Ariana Regulatory News (AAU)

18 July 2016

AIM: AAU

DRILLING PROGRAMME COMMENCEMENT

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), is pleased to announce that its Summer drilling programme will be commencing this week on the Kiziltepe Project. Kiziltepe is part of the Red Rabbit Joint Venture with Proccea Construction Co. and will be 50% owned by Ariana once mine construction is completed in Q4 2016.

Highlights:

· Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling to focus on drilling the extensions of several veins in the vicinity of the Kiziltepe Mine, totalling up to 4,000m.

· Multi-purpose rig being mobilised to site, providing capacity to drill some diamond holes if necessary.

· Drilling will be focused on drilling the Arzu Central target area beneath cover (Figure 1), following receipt of relevant permissions.

· Additional targets have been defined at Kiziltepe and at the Karakavak prospect, which may be drill-tested towards the end of the current programme.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"We are very pleased to report that our Summer drilling campaign will commence this week. Following a very successful drilling programme late last year, we are now well positioned to drill-test the extension of the Arzu structure beneath cover. In recent months we have also defined several additional target areas at Kiziltepe which we are looking forward to drilling. In addition, we are considering our first holes on the Karakavak prospect, now that we have secured permits in that area too. Our operations remain unaffected by recent events in Turkey, which were resolved swiftly and effectively."

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/3926E_1-2016-7-17.pdf

Figure 1: Three-dimensional model of the Kiziltepe vein system (in yellow) looking north, showing the modelled ore zones and current drilling. The Arzu Central target area is shown in grey.

Contacts:

Editors' Notes:

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 developing 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 Eldorado Gold Corporation in north-eastern Turkey. Eldorado owns 51% of this joint venture and are fully funding all exploration work on the JV properties, while Ariana owns 49%. The total resource inventory within this JV is 1.09 million ounces of gold.

The Company's flagship assets are its Kiziltepe and Tavsan gold projects which form the Red Rabbit Gold Project. Both 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 being assessed as to their economic merits and now form part of a Joint Venture with Proccea Construction Co. The Kiziltepe Sector of the Red Rabbit Project is fully-permitted and is currently in construction. The total resource inventory at the Red Rabbit Project and wider project area stands at c. 525,000 ounces of gold equivalent.

Beaufort Securities Limited and Panmure Gordon (UK) 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