Ariana Regulatory News (AAU)

16 Nov 2005 08:30

Ariana Resources PLC16 November 2005 16 November 2005AIM: AAU ARIANA DEFINES LARGE GOLD GEOCHEMICAL ANOMALY AT KINIK PROSPECT IN TURKEY Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration companyfocused exclusively on Turkey, announces the discovery of a significant gold insoil anomaly at the Company's 100% owned Kinik gold prospect in BalikesirProvince, western Turkey. * Substantial gold in soil geochemical anomaly identified * Presence of potentially significant gold system strongly indicated * Systematic follow-up programme to be undertaken This extensive (750m by 50m) anomaly was defined during a soil samplingprogramme designed to test the extent of gold mineralisation located on theKinik prospect by reconnaissance channel sampling in 2004.In October 2005, an area covering 0.7km x 1.3km was sampled at 100m linespacing, with a total of 230 soil samples collected at intervals of between 25mand 50m. The anomaly has been defined by samples exceeding a threshold of 0.1 g/t gold. Of the total samples, 18 (9%) returned values above 0.1 g/t. The peaksoil value was 1.22 g/t Au. Future work on the Kinik prospect will include an extension of the soil grid anda systematic programme of rock-chip and channel sampling to test the continuityof the mineralised zone. Steven Poulton, Chief Executive, commented:"We are very pleased with the results from the soil survey at the Kinik goldprospect, which strongly indicate the presence of a potentially significant goldmineralised system. "The discovery testifies to the speed and cost effectiveness of Ariana'stechnology-driven exploration model. We are well positioned to make and advancefurther discoveries from our proprietary database, which has so far enabled theCompany to build a portfolio of some 61 prospective licences across over1,000km2 of Turkey". Contacts:Ariana Resources plcSteven Poulton, Chief Executive Tel: 01235 511 767s.j.poulton@arianaresources.com Mobile: 0797 408 6712 Bankside ConsultantsMichael Padley / Susan Scott Tel: 020 7367 8888 Editors note: About the Kinik Gold ProspectThe Kinik gold prospect was discovered by the Company's in house remote sensingdatabase and covers an area of 1,084 hectares. The prospect forms part of theIvrindi project which covers an area of 4,826 hectares in Balikesir province,western Turkey. Kinik prospect area was identified during analysis of the Company's in-houseremote-sensing database which intersected 48m of mineralisation along aroad-cut. The channel contained higher grades zones of 3.21 g/t over 10m, 3.09 g/t over 5m and 1.4 g/t over 13m (using a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off) with a peak gradeof 10.42 g/t Au. Previous rock-chip sampling undertaken by the Company at twoseparate locations 250m and 900m east and northeast, respectively, of theoriginal channel has returned grades above 1 g/t. The Kinik gold prospect is situated in a regional-scale structural corridorwhich contains known occurrences of epithermal gold-silver and antimonymineralisation. The prospect area contains Late Oligocene to Mid-Miocene age,variably altered, andesitic volcanic rocks, which are juxtaposed againstlimestone of Permo-Triassic age. The juxtaposition of these units is caused by aseries of closely-spaced, ENE-trending, north- and south-dipping normal faultsrelated to graben formation during the Late Miocene. Sampling and Assaying ProceduresAll samples have been prepared by the ALS Chemex preparation facility in Izmirand analysed by fire assay for gold and multi-element ICP-AES at the ALS Chemexlaboratory in Vancouver. Dr Kerim Sener, BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, is Ariana's Exploration Director. Agraduate of the University of Southampton in Geology, he also holds a Master'sdegree from the Royal School of Mines (Imperial College, London) in MineralExploration and a doctorate from the University of Western Australia. He is aFellow of The Geological Society of London and has worked in geological researchand mineral consultancy in Southern Africa and the Northern Territory ofAustralia. He has read and approved the technical disclosure in this regulatoryannouncement. About Ariana ResourcesAriana is a technology-driven exploration company focused on the discovery ofmulti-million ounce potential epithermal gold-silver and porphyry copper-golddeposits within the Tethyan metallogenic belt of Turkey. The Company has aportfolio of prospective licences covering over 1,000km2, selected on the basisof its advanced in-house remote sensing database. Ariana's broker is AmbrianPartners Limited and Beaumont Cornish Limited is the Company's nominatedadviser. For further information on Ariana you are invited to visit the Company's websiteat www.arianaresources.com. Ends This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange