Placing to Raise £625,000 and Total Voting...

Placing to Raise £625,000 and Total Voting Rights

30 July 2012

AIM: AAU

PLACING TO RAISE £625,000

TOTAL VOTING RIGHTS

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to announce that it has raised £625,000 before expenses via a placing ('the Placing'), of 41,666,668 new ordinary shares ('the Placing Shares') at a price of 1.5 pence per ordinary share.  The proceeds of the Placing will be used for the acquisition and exploration of new gold properties in western, central and eastern Turkey, which are being targeted in the upcoming licence auctions, and additional working capital.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"Turkey is increasingly being recognised as a highly attractive investment destination which hosts numerous world class gold deposits.  During our 10 years of operation in Turkey, Ariana has built an extensive portfolio across the country and we remain committed to its ongoing development.  In line with this, these additional funds will provide the Company with the ability to secure additional exploration properties via a new round of licence auctions which are due to commence at the end of July.  

"Our exploration team has demonstrated its ability to successfully identify and prove-up new gold projects in Turkey.  We have built a highly extensive bulk-leach extractable gold (BLEG) database which we believe puts us in an enviable position in terms of the evaluation of the most prospective new exploration opportunities in western Turkey.  With this additional funding in place, we now also have the resources to readily execute on attractive new properties, building a balanced portfolio of interests which includes near term production at our flagship Red Rabbit Gold Project and greenfield exploration assets.  This strategy provides Ariana with near term cash flow potential in addition to significant exploration upside potential which I am confident we can deliver."    

The Placing is conditional on the admission of the Placing Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission").  Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the Placing Shares to be admitted to trading and it is expected that Admission will occur, and dealings in the Placing Shares will commence on 3 August 2012.

The Placing Shares will, when issued, rank pari passu in all respects with the existing issued shares of Ariana, including the right to receive any dividends and other distributions declared following Admission.  

As at the date of Admission, the Company's issued share capital will consist of 312,034,888 Ordinary Shares with a nominal value of 1p each, with voting rights ("Ordinary Shares").  The Company does not hold any Ordinary Shares in Treasury.  Therefore the total number of Ordinary Shares in the Company with voting rights is 312,034,888.

The Company's issued share capital consists of 312,034,888 Ordinary Shares and this number should be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the share capital of the Company under the Financial Service Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

Contacts:

Ariana Resources plcTel: +44 (0) 20 7407 3616
Michael Spriggs, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director
Beaumont Cornish LimitedTel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
Roland Cornish
Felicity Geidt
Fairfax I.S. PLCTel: +44 (0) 20 7598 5368
Ewan Leggatt
Laura Littley
St Brides Media & Finance LtdTel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177
Susie Geliher
Lottie Brocklehurst

Editors' note:

About Ariana Resources

Ariana Resources plc (AIM: AAU) is an exploration and development company focused on epithermal gold-silver and porphyry copper-gold deposits in Turkey.  Its key asset is the Red Rabbit Gold Project ('Red Rabbit') in western Turkey, which it is advancing towards production in 2013.  The total resource inventory of the Company stands at 448,000 ounces of gold equivalent, however Ariana has a comprehensive exploration campaign underway across the wider Red Rabbit area to increase the total resource base of the Company.

In addition to its own pipeline of exploration properties, Ariana also has a Joint Venture agreement with Eldorado Gold concentrating on the highly prospective Artvin Province of north-eastern Turkey, which is focussed on the Ardala and Salinbas gold projects.  Ariana also holds a significant investment in a private company, Tigris Resources, which is focused on exploration in the frontier mining provinces of south-eastern Turkey.

This three pronged strategy provides Ariana with near term production potential and revenue generation, whilst simultaneously offering investors the considerable value uplift that would come from a major new gold discovery in Turkey, Europe's largest gold producer.    

The Company's broker is Fairfax I.S. PLC and its Nominated Adviser is Beaumont Cornish Ltd.

For further information on the Company, please visit www.arianaresources.com.



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Source: Ariana Resources plc via Thomson Reuters ONE
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