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 Kepez Prospect likely to yield high grade material amenable to simple mining
Junior gold explorer and developer, Ariana Resources (AIM: AAU), rose 7% this morning after the company released results of recent metallurgical test work from a bulk sample taken at the Kepez Gold Prospect. The Kepez prospect ins located in the Balikesir Province of Western Turkey.
Bulk-sampling and laboratory-scale metallurgical tests were conducted on materials excavated from the Kepez Gold Prospect.
Two bulk-samples totalling approximately 100 kg were collected and processed under similar laboratory conditions to the previous test work undertaken on material from Kiziltepe. The Kepez material was crushed and milled to 80% passing at 20 micron, once leached and analysed the results were found to be of equivalent grade to previous samples taken from Kiziltepe prospect.
Ariana stated that the bulk-samples collected from the Kepez prospect confirmed the potential for a high average grade within the mineralised zone. According to the metallurgical results the Kepez sample showed recoveries of up to 89% and 95% on the high and average grade materials. The high grade sample provided a head grade of 16.95g/t gold and 117g/t silver and the average grade sample provided 6.83g/t gold and 72g/t silver.
Based on the performance of the drilling rig, the thickness of mineralised broken rock is estimated to be 2-3m in the areas drilled, which is consistent with the visual estimation of the outcrop area.
The broken ground from which the test samples were excavated contain an average surface grade of 7.14 g/t Au and is estimated to cover an area of 3200 square meters, which suggests potential for about 25,000 tonnes of material amenable to simple mechanical mining, Ariana reported.
The positive metallurgical results were even more encouraging when taking into account the close proximity of Kepez’s sister project - Kiziltepe - where trial mining is already underway. Ariana believes that it could integrate the development of both sites, which would clearly have benefits from the economics of the project.
"These results demonstrate that the Kepez prospect is likely to yield a resource of high grade material amenable to simple mining and processing at an established facility. The resource potential of the Kepez prospect will now be evaluated in future programmes and integrated within the development work being undertaken,” commented Ariana’s Managing Director, Kerim Sener.
