Ariana Resources PLC (AIM:AAU) banked £700,000 in profits (£2.5 million) from the Kiziltepe mine in Turkey in its latest half-year to end June.
The junior owns 23.5% of the gold producer through its stake in the Zenit Madencilik consortium, with the profit drop attributed to administrative and other project costs associated with the development of a new mine at Tavsan.
Zenit has fully repaid all bank loans within the period and continues to finance the Tavsan mine construction from its own internal funds, said Ariana.
Group interim profit was £0.33 million, in line with expectations and the prior year, said Ariana.
Kerim Sener, managing director, commented: "We have remained committed to our strategy to pursue targeted exploration and development programmes across our portfolio, systematically de-risking our pipeline of robust assets, and propelling them up the value curve.
"Some of our assets will continue to be held in significant partnerships, while others are intended in the long-term to be developed largely independently of Ariana, such as Venus Minerals and Western Tethyan Resources."