Ariana Resources plc : Lithium Project Transaction

17 May 2016
AIM: AAU

LITHIUM PROJECT TRANSACTION

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the exploration and development company, announces that Asgard Metals Pty. Ltd. ("Asgard"), its 86%-owned Australian subsidiary, has completed a joint agreement to vend a package of tenements in Western Australia and the Northern Territory to Kingston Resources Limited (ASX:KSN) ("Kingston") as part of a broader deal involving Slipstream Resources Group ("Slipstream").  This package of tenements contains potential for lithium-tantalum bearing pegmatitic mineralisation in four areas in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. 

Highlights:

• Asgard completes joint agreement with Slipstream to vend a total package of twenty tenements across four areas within Western Australia and the Northern Territory, to Kingston.

• Aggregate consideration payable to Asgard for the deal involves a cash payment of A$20,000 and 6,600,000 fully paid ordinary shares in Kingston.

• Asgard will also benefit from up to 7,200,000 performance shares in Kingston which will be issued on the achievement of certain project milestones. 

• Kingston to complete a fundraising of up to A$6.85 million in two tranches, with Bell Potter Securities Limited, to fund an aggressive exploration programme on the tenements.

• Completion of the transaction is subject to various conditions, including due diligence, the acquisition of control of the twenty tenements, Kingston shareholder approval for the transaction, regulatory approvals capital raising.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: 

"This is a very pleasing result for our technology-metals subsidiary which was able to act swiftly to secure the rights to some of the tenement applications that form part of this deal with Kingston.  We are again pleased to have been able to cooperate productively with Slipstream on this deal, and to have been able to apply again a successful formula to vend the complete licence package to Kingston.  We now look forward to seeing the formal completion of this deal and towards Kingston undertaking new exploration on this licence package." 

Ariana's Strategy

Asgard has been pursuing a strategy of commodity diversification on behalf of Ariana, with a special focus on technology-commodities, particularly those that may be used in renewable energy applications.  Commodities of particular interest to Asgard currently include lithium, antimony and silver, which are found in association with certain gold mineralisation systems in both Turkey and Western Australia, among other gold-provinces worldwide.  Asgard is also interested in the potential for lithium and antimony mineralisation in Turkey and has undertaken initial work to confirm this view.  Asgard has developed an exploration model specifically for lithium, which it is applying to other regions with the aim of identifying new exploration areas for future licence acquisition. 

Summary of Agreement

Asgard and Slipstream have jointly vended their interests in twenty tenements in Western Australia and the Northern Territory to Kingston Resources Limited (ASX:KSN) via the sale of a jointly owned company, Slipstream WANT Pty. Ltd., of which Asgard owns 4%.  In consideration for this, Asgard will receive a payment of A$20,000.  Of this, A$8,000 will be paid to Asgard within 5 business days of completion of the first tranche of the Kingston share placement and A$12,000 to be paid at completion.  Asgard will also be issued with 6,600,000 in fully-paid ordinary shares, half of which will be subject to a voluntary escrow period of 12 months.  Asgard will also benefit from the following performance share payments, as follows:

• 3,600,000 shares in Kignston upon an Inferred Mineral Resource of 5 Mt at no less than 1% Li₂O being identified on any or all of the tenements and announced to the ASX by Kingston in accordance with the requirements of the JORC Code; and

• 3,600,000 shares in Kingston upon an Inferred Mineral Resource of a further 10 Mt at no less than 1% Li₂O being identified on any or all of the tenements and announced to the ASX by Kingston in accordance with the requirements of the JORC Code.

Kingston will complete a placement of up to A$6.85 million in two tranches with Bell Potter Securities Limited acting as Lead Manager, to fund an aggressive exploration programme on the tenements.  Tranche 1 for A$840,000 before expenses will be raised without the requirement for shareholder approval and will commence immediately.  Tranche 2 will require shareholder approval and the grant of two key tenements and will aim to raise A$6,010,000 before expenses.  The funds raised from this placement will be applied in part to fund the acquisition of the tenements and their exploration.

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
Jon Belliss
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited	Tel: [phone] 2500
Adam James / Tom Salvesen
Loeb Aron & Company Ltd.	Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 1128
Anthony Kluk

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 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 c. 525,000 ounces of gold equivalent. 

Beaufort Securities Limited and Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited are joint brokers to the Company and Beaumont Cornish Limited is the Company's Nominated Adviser.  Loeb Aron & Company Ltd. will continue to act as a market advisor to the Company until June 2016.

For further information on Ariana you are invited to visit the Company's website at www.arianaresources.com.

About Slipstream:

The principals of Slipstream, Geoff Stewart and Dale Ferguson, have a successful track record of building businesses in the resources sector.  Slipstream has a global network developed over more than 30 years, and is building a strong pipeline of exploration stage investment opportunities.

Slipstream provides wholesale investors with access to specially selected exploration stage resource assets.  The assets may be located anywhere in the world.  A core focus is on Australasia and other regions are considered provided Slipstream has strong local partners in such regions.

For further information on Slipstream you are invited to visit the company's website at www.slipstreamresources.com.

About Kingston:

Kingston Resources is currently an ASX listed mineral exploration company which aims to discover an economic copper deposit in Australia.  However, this transaction will aid the transformation of the company into a strategic metals exploration company focused on discovering and developing high-grade lithium deposits in Australia. 

For further information on Kingston you are invited to visit the company's website at www.kingstonresources.com.au.

Ends

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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

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