Director Appointment

22 July 2010
AIM / PLUS Markets: AAU

                              DIRECTOR APPOINTMENT

Ariana  Resources  plc  ("Ariana"  or  "the  Company"), the gold exploration and
development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to announce the appointment of
Mr. William Payne as a non-executive Director with immediate effect.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"We  are delighted that William  is able to join  the board during this eventful
period  in the development of the  Company.  William was originally appointed as
CFO  of the Company in 2007 and has  served in this capacity diligently.  During
this  time, he has made significant  contributions ranging from company strategy
through  to audit planning.  In addition  to attending regular board meetings in
London  as CFO, he  has visited Turkey  on several occasions  to attend specific
meetings in Sindirgi and Ankara.  It is in recognition of this contribution that
he  now joins the board.   I am sure William  will continue to serve the Company
admirably  in his capacity as a director and  it is a pleasure to welcome him to
the board."

Details of Appointment

William  James Benedict  Payne is  a partner  of the chartered accountancy firm,
Wilkins Kennedy, and acts for a diverse range of clients across various industry
sectors.   He  provides  audit  and  assurance  advice  to  clients  as  well as
assistance  in planning, reporting and compliance.  He is a member of the firm's
property  and  construction  sector  and  is  also  responsible  for a number of
outsourced accounts and administrative functions.  Having obtained an accounting
degree  from Exeter  University, Mr.  Payne went  on to  train and  qualify as a
Chartered Accountant at KPMG in London.  He was made partner in WH Payne & Co in
1991, prior  to its merger  with Wilkins Kennedy  in 2003.  In addition to being
the  partner in the firm responsible for the  firm's ethics, Mr. Payne is also a
director  of  a  number  of  companies  including AIM-listed Kibo Mining plc and
PLUS-listed Sprue Aegis PLC.

Mr. William Payne (aged 45) has held the following directorships in companies or
partnerships in the past five years:


 Current Directorships / Partnerships:   Former Directorship / Partnership:


 Ferensway Limited                       WH Payne Financial Services Limited

 Kibo Mining plc                         WH Payne Management Services Limited

 Marlowe Investments (Kent) Limited

 Merton Publishing Limited

 Millard Estates Limited

 Millard Properties Limited

 Sprue Aegis PLC

 Sprue Safety Products Limited

 West Bridge Consulting Limited

 Wilkins Kennedy



Mr.  Payne currently owns  350,000 Ordinary Shares in  the Company, representing
0.157% of  the Company's issued share capital.  His services will be supplied by
Wilkins  Kennedy as part of their charges  for accountancy services to the group
overall.

There  are no further details in relation to the above appointment which require
disclosure under paragraph (g) (iii) to (viii) of Schedule 2 to the AIM Rules.

Contacts:

 Ariana Resources plc                     Tel: [phone]

 Michael Spriggs, Chairman

 Kerim Sener, Managing Director



 Beaumont Cornish Limited                 Tel: [phone]

 Roland Cornish



 Alexander David Securities Limited       Tel: [phone]

 Nick Bealer / David Scott



 Loeb Aron & Company Ltd                  Tel: [phone]

 Jonathan Willis-Richards / Frank Lucas


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, on its  own in western Turkey
and in Joint Venture with European Goldfields Limited in north-eastern Turkey.

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.   The total resource inventory of the
Company stands at 401,000 ounces of gold equivalent.

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
atwww.arianaresources.com.

Ends




[HUG#1433291]








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Source: Ariana Resources plc via Thomson Reuters ONE