Ariana Resources PLC (LON:AAU) said it has completed its initial earn-in work for Venus Minerals Ltd, a firm focused on copper-gold projects on the island of Cyprus.
AIM-listed Ariana said it had spent €920,000 in the initial earn-in, giving it a holding in Venus of 9.24%, adding that it is committed to funding a minimum of a further €180,000 before October, at which time it will own a 12% stake.
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The company will earn-in up to 50% of Venus once it has committed a total of €3mln, with a further €1.9mln required to be spent between October 2020 and October 2022.
Ariana also said that new licence applications for the New Sha Deposit, part of the Venus portfolio, have been submitted, adding that exploration results to date across the portfolio are “highly encouraging” including the discovery of a new zone of outcropping mineralisation at the Mariner project.
"Our earn-in to Venus Minerals is continuing at pace and the work being conducted in Cyprus is yielding very encouraging results”, Ariana’s managing director Kerim Sener said in a statement.
“In addition to firming up confidence in the advanced Magellan Project…Venus has made important discoveries elsewhere within its portfolio, including the identification of a previously unrecognised but outcropping zone of mineralisation at the Mariner Project.”
"We look forward to seeing Venus commence with its maiden drilling programme in Cyprus on several of these projects once current restrictions on international travel are lifted", he added.
The shares rose 2.7% to 3.4p in mid-morning trading on Wednesday.
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