Resource increases by 25% at Kiziltepe

28 October 2010 AIM / PLUS Markets: AAU RESOURCE INCREASES BY 25% AT KIZILTEPE Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to announce the completion of its revised independent JORC mineral resource estimate* for its Kiziltepe deposit in Balikesir Province, western Turkey. Highlights: * Wardrop, A Tetra Tech Company ("Wardrop") estimates a global JORC compliant mineral resource of 232,900 oz gold equivalent** in all categories at a cut- off grade of 1 g/t Au * Total Measured and Indicated resource increased to 206,500 oz gold equivalent** * Measured resources fall completely within preliminary pit shapes established for a gold price of US$800 per oz and a silver price of US$14 per oz * High grade zones continue below modelled pit-bottom at Arzu South and Arzu North, and new areas for potential resource growth have been identified * Total resource inventory of the Company stands at approximately 448,000 oz gold equivalent (up from 401,000 oz gold equivalent) Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented: "The revised JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate for Kiziltepe is in line with expectations and brings us toward our targeted global resource base of 250,000 oz gold equivalent.  As the new estimate represents the foundations of our continuing work programmes, it was important to ensure that the estimate incorporated economic parameters derived from our scoping study.  Most importantly, the increase to the Measured and Indicated components of the estimate provides enhanced confidence in the scale of the potentially mineable resource at Kiziltepe. Our last round of drilling was focused on the Banu and Derya veins with the aim of converting existing Inferred resources to at least the Indicated category.  This work resulted in a near 1:1 conversion between the two categories, which is an excellent result.  In addition to this, the drilling database for Kiziltepe was completely reconstituted and the geological models for Arzu North, Banu and Derya were totally revised in line with new geological understanding gained during trial mining.  The geological modelling and addition of low grade altered wallrocks in to the resource estimate has also proven worthwhile, as this material has the potential to further increase the open pit economics." * All resource figures contained in this announcement are reported as both net and gross with respect to the Red Rabbit Joint Venture and Ariana remains the operator of this project. ** Gold equivalents are based on the following equation: {(Ag g/t*Ag Recovery*Ag Price*0.032)/Au oz Price}/Au Recovery Details of Resource Estimate The Company has completed over 16,340m of diamond and reverse circulation drilling and 960m of channel sampling at surface.  The Company has ensured a high quality of sample preparation and laboratory results, resulting in grade and density data which can support a JORC compliant resource estimate (Table 1). Four main mineralised structures that have been drilled and channel sampled sufficiently enough to support Mineral Resources in the Indicated and Measured categories have been incorporated in the three-dimensional geological model, namely, Arzu South, Arzu North, Derya and Banu (Figure 1).  Additional modelling was undertaken on several subsidiary veins on which preliminary exploration drilling has been completed.  This modelling included the Derya West, Aybor, Arzu Far North and Ceylan veins. The resource was estimated by Ordinary Kriging (OK), with an Inverse Distance Squared (ID2) estimation used to validate the OK results.  The deposit was estimated for Au and Ag inside of the geologically controlled mineralised zone, consisting of low-sulphidation epithermal quartz vein system, and a wider stockwork alteration halo.  An economically defined lower cut-off grade of 1 g/t Au was used to define the final resource estimate.  Different top cuts were established for individual veins and varied from 17 g/t Au to 5 g/t Au. Resource classification was controlled by variographic search parameters with resources contained within a preliminary optimised pit shape falling into to the 'Measured' category.  Resources outside of the optimised pit-shell were categorised as either 'Indicated' or 'Inferred' based on the search pass used in the estimation process.  Material within the estimation showing low sample data density was also included into the 'Inferred' category, specifically extensions along strike at Banu and Derya.  Density was estimated using Nearest Neighbour (NN) methods and where absent, a default value of the average for the estimation was used. The Whittle pit optimisation was undertaken using a conservative price for gold and silver, at US$800/oz and US$14/oz respectively.  Recoveries of 88% and 78% for gold and silver have been established via test work and were included in the optimisation calculations.  The current 5-10 year consensus price forecasts for gold and silver are higher than those used in the pit optimisation work, but the Company considers that the price levels used provide some mitigation against any downside risk. Figure 1: Preliminary pit shape (in purple) and mineralisation block model coloured according to gold grade, shows the results of the estimation above a 1g/t Au cut-off-grade. Table 1: Summary JORC Mineral Resource Estimate for the Kiziltepe deposit at a 1 g/t Au cut-off grade.  Gold equivalents are the sum of the gold ounces and the gold equivalent ounces of silver based on the following equation: {(Ag g/t*Ag Recovery*Ag Price*0.032)/Au oz Price}/Au Recovery. +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ | | |Grade Au |Grade Ag | | |Au equiv. | |VEIN |Tonnage (t)|(g/t) |(g/t) |Au (oz)|Ag (oz) |(oz) | +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ |Measured | 782,942| 4.1| 51.4|103,319|1,294,836| 123,311| +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ |Indicated1| 619,029| 2.3| 44.8| 46,496| 891,368| 60,258| +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ |Inferred2 | 164,998| 1.8| 40.9| 9,752| 217,005| 13,101| +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ |Inferred3 | 116,000| 1.5| 51.3| 5,505| 191,446| 8,457| +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ | | |Grade Au |Grade Ag | | |Au equiv. | |HALO |Tonnage (t)|(g/t) |(g/t) |Au (oz)|Ag (oz) |(oz) | +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ |Indicated | 352,819| 1.6| 25.8| 18,430| 293,007| 22,954| +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ |Inferred | 76,059| 1.4| 33.7| 3,544| 82,341| 4,816| +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ |TOTAL M&I | 1,754,789| 3.0| 43.9|168,245|2,479,211| 206,523| +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ |GLOBAL | 2,111,847| 2.8| 43.7|187,046|2,970,002| 232,903| +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-------+---------+-------------+ NOTES: 1 Includes mineralisation classified as Indicated at the satellite Kepez prospect. 