TIDMAAU
RNS Number : 3329Q
Ariana Resources PLC
27 October 2021
27 October 2021
AIM: AAU
SIGNIFICANT GOLD AND ZINC ZONES AT KOKKINOYIA, 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 announce that further
to recent drilling results at the Kokkinoyia Sector of the Magellan
Project ("the Project"), several important revisions have been made
to the geological model. The Project is 100% owned by Venus
Minerals Ltd ("Venus")*. Venus is focused on the exploration and
development of copper and gold assets in Cyprus and Ariana will be
completing its earn-in to 50% of Venus by the end of October
2021.
Highlights:
-- Detailed evaluation of recent drilling data identifies a
potentially economically significant metal zonation within the
Kokkinoyia deposit.
-- Significant gold intercepts include:
o 51.8m @ 0.96g/t Au + 0.51% Cu + 0.28% Zn + 8.21% S
o 13.0m @ 2.21g/t Au + 1.22% Cu + 0.78% Zn + 5.99% S
o 42.2m @ 0.55g/t Au + 0.09%Cu + 0.27% Zn + 5.14% S
-- Significant zinc intercepts include:
o 47.0m @ 0.36% Zn + 0.28g/t Au + 0.20% Cu + 2.6% S
o 25.0m @ 0.47% Zn + 1.16g/t Au + 0.67% Cu + 3.6% S
o 5.9m @ 1.60% Zn + 4.55g/t Au + 0.53% Cu + 9.4% S
-- Deposit comprises a gold and zinc dominated upper portion,
followed by a copper and gold-rich zone and a largely separate
low-grade gold zone at further depth.
Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:
"The Kokkinoyia Sector has proven to be a significantly more
exciting deposit than initially thought. The presence of gold
throughout the system is notable, and its closer association with
zinc in the upper parts of the system suggests that the eventual
economics of the Kokkinoyia mining opportunity will be influenced
significantly for the better. Intercepts of over 40-50m carrying
0.5-1 g/t gold, with associated copper and zinc, dramatically
change the definition of potentially economic zones across the
deposit. This will also have a marked positive impact on the
mineral resource which is currently defined only for copper at
5.2Mt @ 0.69% Cu. In addition, further upside exists within the
Kokkinoyia East area, which has not yet been drill tested by
Venus.
"Further work will now need to be undertaken on the metallurgy
of these zones of mineralisation to determine the optimal route for
economic extraction of copper, gold and zinc, in particular the
potential to recover the metals via hydrometallurgical processing
routes. Venus is currently engaging with metallurgical consultants
to define a programme of testwork which will lead towards a
processing plan."
* 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").
Introduction
Following the release of the 2021 Kokkinoyia drilling results (6
October 2021), several important revisions have been made to the
geological model of Kokkinoyia and specifically relating to the
distribution of gold, copper and zinc within the deposit.
The 2021 Kokkinoyia drilling programme was entirely focused at
testing the Kokkinoyia West area of the deposit (Figure 1).
Kokkinoyia West is generally located closer to surface compared to
mineralisation elsewhere within the deposit, with locally exposed
outcrops containing low-grade mineralisation in the form of
sulphide veins and disseminations of pyrite in hydrothermally
altered lavas. Some mining has occurred across areas of outcropping
mineralisation; most significantly during the 1980s in the form of
a small-scale (290m long, 105m wide) open cut, from which
approximately 1,800t of ore was extracted to an approximate depth
of 40-50 metres. Beyond this depth, the mineralisation at
Kokkinoyia West is defined by both historic drilling and the 2021
drilling to depths of approximately 200m.
Kokkinoyia East is separated from Kokkinoyia West by a major
SE-NW normal fault, dissecting and compartmentalising the two
areas. Generally, the Kokkinoyia East area is more structurally
complex and contains higher grades of mineralisation. Furthermore,
Kokkinoyia West is estimated to contain 23% more resource tonnage
than Kokkinoyia East. Future exploration and resource infill
drilling at Kokkinoyia will also test the Kokkinoyia East area.
Geological Modelling
Detailed multi-element fire assay and ME-ICP analysis from the
2021 drilling has provided new understanding of the distribution of
major metals within the Kokkinoyia deposit, in addition to defining
the relationship between these metals in terms of their
depositional history. Previous drilling and sampling at Kokkinoyia
was generally completed only for copper and sulphur, and therefore
it was not previously possible to quantify gold and zinc potential
and/or their association with copper within the deposit.
New statistical analysis of the element associations within the
Kokkinoyia deposit has identified generally weak correlations
between copper, gold and zinc within the defined extents of
Kokkinoyia West. Although each metal is present within the deposit
at potentially economic grades, copper tends not to directly
correlate with gold or zinc. Rather, each metal is represented by
its own population and shows its own spatial distribution (Figure
2). This also suggests that each of the metal zones were likely to
have been deposited at slightly different times or under slightly
different geochemical conditions.
