Update on Sindirgi

2 April 2009
AIM / PLUS Markets: AAU

                    UPDATE ON SINDIRGI ACTIVITIES

                 TRIAL MINING & NEW DRILL PROGRAMME

Ariana  Resources  plc   ("Ariana"  or  "the   Company"),  the   gold
exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased  to
provide an update of its operational activities at the Sindirgi  Gold
Project.  Trial mining of the Arzu  South vein is underway and a  new
drilling programme  on  two  additional  veins  has  commenced.   The
drilling programme is  designed to test  potential extensions to  the
existing resource.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"Trial mining  has  been underway  at  the  Arzu South  vein  of  the
Kiziltepe  deposit   since  mid-March.    Grade-control  of   initial
stockpiles has demonstrated higher than expected gold grades over the
central portion of the vein.   This provides a considerable boost  to
our confidence  and  the team  is  continuing  to work  to  ensure  a
positive outcome from the trial.

"Elsewhere on  the  Kiziltepe  deposit,  the  Company  has  initiated
drilling on two veins occurring to the west of Arzu South which  have
not been drill-tested  effectively in the  past.  This drilling  will
lead towards a further drilling  programme scheduled for the  summer,
which is designed to test for the continuity of the mineralised  Arzu
structure beneath cover."

Trial Mining

Trial mining  activities  commenced  on  schedule  on  Saturday  14th
March.  This involved the use  of an excavator/rock-breaker to  level
surface outcrops, to create an  initial stockpile of surface ore  and
to prepare the ground for grade-control drilling.  Samples  collected
from surface material  were analysed  at the Eti  Gümüs A.S.  ("Eti")
laboratory and confirmed  continuity of  grade along  100m of  strike
over the central portion of the vein.  The results of these  analyses
have exceeded expectations of surface grade at Arzu South,  recording
an average of 7.6 g/t Au (max. 20.4 g/t Au, 220 g/t Ag; min. 1.8  g/t
Au, 10 g/t Ag).  Approximately 500 tonnes of this high-grade material
is currently stockpiled at site.

Grade-control drilling  was undertaken  on Friday  27th March.   Nine
grade control holes were drilled over  100m of strike to depths of  8
to 20m from which seventy-three  2m composite samples were  collected
and dispatched to the Eti laboratory for analysis along with standard
and blank samples  for quality  control purposes.  One  half of  each
sample has also been retained  by Ariana for independent analysis  if
necessary.  The Company is  also making use  of a field-portable  XRF
(X-ray fluorescence) instrument  to assist with  on-site analyses  of
silver, which is  being used as  an effective proxy  for gold  grade,
ahead of formal grade-control sampling.

Drilling  and  blasting   commenced  on  Wednesday   1st  April   and
approximately 10,000 tonnes (representing 90m of strike) of  material
blasted simultaneously using ANFO explosives in 71 holes (24  rows).
An estimated three days will be required to move the broken ore  into
stockpiles, during  which  further  grade-control  sampling  will  be
undertaken.  The first transport of  ore to the Eti processing  plant
is expected on Thursday 9th April.

New Drilling

Ariana has  commenced  a new  drilling  programme on  two  previously
untested veins (Vein  9 and  Derya West) at  the western  end of  the
Kiziltepe prospect using its  in-house drilling team.  The  programme
is designed for a maximum of  300m of drilling for six shallow  holes
of 50m depth,  although the  programme can be  extended dependent  on
assay results.  As part of this programme, the Company has  benefited
from the  input  of  Mr.  Mehmet  Ali  Özkan  who  has  25  years  of
diamond-drilling experience  in  Turkey operating  similar  hydraulic
rigs, and who is consulting to the Company on the further development
of the in-house drilling team.

This short drilling  programme is  being undertaken in  advance of  a
further programme  planned for  the summer  which will  test  several
geophysical targets defined in areas under cover, notably in the Arzu
area.  The identification of a coherent resistivity and chargeability
anomaly (from the 2008 geophysical programme) and other  confirmatory
geological work has demonstrated that  a 650m long 'gap' between  the
Arzu South  and North  veins represents  an opportunity  for  further
resource expansion.

Forestry applications have  been submitted to  secure permits in  the
area of ignimbrite  cover between  the two veins.   Drilling in  this
area will test for the  sub-surface continuity of the Arzu  structure
via several holes spaced 50m  apart.  The Company has flexibility  to
extend this programme.

For announcement with graphics please follow this link:


Contacts:


Ariana Resources plc               Tel: [phone]
Michael Spriggs, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director

Beaumont Cornish Limited           Tel: [phone]
Roland Cornish

Lothbury Financial                 Tel: [phone]
Michael Padley / Libby Moss

Alexander David Securities Limited Tel: [phone]
Nick Bealer / David Scott

Loeb Aron & Company Ltd            Tel: [phone]
Peter Freeman / Frank Lucas




Editors' note:

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 the Kiziltepe Deposit

The  Kiziltepe  deposit  is  located  within  a  ten-year   renewable
operating licence  that  forms  part  of  the  Company's  100%  owned
Sindirgi Gold  Project in  Balikesir Province,  western Turkey.   The
current JORC resource of 186,000 ounces gold equivalent is  contained
within the Arzu South, Arzu North, Banu and Derya veins.

Kiziltepe lies approximately 130km west of the Gümüsköy silver  mine,
100km east of the one million ounce vein-hosted Ovacik gold mine  and
115km northwest of  the five  million ounce Kisladag  gold mine.  The
deposit hosts  over  20km in  strike  length of  gold-silver  bearing
low-sulphidation epithermal quartz veins across  an area of at  least
3km by 1km. Individual  veins are exposed for  up to 750m and  widths
vary between 1m and 14m. The  main veins trend northwest, dip to  the
northeast and are hosted within Miocene age dacitic volcanic rocks.

Ariana  acquired  the  Sindirgi  Gold  Project  from  Newmont  Mining
Corporation (NYSE & ASX: NEM; TSX: NMC) in March 2005.  Franco-Nevada
Corporation retains the right  to a royalty of  up to 2.5% on  future
gold production from the Sindirgi Gold Project.

On 5 March,  2009, Ariana  announced that the  trial production  from
Kiziltepe had commenced, and an agreement with Eti Gumus A.S. ("Eti")
to process ore on a trial  basis had completed.  Gold produced  from
the operation  will   be  divided  on  a  50-50   basis  between  the
parties.  Expected recovery  of gold  will be 85%,  in line with  the
earlier test  results  detailed  above.  Silver  recoveries  will  be
considerably lower, as the  silver grade of ore  supplied to Eti   is
considered marginal for processing and, in any case, the Company  has
agreed that any silver  obtained from the plant  will be retained  by
Eti.  Gold retained by  Ariana will be refined  at the Istanbul  Gold
Refinery or a suitable alternative.

If this trial operation is deemed successful by both parties, Galata
and Eti have  determined to  discuss a  processing arrangement  which
would be governed by a new agreement.

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 at www.arianaresources.com.

Ends

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