AAU Ariana Resources Plc

 
TIDMAAU 
 
   5 June 2015 
 
   AIM: AAU 
 
   NEW GOLD TARGETS AT KARAKAVAK 
 
   Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the Anglo-Turkish gold 
exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to 
announce highly encouraging results from a soil geochemical programme 
conducted on the Karakavak prospect at the Kiziltepe Sector of its 
advanced near-term production Red Rabbit Gold Project in western Turkey 
("Red Rabbit") where fully-financed mine construction will commence 
shortly. 
 
   Highlights: 
 
 
   -- Five new discoveries included among 12 geochemically anomalous zones for 
      gold (>20ppb Au) encountered across the prospect area, doubling the 
      number of drill targets. 
 
 
   -- Several zones are extensive and coherent along strike and are broadly 
      coincident with anomalous silver in soil results (>150ppb Ag); field 
      follow-up has confirmed the existence of previously unmapped veins. 
 
 
   -- Existing high-grade rock-chip results from some target areas include: 
      20.80g/t Au and 33.50g/t Ag, 8.89g/t Au, 3.99g/t Au and 2.60g/t Ag, and 
      3.54g/t Au and 9.88g/t Ag. 
 
 
   -- Expanded soil X-ray Fluorescence ("XRF") grid identifies new corridor of 
      potential mineralisation 2km long, extending westwards from historical 
      gold drill intercepts. 
 
 
   -- Results underpin the broader resource potential of the wider Red Rabbit 
      Gold Project, which has a current global JORC resource of 475,000 oz of 
      gold equivalent. 
 
 
   Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: 
 
   "Following successful geochemical work undertaken in 2014, we expanded 
our soil geochemical programme to identify new target areas across the 
Karakavak prospect.  We have now more than doubled the number of drill 
targets and identified multiple new veins, which bodes well for future 
exploration of the Kiziltepe Sector. 
 
   "With 12 targets identified in this one prospect area, five of them 
being entirely new, we look forward to initiating a drilling programme 
once the Kiziltepe Mine at Red Rabbit enters construction.  Based on the 
data collected and interpreted so far, we fully expect additional 
resources to be defined within a short trucking distance to the planned 
processing plant.  This has the potential to enhance the life of mine 
and indeed economics of our flagship gold project. 
 
   "Our exploration over the past 18 months is clearly bearing fruit and 
has gained huge significance now that we have received the forestry 
approvals for Kiziltepe.  We are highly encouraged by the targets that 
we have generated and are keen to press on with drill-testing." 
 
   Soil geochemical programme 
 
   Utilising the soil samples collected previously for XRF analysis, an 
area covering the Karakavak and Karakavak South prospects was analysed 
by conventional geochemical methods on a 50m by 200m sampling grid. 
Gold and other trace elements were analysed following an aqua regia 
extraction and ICP-MS or ICP-AES finish.  A total of 399 samples were 
sent to ALS Global for analysis.  An area of 4.2km(2) was covered and 
the results for gold and silver are shown in Figure 1. 
 
   Twelve significant gold in soil geochemical anomalies over 20ppb Au were 
identified, five of which represent new discoveries and are currently 
untested.  Peak gold in soil results of 334ppb, 263ppb, 196ppb, 152ppb 
and 117ppb were encountered.  These zones of gold anomalism are also 
largely coincident with anomalous silver in soil results (>150ppb). 
There also appears to be a silver-rich and gold-poor style of 
mineralisation represented in the data, which will need to be followed 
up with further fieldwork. 
 
   Some of the anomalous areas were previously rock-chip sampled and these 
data confirm that much of the mineralisation is associated with 
low-sulphidation gold-silver bearing veins.  Peak rock-chip grades 
across the Karakavak area include: 20.80g/t Au and 33.50g/t Ag, 8.89g/t 
Au, 3.99g/t Au and 2.60g/t Ag, 3.54g/t Au and 9.88g/t Ag, 2.77g/t Au and 
1.98g/t Ag, and 2.30g/t Au and 8.09g/t Ag.  However, the most highly 
anomalous area encountered in the soil data appears associated with the 
boundary zone between ophiolite and later volcanic rocks.  In addition, 
a further highly anomalous area to the south corresponds to minor quartz 
veins and extensive alteration, which has not previously been sampled. 
These two areas will be prioritised for further fieldwork. 
 
   In addition to the work outlined above, 1,242 new soil samples were 
collected for X-Ray Fluorescence ("XRF") analysis in the Karakavak North 
area (Figure 1).  This additional sampling was undertaken in order to 
expand the existing soil geochemical grid to cover an area in which 
extensive quartz vein float had been encountered during the 2014 ground 
magnetics programme.  The total area covered by this new sampling is 
7km(2) and extensive anomalism in various pathfinder elements was 
encountered throughout the geochemical grid (Figure 1).  In particular, 
a major E-W trending structure, which shows evidence of veins and 
extensive silicification has been identified, which carries significant 
gold mineralisation at its eastern end.  Historic drilling results from 
this area provided the following intercepts: 
 
   KR1-02: 53m @0.4 g/t Au 
 
   KR2-02: 143m @ 0.2 g/t Au 
 
   Although wide and low grade, these intercepts demonstrate that 
substantial flux of gold-bearing fluids occurred in this area.  Here and 
elsewhere across the prospect area, higher-grade mineralisation is 
developed in places on several of the major structures.  In addition, 
ground magnetic geophysics shows that some vein systems are developed 
within corridors of lower magnetic response, possibly corresponding to 
zones of alteration.  Such corridors, containing veins, silicification 
and alteration will require systematic drill-testing in the future. 
Karakavak is one of several prospects in the Kiziltepe Sector that 
requires drill-testing and is within trucking distance to the planned 
Kiziltepe plant (Figure 2). 
 
   Figure 1: Gold (>20ppb) and silver (>150ppb) anomalies shown 
superimposed on satellite imagery in the Karakavak area.  New soil XRF 
data for arsenic is shown in the northern part of the prospect area. 
 
   Figure 2: Map showing the position of important gold prospects in the 
Sindirgi Gold corridor and potential trucking routes from each prospect 
to the planned Kiziltepe processing facility.  Karakavak is 27km by 
graded and asphalt road to Kiziltepe. 
 
   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: 
 
   Dr Kerim Sener, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, is the Managing Director of Ariana 
Resources plc. A graduate of the University of Southampton in Geology, 
he also holds a Master's degree from the Royal School of Mines (Imperial 
College, London) in Mineral Exploration and a doctorate from the 
University of Western Australia. He is a Fellow of The Geological 
Society of London and has worked in geological research and mineral 
consultancy in Africa, Australia and Europe.  He has read and approved 
the technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement. 
 
   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. 
 
   Glossary of Technical Terms: 
 
   "Ag" the chemical symbol for silver; 
 
   "Au" the chemical symbol for gold; 
 
   "g/t" grams per tonne; 
 
   "ICP-AES" Inductively coupled plasma - atomic emission spectroscopy; 
 
   "ICP-MS" Inductively coupled plasma - mass spectrometry; 
 
   "JORC" the Joint Ore Reserves Committee; 
 
   "m" Metres; 
 
   "oz" Ounces; 
 
   "ppb" Parts per billion; 
 
   "XRF" X-ray fluorescence. 
 
   Ends 
 
   Figures 1 & 2: http://hugin.info/138153/R/1926376/691270.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#1926376 
 
 
  http://www.arianaresources.com/s/Home.asp 
 

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