Gold appears to show better correlations with high-grade copper
zones (represented by massive sulphide lenses) and to some extent
zinc in the upper portions of the deposit (Table 1). Furthermore,
gold is also noted to form in isolation of the other metals towards
the base of the deposit, where zones of highly-silicified host
rocks display finely disseminated sulphides and pyritic veinlets.
Further analysis of all the gold assay samples identified at least
two statistical populations of gold, further supporting multiple
relationships or phases of gold mineralisation within the deposit.
Significant gold specific intercepts from the 2021 drilling
include:
-- VMD001 (from 48.2 to 100m) 51.8m @ 0.96g/t Au + 0.51% Cu + 0.28% Zn + 8.21% S
-- VMD002 (from 128 to 141m) 13.0m @ 2.21g/t Au + 1.22% Cu + 0.78% Zn + 5.99% S
-- VMD004 (from 90 to 132m) 42.2m @ 0.55g/t Au + 0.09%Cu + 0.27% Zn + 5.14% S
Zinc shows a generally weak association with copper and appears
to primarily form in association with gold in its own zone at the
upper limits of the deposit, forming an enriched "cap", with only
partial overlap across lower-grade copper mineralisation which
occurs directly below (Table 2). Furthermore, it appears that there
is a local enrichment of gold towards the base of the zinc-rich
zones, particularly in the vicinity of underground development,
suggesting that these areas may have been mined in the past,
specifically for gold. Significant zinc specific intercepts from
the 2021 drilling include:
-- VMD010 (from 54 to 101m) 47.0m @ 0.36% Zn + 0.28g/t Au + 0.20% Cu + 2.6% S
-- VMD002 (from 116 to 141m) 25.0m @ 0.47% Zn + 1.16g/t Au + 0.67% Cu + 3.6% S
-- VMD001 (from 48.2 to 54.1m) 5.9m @ 1.60% Zn + 4.55g/t Au + 0.53% Cu + 9.4% S
The observed distribution of each metal and their association
with one another are probably a result of the changing physical
and/or chemical environments associated with circulating
hydrothermal fluids during the deposit formation. The standard
geological model for a Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide ("VMS")
contains a chalcopyrite-rich massive pyrite core (massive sulphide
lenses), surrounded by a halo of
chalcopyrite-sphalerite-disseminated pyrite, grading into distal
sphalerite-galena peripheral zones. Gold is typically shown to have
vertical zonation, with upper portions of a deposit occasionally
enriched.
Kokkinoyia shares some of the general anatomy of a classic VMS.
However, the deposit contains a massive sulphide
chalcopyrite-pyrite core which is enriched in gold (typically
1-5g/t Au), with an upper zone containing zinc and lower-grade gold
(0.1-1g/t). Gold associated with pyrite (0.1-0.5g/t Au) is also
noted in association with minor to no copper within the roots of
the Kokkinoyia system. This unusual distribution of gold within the
deposit is likely due to a progressive change in the formation of
the deposit over time, from a near typical VMS "black smoker" type
system, to a later lower temperature "white smoker" system, which
may account for the multiple gold population distributions
occurring within the deposit.
Despite the wide range of metal zoning within the Kokkinoyia
deposit, all metals are noted to form in association with massive
or disseminated pyrite. Therefore, and importantly, the future
mineral resource estimates for Kokkinoyia will focus on defining
mineralisation domains based on pyrite content. Further
sub-domaining within these areas will then be completed to
accommodate zinc enriched areas, along with massive
sulphide-copper-gold rich zones, and finally low-grade copper and
gold only zones. This approach will allow much of the known
mineralisation to be considered for its economic potential, but
will also allow appropriate domaining of various metals to support
a more representative estimation.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3329Q_1-2021-10-26.pdf
Figure 1: Plan view of the Kokkinoyia area, showing all recent
drill collar positions and the projection of the orebody to
surface.
http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3329Q_1-2021-10-26.pdf
Figure 2: Northeast-southwest section through the Kokkinoyia
deposit based on a 150m swathe. Metal zones are represented by
individually modelled subdomains, which are shown within a single
sulphur parent domain using a 1% sulphur modelling cut-off. Note
that details of gold and zinc distributions are currently only
available for Kokkinoyia West, which has been re-drill tested and
assayed during 2021, using a detailed multi-element analytical
approach.
Table 1: Significant intercepts calculated for the 2021 drilling
completed at Kokkinoyia using gold as the primary economic element
at a 0.1g/t Au cut-off and allowing for up to 2m of internal
dilution. All intercepts are colour coded to: Zinc and gold domain
(1, blue), Massive sulphide domain (2, red), Low-grade copper and
gold domain (3, green); and Low-grade gold and with minor copper
domain (4, yellow).
