Ariana Resources plc (LON:AAU) said recent exploration and development work at the Salinbas Gold Project has demonstrated that exceptional mineralisation continues to the immediate north of the deposit, over around 500 metres of strike, as predicted in its JORC Exploration Target in June.
In an update, Dr Kerim Sener, managing director of the AIM-listed exploration and development company operating in Turkey, said: "Furthermore, additional rock-chip sampling within and near the Ardala porphyry during trial mining undertaken during 2018, has continued to reaffirm our understanding that this area represents a significantly gold enriched porphyry system.”
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He added: “ Further work will be required to determine if there are other gold-rich porphyry intrusions or breccia-pipes within the broader Ardala Intrusive Complex, which potentially underlie part of the Salinbas deposit itself.
“Our next phase in the drilling programme comprises 2,000m of RC (Reverse Circulation) scheduled for Q2 2019, funded utilising existing cash and operational cash flow."
Trial mining produced over 5,000 tonnes of mineralised material from the Ardala porphyry, the group said, which has been stockpiled on site.
It added that approximately 4.4km of roads have been built or upgraded to accommodate the trial mining work and future drilling programmes.
Salinbas is located in the Hot Gold Corridor and is 100%-owned by Ariana through its shareholding in Greater Pontides Exploration BV.
Ariana shares were up 9.3% to 1.39p in late trading on Wednesday.
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