ARIANA RESOURCES PLC

Earnings Release • Apr 16, 2018

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RNS Number : 9545K

Ariana Resources PLC

16 April 2018

16 April 2018

AIM: AAU

Q1 2018 PRELIMINARY PRODUCTION RESULTS

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the exploration and development company with gold mining operations in Turkey, is pleased to announce its preliminary production results for the quarter ended 31 March 2018 for the Kiziltepe Mine ("Kiziltepe" or "the Project").  Kiziltepe is part of the Red Rabbit Joint Venture ("JV") with Proccea Construction Co. and is 50% owned by Ariana through its shareholding in Zenit Madencilik San. ve Tic. A.S. ("Zenit").

First Quarter Preliminary Production Results*:

·      Gold production for the quarter was 4,866 ounces, an 8% increase quarter on quarter ("QoQ").

·     The Company maintains its full year production guidance of 20,000 ounces Au.

·     Total ore processed for the quarter was 44,897t, consistent with expected performance.

·     The average head grade to the plant was 3.85 g/t Au.

·     Quarterly open pit ore mined was c. 68,600t, at an average mined grade of 4.5 g/t Au, a 37% increase in tonnes and a 32% increase in grade QoQ.

·     Open pit total material movement for the quarter was c. 914,000t.

·     Average metallurgical plant recovery of gold for the quarter was 95.1%.

* All figures are given gross with respect to the JV.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"The performance of Kiziltepe continues to exceed feasibility expectations and this quarter of production marks a solid start to 2018.  First quarter gold production was 8% higher than the previous quarter, augmented by a 4% increase in gold recovery from the processing plant.  During the current quarter, we are expecting output to increase further based on our 2018 mining schedule and particularly as we start to access higher grade areas of the Arzu South vein.  Consequently, we are confident in delivering positively against our production guidance for 2018."

Q1 2018 Preliminary Production Results

	Unit	Q1 2018 (preliminary)	Q4 2017	Q1 2017
Open Pit - material moved (wet)	Tonnes	913,666	1,284,795	n/a
Open Pit - ore mined (wet)	Tonnes	68,591	49,885	n/a
Open Pit - mined grade	g/t Au	4.50	3.41	n/a
Process plant throughput	Tonnes	44,897	45,381	n/a
Plant feed grade	g/t Au	3.85	3.79	n/a
Metallurgical recovery rate	%	95.1	91.6	n/a
Gold produced	Troy Ounces	4,866	4,501	n/a
Silver produced	Troy Ounces	30,864	35,095	n/a

The Company will publish full results for the quarter ending 31 March 2018 by early May 2018.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

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
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886 2500
Adam James / Tom Salvesen
Yellow Jersey PR Limited	Tel: +44 (0) 7544 275 882
Tim Thompson / Harriet Jackson / Henry Wilkinson	arianaresources@yellowjerseypr.com

Editors' Note

About Ariana Resources:

Ariana is an exploration and development company with mining operations focused on epithermal gold-silver and porphyry copper-gold deposits in Turkey, the largest gold producing country in Europe.  The Company is developing a portfolio of prospective licences originally selected on the basis of its in-house geological and remote-sensing database, which now contain a total of 1.6 million ounces of gold and other metals (as at end-2017).  Ariana's objective is to cost-effectively add value to its projects through focused exploration and to develop its operations, primarily through well-financed joint ventures. 

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, form part of a 50:50 Joint Venture with Proccea Construction Co.  The Kiziltepe Sector of the Red Rabbit Project is fully-permitted and is currently in production.  The total resource inventory at the Red Rabbit Project and wider project area stands at c. 605,000 ounces of gold equivalent (as at end-2017).  At Kiziltepe a Net Smelter Return ("NSR") royalty of up to 2.5% on production is payable to Franco-Nevada Corporation.  At Tavsan an NSR royalty of up to 2% on future production is payable to Sandstorm Gold.

In north-eastern Turkey, Ariana owns 100% of the Salinbas Gold Project, comprising the Salinbas gold-silver deposit and the Ardala copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry among other prospects.  The total resource inventory of the Salinbas project area is c. 1 million ounces of gold equivalent.  A NSR royalty of up to 2% on future production is payable to Eldorado Gold Corporation.

Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited are broker 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.

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