AAU Ariana Resources Plc

 
TIDMAAU 
 
   6 May 2015 
 
   AIM: AAU 
 
   FORESTRY PERMITTING REGULATIONS & TRIAL MINING UPDATE 
 
   Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the Anglo-Turkish gold 
exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to 
announce that newly introduced forestry regulations for the mining 
industry will significantly reduce the cost of obtaining forestry 
permits.  Additionally, trial mining undertaken within a granted 
forestry permit area at the Company's Red Rabbit Gold Project ("Red 
Rabbit") has been concluded for the year. 
 
   Highlights: 
 
 
   -- New forestry permit fee schedule introduced and gazetted: substantial 
      reduction in forestry annual fees, expected to total US$4.2 million over 
      the life of mine (at current rates) 
 
 
   -- Trial mining from granted forestry permits at the Kiziltepe Sector of Red 
      Rabbit was completed for 3,250 tonnes 
 
 
   -- Production work was funded by Proccea Construction Co. as part of their 
      continued earn-in on the project 
 
 
   -- Mine construction stage to commence at Kiziltepe on grant of final land 
      access permit 
 
 
   Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: 
 
   "It is extremely encouraging to see that the Turkish Government has 
introduced revised regulations and charges for forestry permits as 
required for the mining sector.  This was an expected measure and we 
understand that this new regulatory framework will provide the basis for 
the issue of new forestry permits for the industry, including those for 
our outstanding permit application at Kiziltepe. 
 
   "Meanwhile, recent trial mining has been concluded within an existing 
forestry permit at the Kiziltepe Sector.  We would like to emphasise the 
valuable local relationships that have enabled this work to be completed, 
in particular the local Department of Forestry which worked hard and in 
a timeous manner to ensure the site was prepared for our mining to 
commence.  I look forward to providing further updates on the status of 
our final land access permit which will enable us to enter the 
construction phase at Kiziltepe." 
 
   Forestry Regulations 
 
   A revised schedule for forestry permit fees has been issued recently in 
Turkey as part of the regulations governing the Forestry Law, as 
applicable to the mining sector.  The revised schedule provides for a 
range of forestry permit types, with lower fees charged for lesser 
impact work (e.g. drilling) and higher fees charged for more substantial 
impact work (e.g. processing and other mine infrastructure).  In 
addition to a one-off payment for reforestation and a separate deposit 
(which is refunded once a permit is terminated), an annual fee is 
charged based on the type of permit and the area covered.  The impact of 
these regulations on Ariana's planned Kiziltepe operation is 
consequently positive, approximately translating in to a halving of 
annual fees as compared to the previous regulation.  At current rates, 
this translates in to a reduction in annual fees of approximately US$4.2 
million over the life of the operation. 
 
   Trial Production 
 
   Trial production at the Karakavak prospect of the Red Rabbit Gold 
Project has been completed for the year, in compliance with the 
requirements of Turkish mining law as applied to operating licences. 
This work was funded by Proccea Construction Co. as part of their 
earn-in on the project in accordance with the Joint Venture agreement. 
Approximately 3,250 tonnes of material was mined from the primary vein 
at Karakavak and stockpiled on site (Figure 1).  The Karakavak Main vein 
contains grades of up to approximately 2.5 g/t gold with variable silver 
over a strike length of about 600m.  The stockpile now contains 
approximately 9,000 tonnes of material ready for trucking to the 
Kiziltepe site (Figure 2).  The mining was undertaken on a part of the 
vein for which the Company has granted forestry permits.  Ahead of trial 
mining, the local Department of Forestry was responsible for marking up 
and cutting down trees in the designated area and clearing the logs from 
site. 
 
   Figure 1 (see link below): Mining area at the Karakavak Main vein 
following completion of 2015 trial mining.  Two benches have been opened, 
exposing the mineralised vein and stockwork material across both.  The 
lighter coloured ground in the lower bench approximates the position of 
the main vein structure. 
 
   Figure 2 (see link below): Stockpile site at the Karakavak Main vein, 
following 2015 trial mining.  The stockpile contains approximately 9,000 
tonnes of material.  The area within which trial mining was undertaken 
is within forestry ground. 
 
   Contacts: 
 
 
 
 
Ariana Resources plc                     Tel: +44 (0) 20 7407 3616 
Michael de Villiers, Chairman 
Kerim Sener, Managing Director 
 
Beaumont Cornish Limited                 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396 
Roland Cornish / Felicity Geidt 
 
Beaufort Securities Limited              Tel: +44 (0) 20 7382 8300 
Saif Janjua 
 
Loeb Aron & Company Ltd.                 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 1128 
John Beresford-Peirse / Dr. Frank Lucas 
 
St Brides Partners Ltd                   Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 
Lottie Brocklehurst / Felicity Edwards 
 
 
 
   Editors' note: 
 
   About Ariana Resources: 
 
   Ariana is an exploration and development company focused on epithermal 
gold-silver and porphyry copper-gold deposits in Turkey.  The Company is 
developing a portfolio of prospective licences selected on the basis of 
its in-house geological and remote-sensing database, on its own in 
western Turkey and in Joint Venture with Eldorado Gold Corporation in 
north-eastern Turkey.  Eldorado owns 51% of this joint venture and are 
fully funding all exploration work on the JV properties, while Ariana 
owns 49%.  The total resource inventory within this JV is 1.09 million 
ounces of gold. 
 
   The Company's flagship assets are its Kiziltepe and Tavsan gold projects 
which form the Red Rabbit Gold Project.  Both contain a series of 
prospects, within two prolific mineralised districts in the Western 
Anatolian Volcanic and Extensional (WAVE) Province in western Turkey. 
This Province hosts the largest operating gold mines in Turkey and 
remains highly prospective for new porphyry and epithermal deposits. 
These core projects, which are separated by a distance of 75km, are 
presently being assessed as to their economic merits and now form part 
of a Joint Venture with Proccea Construction Co.  The total resource 
inventory at the Red Rabbit Project stands at 475,000 ounces of gold 
equivalent. 
 
   Beaufort Securities Limited and Loeb Aron & Company Ltd. are joint 
brokers to the Company and Beaumont Cornish Limited is the Company's 
Nominated Adviser. 
 
   For further information on Ariana you are invited to visit the Company's 
website at www.arianaresources.com. 
 
   Ends 
 
   Figures 1 & 2: http://hugin.info/138153/R/1918807/686950.pdf 
 
   This announcement is distributed by NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions on 
behalf of NASDAQ OMX Corporate Solutions clients. 
 
   The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely 
responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information 
contained therein. 
 
   Source: Ariana Resources plc via Globenewswire 
 
   HUG#1918807 
 
 
  http://www.arianaresources.com/s/Home.asp 
 

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