TIDMAAU
RNS Number : 7070O
Ariana Resources PLC
12 October 2021
12 October 2021
AIM: AAU
MAJOR NEW PROJECT & EARN-IN COMPLETION, CYPRUS
Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the AIM-listed
mineral exploration and development company with interests in gold
mining operations in Europe , is pleased to provide an update on
Venus Minerals Ltd ("Venus")*. Venus is focused on the exploration
and development of copper and gold assets in Cyprus. Ariana is
continuing its earn-in to 50% of Venus and is currently entitled to
37.5%, with 50% expected to be achieved in early Q4 2021.
Highlights:
-- Venus Minerals has completed a binding Heads of Terms
agreement with a leading mining company in Cyprus for a 50:50 Joint
Venture for the development of the Apliki Copper Mine ("Apliki");
Venus is to be the operator of Apliki.
-- Joint Venture will draw upon local mining, engineering and
heap-leach expertise gained during many years of successful
operation of the nearby Skouriotissa Mine.
-- A definitive agreement concerning Apliki is expected to be concluded by mid-November.
-- Ariana is now committed to completing its funding of Venus
Minerals to achieve a shareholding of 50%.
-- Venus Minerals to pursue a stock exchange listing in London prior to the end of 2021.
Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:
"Venus Minerals is the pre-eminent copper and gold exploration
company operating on the island of Cyprus, with combined mineral
resources of 9.5Mt @ 0.65% Cu. This joint venture agreement with a
leading Cypriot mining company for the development of the
fully-permitted Apliki Copper Mine, which contains mineral
resources of 10.4Mt @ 0.34% Cu, ensures Venus can fast-track the
project to the mining stage within 18 months following its proposed
stock exchange listing. Additional exploration upside has also been
secured across Venus' portfolio of copper-gold bearing Volcanogenic
Massive Sulphide ("VMS") systems, which have been selected
utilising its in-house proprietary database.
"We are proud to be involved in the development of Venus
Minerals as it advances the first new copper mine in Cyprus since
the establishment of the recently depleted Skouriotissa operation
in the early 1990s. The area around Apliki and Skouriotissa has
yielded over US$10 billion in copper at today's price,
demonstrating the high prospectivity of this cluster of VMS
deposits. We look forward to supporting Venus in its further
development and in particular its proposed listing in London."
* Further information about Venus Minerals and its projects is
available on the Company's website, www.venusminerals.co .
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of
UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018 ("UK MAR").
Contacts:
Ariana Resources plc Tel: +44 (0) 20 3476 2080
Michael de Villiers, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director
Beaumont Cornish Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
Roland Cornish / Felicity Geidt
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886 2500
John Prior / Hugh Rich / Atholl
Tweedie
Yellow Jersey PR Limited Tel: +44 (0) 7951 402 336
Dom Barretto / Joe Burgess / Henry arianaresources@yellowjerseypr.com
Wilkinson
Editors' Note:
About Ariana Resources:
Ariana is an AIM-listed mineral exploration and development
company with an exceptional track-record of creating value for its
shareholders through its interests in active mining projects and
investments in exploration companies. Its current interests include
gold production in Turkey and copper-gold exploration and
development projects in Cyprus and Kosovo.
The Company holds 23.5% interest in Zenit Madencilik San. ve
Tic. A.S. with Ozaltin Holding A.S. and Proccea Construction Co. in
Turkey which contains a depleted total of c. 2.1 million ounces of
gold and other metals (as at July 2020). Operations comprise the
Kiziltepe Mine and the Tavsan and Salinbas projects.
The Kiziltepe Gold-Silver Mine is located in western Turkey and
contains a depleted JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource
of 227,000 ounces gold and 3.7 million ounces silver (as at April
2020). The mine has been in profitable production since 2017 and is
expected to produce at a rate of c.20,000 ounces of gold per annum
to at least the mid-2020s. A Net Smelter Return ("NSR") royalty of
2.5% on production is being paid to Franco-Nevada Corporation.
The Tavsan Gold Project is located in western Turkey and
contains a JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of
253,000 ounces gold and 0.7 million ounces silver (as at June
2020). The project is being progressed through permitting and an
Environmental Impact Assessment, with the intention of developing
the site to become the second gold mining operation. A NSR royalty
of up to 2% on future production is payable to Sandstorm Gold.
The Salinbas Gold Project is located in north-eastern Turkey and
contains a JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 1.5
million ounces of gold (as at July 2020). It is located within the
multi-million ounce Artvin Goldfield, which contains the "Hot Gold
Corridor" comprising several significant gold-copper projects
including the 4 million ounce Hot Maden project, which lies 16km to
the south of Salinbas. A NSR royalty of up to 2% on future
production is payable to Eldorado Gold Corporation.
Ariana is currently earning-in to 75% of Western Tethyan
Resources Ltd ("WTR"), which operates across Eastern Europe and is
based in Pristina, Republic of Kosovo. The company is targeting its
exploration on major copper-gold deposits across the
porphyry-epithermal transition.
Ariana is also earning-in to 50% of UK-registered Venus Minerals
Ltd ("Venus") and has to date earned into an entitlement to 37.5%.
Venus is focused on the exploration and development of copper-gold
assets in Cyprus which contain a combined JORC Inferred Resource of
9.5Mt @ 0.65% copper (excluding additional gold, silver and
zinc).
Ariana operates its wholly-owned Asgard Metals Fund ("Asgard"),
as part of the Company's proprietary Project Catalyst Strategy. The
Fund will be focused on investments in high-value potential,
discovery-stage mineral exploration companies located across the
Eastern Hemisphere and within easy reach of Ariana's operational
hubs in Australia, Turkey and the UK.
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited is broker to the Company and
Beaumont Cornish Limited is the Company's Nominated Adviser and
Broker.
For further information on Ariana you are invited to visit the
Company's website at www.arianaresources.com.
Ends.
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