver grades between 50 and 70 g/t. The average in-pit resource grade is expected to be 3.5 to 4.5 g/t gold and 50 to 70 g/t silver.
Elsewhere in Turkey, Ariana noted that it continued to make progress with its Greater Pontides JV with European Goldfields TSX, AIM: EGU). The company highlighted 2009’s exploration success at the Salinbaş prospect which occurs within the Ardala Project area, where exploration and drilling delivered significant results.
Also, separately, Ariana began a new exploration programme on its own, which is initially focused on western Turkey.
“We are on the threshold of the next exciting phase of our company's evolution,” Ariana chairman Michael Spriggs commented.