Hole From To Interval Au Cu Zn S Comments Domain
ID (m) (m) (m) (ppm) (%) (%) (%) Code
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
Zinc domain/transition
VMD001 48.23 100 51.8 0.96 0.51 0.28 8.21 into low-grade copper 1
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
UG development at
VMD001 enriched base of
including 48.23 49.6 1.4 12.75 0.41 4.06 10.00 zinc domain 1
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
VMD001 UG development -
including 85 87 2.0 2.05 0.40 0.48 10.00 massive sulphides 2
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Low-grade copper
VMD001 103 122 19.0 0.21 0.54 0.02 6.83 domain 3
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
125 128 3.0 0.10 0.27 0.02 10.00
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
Low grade copper
domain - newly defined
extension. Base
142 164 22.0 0.24 0.56 0.02 9.11 zone not intercepted?
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
165 167 2.0 0.11 0.68 0.02 10.00
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
170 177 7.0 0.17 0.53 0.01 9.85
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
VMD002 53 71 18.0 0.36 0.08 0.18 6.76 Zinc domain 1
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Low-grade copper
80 92 12.0 0.18 0.45 0.07 9.00 domain 3
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
98 101 3.0 0.13 0.05 0.19 2.15 Zinc domain 1
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
104 110 6.0 0.23 0.02 0.17 2.06
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Massive sulphides
128 141 13.0 2.21 1.22 0.78 5.99 (structurally constrained)? 2
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Base of system low
144 146.9 2.9 0.12 0.10 0.08 1.33 gold and minor copper 4
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
VMD003 80 83 3.0 0.53 0.04 0.22 1.22 Zinc domain 1
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
92 98 6.0 0.42 0.02 0.18 1.64
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
107 110 3.0 0.34 0.03 0.13 1.49
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Zinc domain/transition
122 137 15.0 0.53 0.41 0.33 7.04 into low-grade copper 3
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Base of system,
gold only - newly
140 144 4.0 0.13 0.06 0.05 10.00 defined 4
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
147 153 6.0 0.14 0.01 0.06 10.00
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
VMD004 84.05 85.1 1.1 0.28 0.11 0.13 2.24 Zinc Domain 1
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
90 132.2 42.2 0.55 0.09 0.27 5.14
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Low-grade copper
137 139 2.0 0.10 0.54 0.00 10.00 domain 3
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
147 149 2.0 0.12 0.12 0.01 10.00
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Base of system gold
153 155 2.0 0.13 0.00 0.00 10.00 only - newly defined 4
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
157 158 1.0 0.11 0.00 0.01 10.00
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
159 161 2.0 0.15 0.00 0.01 10.00
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------
164 165 1.0 0.18 0.26 0.01 10.00
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------
189 192 3.0 0.11 0.05 0.01 10.00
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
VMD005 74 77 3.0 0.17 0.04 0.14 1.31 Zinc domain 1
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
83 107 24.0 0.58 0.14 0.39 4.59
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Mostly historic
underground back-fill,
likely within low-grade
copper domain, transitioning
into a gold only
110.5 113 2.5 0.16 0.02 0.06 5.66 base zone. 3
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
116 119 3.0 0.13 0.06 0.07 5.05
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
122 136.1 14.1 0.49 0.42 0.30 6.37 4
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ -------
140 144.8 4.8 0.16 0.21 0.04 7.95
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
Low-grade copper
VMD009 5 14 9.0 0.19 0.14 0.05 1.32 domain (oxide) 3
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Base of system gold
primarily with intermittent
low-grade zinc -
41 59 18.0 0.19 0.02 0.11 6.54 newly defined 4
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
65 68 3.0 0.13 0.01 0.02 10.00
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
80 83 3.0 0.12 0.10 0.02 10.00
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------
89 92 3.0 0.21 0.03 0.02 10.00
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------
98 101 3.0 0.17 0.20 0.01 9.10
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------
113 133 20.0 0.19 0.02 0.22 9.60
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------
137 139.6 2.6 0.11 0.01 0.02 10.00
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------ -------
VMD010 55 64 9.0 0.53 0.72 0.29 0.65 Zinc domain 1
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
71 74 3.0 0.17 0.02 0.14 0.18
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Zinc domain/transition
77 101 24.0 0.32 0.13 0.52 4.57 into low-grade copper
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Low grade copper
104 110 6.0 0.11 0.25 0.05 8.72 domain 3
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Base of system gold
122 123 1.0 0.14 0.07 0.00 10.00 only - newly defined 4
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
125 127 2.0 0.11 0.01 0.02 10.00
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
131 132 1.0 0.25 0.00 0.00 10.00
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------
136 137 1.0 0.12 0.00 0.00 10.00
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------
143 152 9.0 0.20 0.06 0.00 10.00
------------ ------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Zinc domain/transition
VMD011 74 89 15.0 0.52 0.44 0.16 5.95 into low-grade copper 1
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Zinc domain - with
92 106 14.0 0.19 0.09 0.08 5.95 gold
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
109 113 4.0 0.16 0.01 0.05 2.42
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
121 122 1.0 0.28 1.35 0.02 10.00 Massive sulphides 2
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Base of system with
125 138 13.0 0.15 0.12 0.02 8.88 minor copper 4
Base of system gold
VMD012 55 61 6.0 0.11 0.01 0.06 1.95 only - newly defined 4
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
67 70 3.0 0.35 0.03 0.29 1.78
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
118 121 3.0 0.16 0.01 0.01 3.51
------ ------ --------- ------- ----- ----- ------ ------------------------------
Table 2: Zinc prioritised significant intercepts for the 2021
Kokkinoyia drilling, using a 0.1% Zn cut-off and allowing for up to
1m internal dilution.
