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 seeks further gold exploration licences in Turkey
Turkey-focused gold explorer and developer Ariana Resources (LON:AAU) plans to secure further licences in the highly prospective western part of the country during government auctions starting this month.
It also plans more exploration drilling in the Kiziltepe area with a view to increasing the Red Rabbit project resource of currently 448,000 ounces of gold equivalent.
Red Rabbit combines the Sindirgi and Tavsan deposits, which are 75 kilometres apart in western Turkey. Kiziltepe, Kerpez and Karakavak are prospects within Sindirgi, and Tavsan also comprises multiple individual prospects. The project is being developed in a joint venture with Turkish group Proccea Construction Co.
Exploration drilling is still underway at Kiziltepe, and is showing encouraging mineralisation in the gap between the planned Arzu North and Arzu South open pits, as well as promising results from targeting individual gold veins.
Ariana is formulating plans for a deep drilling programme at Kiziltepe to determine the long term underground potential of the project following the completion of open pit mining activity and beyond the current projected mine life of eight years.
The programme envisages up to four holes targeting a depth of up to 400 metres. The work will start in the third quarter of 2012 at the earliest.
Drilling on other prospects will proceed following the completion of drilling at Kiziltepe. They include Kepez West, Karakavak and Kizilcukur. A decision to proceed with drilling on Karakavak and Kizilcukur will be postponed until snow has cleared from these sites, which is anticipated in April 2012.
The company has completed an extensive review of licences currently available for auction through the Turkish General Directorate of Mining Affairs.
Ariana believes that approximately 40 licences in western Turkey show potential for gold and 14 are considered high priority.
It has committed a budget for the bidding and expects to secure several but not all of these licence areas in auction during February 2012, with further auctions to be held in April and May 2012.
Managing director Dr Kerim Sener said: "The scope and potential for the wider Red Rabbit project continues to grow as we advance our exploration activities in the area. The already robust economic fundamentals of the Red Rabbit gold project have the potential to be further improved.
“In line with this, we remain focussed on providing near term revenue generation, targeting average production of 20,000 ounces of gold equivalent from 2013, whilst simultaneously providing significant upside from wider exploration activities at Red Rabbit, where we are confident we have the ability to delineate in excess of 1 million ounces."
