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Ariana Resources swings to profit and mulls expansion plans

Published: 08:38 28 Sep 2018 BST

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Ariana said it was evaluating a number of expansion opportunities

Ariana Resources plc (LON:AAU) swung to a first-half profit, helped by an uplift in gold production from its Kiziltepe mine in Turkey, and said it was mulling options to diversify the business further.

The AIM-listed gold miner on Friday reported a pretax profit of £0.32 mln in the six months to the end of June 2018, compared to a loss of £0.66mln in the same period last year.

READ: Ariana Resources reports jump in gold production at Kiziltepe mine

It said gold production guidance for 2018 from its Kiziltepe mine was around 20,000 ounces, a 47% increase on 2017. Gold production to the end of June 2018 totalled 12,037 ounces, it said, adding that production for the year was expected to exceed initial expectations in the second half.

The miner said its overall exploration expenditure was consistent with prior period at £0.25mln.

"During the period, the performance of our gold-silver mine in Turkey, which is being operated by our 50:50 JV partners, Proccea Construction, reached record levels,” chairman Michael de Villiers said in a statement.

"We are also carefully evaluating a few opportunities outside of the current portfolio that have the potential to strengthen and diversify the company in terms of commodity and geography, as part of our core strategy to future-proof the business and unlock value for shareholders,” he added.

Shares in Ariana were 3.85% down at 1.25p in early trade.

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on 20/11/23