Hole From To (m) Interval Zn (%) Au (ppm) Cu (%) Pb (%) S (%)
ID (m) (m)
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
VMD001 48.2 54.1 5.9 1.60 4.55 0.53 0.03 9.35
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
70.0 71.0 1.0 0.14 0.54 0.21 0.00 10.00
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
81.6 90.5 8.9 0.38 1.38 1.51 0.02 9.93
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
147.0 148.0 1.0 0.12 0.28 1.09 0.00 9.30
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
VMD002 50.0 65.0 15.0 0.21 0.37 0.08 0.00 7.36
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
89.0 95.0 6.0 0.11 0.17 0.29 0.00 3.51
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
98.0 107.0 9.0 0.22 0.18 0.03 0.00 1.42
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
116.0 141.0 25.0 0.47 1.16 0.67 0.00 3.60
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
VMD003 80.0 83.0 3.0 0.22 0.53 0.04 0.00 1.22
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
89.0 110.0 21.0 0.15 0.19 0.02 0.00 0.94
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
116.0 133.0 17.0 0.43 0.43 0.40 0.01 4.23
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
VMD004 84.1 87.0 3.0 0.16 0.10 0.05 0.00 0.80
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
90.0 124.0 34.0 0.33 0.64 0.10 0.00 5.31
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
VMD005 74.0 77.0 3.0 0.14 0.17 0.04 0.00 1.31
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
83.0 110.2 27.2 0.36 0.52 0.14 0.00 4.48
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
114.0 116.0 2.0 0.14 0.03 0.03 0.01 1.18
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
119.0 134.7 15.7 0.31 0.45 0.37 0.00 5.45
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
142.0 143.0 1.0 0.10 0.23 0.20 0.00 8.89
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
VMD009 2.0 3.0 1.0 0.10 0.01 0.43 0.00 0.05
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
41.0 53.0 12.0 0.15 0.21 0.02 0.00 4.81
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
110.0 122.0 12.0 0.41 0.13 0.03 0.00 10.00
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
123.0 124.0 1.0 0.12 0.41 0.06 0.01 10.00
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
VMD010 54.0 101.0 47.0 0.36 0.28 0.20 0.00 2.58
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
VMD011 74.0 83.0 9.0 0.22 0.58 0.28 0.00 3.94
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
86.0 89.0 3.0 0.11 0.62 1.01 0.00 10.00
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
94.0 97.0 3.0 0.11 0.22 0.13 0.00 7.16
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
100.0 103.0 3.0 0.11 0.21 0.01 0.01 5.66
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
113.0 116.0 3.0 0.10 0.03 0.01 0.00 1.35
------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
VMD012 67.0 73.0 6.0 0.31 0.20 0.04 0.00 1.88
-------- ------ ------- --------- ------- --------- ------- ------- ------
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:
The information in this announcement that relates to exploration
results is based on information compiled by Dr. Kerim Sener BSc
(Hons), MSc, PhD, Managing Director of Ariana Resources plc. Dr.
Sener is a Fellow of The Geological Society of London and a Member
of The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining and has
sufficient experience relevant to the styles of mineralisation and
type of deposit under consideration and to the activity that has
been undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined by the
2012 edition of the Australasian Code for the Reporting of
Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code)
and under the AIM Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas
Companies. Dr. Sener consents to the inclusion in the report of the
matters based on his information in the form and context in which
it appears.
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 0.7 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 3.7 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 is in the process of completing its entitlement.
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.
Glossary of Technical Terms:
"Au" chemical symbol for gold;
" Cu " chemical symbol for copper ;
"g/t" grams per tonne;
"JORC" the Joint Ore Reserves Committee;
"m" Metres;
"S" chemical symbol for sulphur;
"Zn" chemical symbol for zinc;
Ends.
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