2 Includes mineralisation classified as Inferred from the Arzu South, Arzu North, Banu and Derya veins. 3 Includes mineralisation classified as Inferred from the subsidiary Derya West, Aybor, Arzu Far North and Ceylan veins. *Some of the Halo (alteration) material will be necessarily mined and may be processed at the end of the mine life but Wardrop considers more studies are required to determine the nature of the mineralisation. Contacts: Ariana Resources plc Tel: 020 7407 3616 Michael Spriggs, Chairman Kerim Sener, Managing Director Beaumont Cornish Limited Tel: 020 7628 3396 Roland Cornish Alexander David Securities Limited Tel: 020 7448 9820 Nick Bealer / David Scott Loeb Aron & Company Ltd Tel: 020 7628 1128 Peter Freeman / Frank Lucas Editors' note: The information in this document that relates to Mineral Resources is based on a resource estimate compiled or supervised by Mr Paul Gribble, a full time employee and Senior Geologist of Wardrop Engineering Inc.  Mr Gribble has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Ore Reserves" (JORC Code).  Mr Gribble consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears. Dr Kerim Sener, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, is the Managing Director of Ariana Resources plc.  A graduate of the University of Southampton in Geology, he also holds a Master's degree from the Royal School of Mines (Imperial College, London) in Mineral Exploration and a doctorate from the University of Western Australia.  He is a Fellow of The Geological Society of London and has worked in geological research and mineral consultancy in Southern Africa and Australia.  He has read and approved the technical disclosure in this regulatory announcement. 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 448,000 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. Glossary of Technical Terms "Au" the chemical symbol for gold; "cut-off grade" The lowest grade, or quality, of mineralised material that qualifies as economically mineable and available in a given deposit. May be defined on the basis of economic evaluation, or on physical or chemical attributes that define an acceptable product specification; "g/t" grammes per tonne; "low-sulphidation" a style of gold mineralisation which is typically found distal to volcanic centres and is characterised by adularia-sericite alteration and quartz veins; "Indicated resource" a part of a mineral resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a reasonable level of confidence. It is based on exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes. The locations are too widely or inappropriately spaced to confirm geological and/or grade continuity but are spaced closely enough for continuity to be assumed; "Inferred resource" a part of a mineral resource for which tonnage, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a low level of confidence. It is inferred from geological evidence and has assumed, but not verified, geological and/or grade continuity. It is based on information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes that may be limited or of uncertain quality and reliability; "Inverse Distance Squared" a conventional mathematical method used to calculate mineral resources.  Near sample points provide a greater weighting than samples further away for any given resource block; "JORC" the Joint Ore Reserves Committee; "m"Metres; "Measured resource" a part of a Mineral Resource for which tonnage, densities, shape, physical characteristics, grade and mineral content can be estimated with a high level of confidence.  It is based on detailed and reliable exploration, sampling and testing information gathered through appropriate techniques from locations such as outcrops, trenches, pits, workings and drill holes.  The locations are spaced closely enough to confirm geological and grade continuity; "Nearest Neighbour" a methodology used to derive the value of an attribute from surrounding sample data on the basis of point-to-point proximity; "Ordinary Kriging" is a geostatistical approach to resource estimation.  Instead of weighting nearby data points by some power of their inverted distance, OK relies on the spatial correlation structure of the data to determine the weighting values.  This is a more rigorous approach to modelling, as correlation between data points determines the estimated value at an unsampled point; "oz" Ounces; "porphyry" an igneous rock with larger crystals contained within a matrix of much smaller crystals; "stockwork" a mineral deposit in the form of a branching network of small irregular veins; "top cut" the maximum gold content for samples used to calculate an average gold content for a resource; "variographic" the use of semi-variograms (a mathematical technique) as part of the geostatistical methodology used to derive resource estimates; "Whittle" computer software that uses the Lerch-Grossman algorithm, which is a 3-D algorithm that can be applied to the optimisation of open-pit mine designs.  The purpose of optimisation is to produce the most cost effective and most profitable open-pit design from a resource block model. Ends [HUG#1456253] This announcement is distributed by Thomson Reuters on behalf of Thomson Reuters clients. The owner of this announcement warrants that: (i) the releases contained herein are protected by copyright and other applicable laws; and (ii) they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein. Source: Ariana Resources plc via Thomson Reuters ONE
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