(Sharecast News) - Mineral explorer and developer Ariana Resources updated the market on the Tavsan Project on Thursday, which is operated in partnership with Zenit, Proccea Construction and Ozaltin, with Ariana owning a 23.5% stake.
The AIM-traded firm said the 2023 drilling campaign was ongoing, with 8,994.3 metres completed, including 104 diamond drill holes drilled since November 2022.
Notable results included intercepts at TAV-D023-23, which revealed 12.1 metres at 2.52 grams of gold and 9.38 grams of silver per tonne from a depth of 114.6 metres.
Ariana said it had received assay results for 2,147 samples, with an additional 809 samples awaiting analysis at the Kiziltepe Mine Laboratory (KML).
In addition to positive drilling results, Ariana said mine construction was progressing well and aligned with the established schedule.
The company expected the start of gold production from Tavsan in the second quarter of next year.
"The latest drilling results from the ongoing drilling programme at Tavsan continue to demonstrate scope for expanding the resource," said managing director Dr Kerim Sener.
"Some of our deeper holes on the project have been yielding high grades over 10-metre intervals, which is highly encouraging and suggests that there may be further depth continuity to parts of the Tavsan deposit than previously indicated.
"Further drilling is underway, and we will continue to test the strike and depth continuity of mineralisation, particularly in the North Zone and North Zone Extension."
Dr Sener said the company anticipated that a further 5,000 metres of drilling was planned.
"We are currently working on revisions to our geological model based on the new data, which will ultimately contribute to a revised mineral resource estimate.
"This, in turn, will be used to update production and development plans during the first quarter of 2024, and we remain on track for the first gold from Tavsan during the second quarter."
At 1437 GMT, shares in Ariana Resources were up 6.86% at 2.24p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Ariana (AAU)