Acq. of exploration licences

9 Aug 2006 09:00

Ariana Resources PLC09 August 2006 ARIANA RESOURCES PLC09 August 2006AIM: AAU ACQUISITION OF EXPLORATION LICENCES AT GOLVELI GOLD PROSPECT Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration companyfocused exclusively on Turkey, announces the acquisition of two explorationlicences at the Goveli gold prospect in western Turkey from Newmont AltinMadencilik Limited Sirketi, a subsidiary of Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE &ASX: NEM; TSX: NMC) ("Newmont"). •Agreement with Newmont consolidates Ariana's land holding to 100% of the known prospect •Recent exploration indicates presence of a 4km long and up to 1km wide gold system •Mapping and rock-chip sampling to define drill targets underway About the Goveli Prospect The Goveli prospect lies in the Manisa Province of western Turkey, 125kmnortheast of the costal city of Izmir and 60km southeast of Ariana's Sindirgigold project that was acquired from Newmont in 2005. Ariana secured itspre-existing 'central' Goveli exploration licence (8km2) in May 2006, through acompetitive auction process. Subject to renewal the licence will expire in June2009. The Goveli prospect hosts a 4km long by up to 1km wide northeast strikinggold mineralised system, as defined by historic soil and rock chip sample data.The mineralisation is hosted within an altered marble unit (mid-Triassic toCretaceous age), which lies adjacent to Precambrian age basement rocks. Peakgrades reported from historic rock-chip and soil sampling were 2.4 g/t Au and0.97 g/t Au respectively. Steven Poulton, Chief Executive, commented: "This agreement with Newmont consolidates Ariana's land holding across apotentially significant bulk tonnage gold target. The acquisition alsodemonstrates Ariana's commitment to establishing a significant resource base inTurkey through the rapid exploration and development of a pipeline of highquality gold prospects. In this regard, Ariana has recently signed a contractfor the commencement of an initial 2,000m diamond core drilling programme at theCompany's Sindirgi vein hosted gold project, with drilling scheduled to commencein September. " Terms of the Agreement Ariana has acquired Newmont's semi-contiguous 'northern' (18km2) and 'southern'(18.5km2) Goveli exploration licences, which subject to renewal expire in April2010, and their accompanying exploration data. The data comprisesstream-sediment, rock-chip and soil sampling results. The consideration payableto Newmont by Ariana is a 2% Net Smelter Returns royalty on future gold /minerals production within a 2km area of interest of the combined Goveliexploration licence package. Exploration underway A field team from Ariana's Turkish operating subsidiary (Galata Madencilik San.ve Tic. Ltd. Sti.) has commenced a programme of geological mapping, initiallyfocussed on the zones of silicified and sulphidic marbles that potentiallyconstitute the most economically significant parts of the mineralizedsystem. Concurrently a programme of composite rock-chip sampling will becompleted on regular 50m by 50m grids across these zones, in order to generatetargets for drill testing. Contacts: Ariana Resources plcSteven Poulton, Chief Executive Tel: 01235 511 767 Mobile: 0797 408 6712 s.j.poulton@arianaresources.cominfo@arianaresources.com Bankside ConsultantsMichael Padley / Susan Scott Tel: 020 7367 8888 About Ariana Resources Ariana is a well funded technology-driven exploration company focused on thediscovery of epithermal gold-silver and porphyry copper-gold deposits withmulti-million ounce potential within the Tethyan metallogenic belt of Turkey.The Company has a portfolio of prospective licences covering approximately1,000km2, selected on the basis of its advanced in-house remote sensingdatabase. Ariana's broker is Ambrian Partners Limited and Beaumont CornishLimited is the Company's nominated adviser. For further information on Arianayou are invited to visit the Company's website at www.arianaresources.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange