19 August 2008
AIM / PLUS Markets: AAU
LICENCE ACQUISTIONS AND TRANSFERS UPDATE
Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold
exploration and development company focused on Turkey, announces that
it has acquired new exploration ground in the vicinity of its main
projects and that licence transfers are complete on six core licences
for the Tavsan project.
Highlights:
- Nine new licences acquired in western Turkey
- Six licences transferred for the Tavsan project
- Total ground-holding at approximately 1050 km2, excluding JV
licences in eastern Turkey
Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:
"The acquisition of new ground helps us to build our exploration
portfolio within the WAVE project area, in which we are expecting to
delineate a resource of 1 million ounces of gold in the coming
years. The completion of the first phase of licence transfers for
the Tavsan project allows the Company to begin formal work on the
project, with the aim of demonstrating its evident resource
potential.
"Following our recent dealings on the Tavsan project, our licence
portfolio in western Turkey is now even more focused on the WAVE
project area, which enables an ease of logistics and better use of
our human and financial resources. The Company holds some of the
best exploration properties in western Turkey and we look forward to
developing our licence portfolio and target stream yet further."
New acquisitions
Nine new exploration licences have been acquired in western Turkey in
regions surrounding our main project development areas. These
licences build on the strategic ground holdings around our principal
projects and offer the opportunity to define new exploration targets
for drill-testing.
Tavsan transfers
Five operating and one exploration licence within the package of ten
licences purchased from Odyssey Resources have been transferred to
Galata Madencilik San. ve Tic. Ltd., Ariana's local subsidiary. The
licences transferred include several priority licences, which contain
the existing 43-101 resource established by Odyssey Resources. The
remaining four licences are pending transfer.
Contacts:
Ariana Resources plc Tel: 020 7407 3616
Michael Spriggs, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director
Beaumont Cornish Limited Tel: 020 7628 3396
Roland Cornish
Lothbury Financial Tel: 020 7011 9411
Michael Padley / Louise Davis
Loeb Aron & Company Ltd Tel: 020 7628 1128
Peter Freeman / Frank Lucas
Alexander David Securities Limited Tel: 020 7448 9800
Nick Bealer / David Scott
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 exploring a portfolio of prospective licences selected
on the basis of its in-house geological and remote-sensing database.
The Company's flagship assets are its Sindirgi and Tavsan gold
projects. Both projects 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.
Loeb Aron & Company Ltd. and Alexander David Securities Limited 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
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