Ariana Resources PLC (LON:AAU), the Turkey-focused gold group, has announced a 50% increase in the size of the resource at its Salinbas project.
The total amount of gold at the 100%-owned project is now estimated at 1.5mln ounces (Moz) , up from 1mln previously, and split between two licences – Salinbas and Ardala.
In addition, there has been a significant upgrade in the classification of the resource at Salinbas, said Ariana, with 35% now in the measured (11%) and indicated (24%) categories.
Kerim Sener, Ariana’s managing director, said the new resource confirms the project has multi-million ounce, multi-commodity potential: “The prospectivity of this region is attested by the presence of several other major copper-gold systems in the immediate vicinity, such as the >4Moz Hot Maden deposit, located just to the south of our project licences, and the scale of the alteration systems encountered within our property in the vicinity of the porphyry centres at Ardala and Hizarliyayla."
“We are well-positioned right at the heart of a major copper-gold province, which already shows potential for >10Moz across the circa 100km long and 10km wide Artvin-Yusufeli Gold Trend,” Sener added in a statement.
Salinbas is now estimated to contain 8.4 million tonnes (Mt) at 2.21 grams per ton (g/t) gold and 16.9 g/t silver for 0.6Moz gold and 4.6Moz silver.
The Ardala Porphyry now comprises 66.4Mt at 0.44g/t gold for 0.9Moz, plus 3.3Moz silver, 110,000t copper and 4,200t molybdenum.
Ariana noted that the upgrade followed recent drilling that had led to a significant improvement in geological understanding and helped the definition of spatial continuity between drill holes.