REG - Ariana Resources PLC - Operational Update: Tavsan

Ariana ResourcesAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 8984Q  Ariana Resources PLC  14 July 2025

14 July 2025

AIM: AAU

OPERATIONAL UPDATE: TAVSAN

 

Heap-leach pads complete, hot-commissioning underway

Operational status expected from late July

 

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the AIM-listed mineral
exploration and development company with gold project interests in Africa and
Europe, is pleased to announce the commencement of hot-commissioning of the
processing plant at the Tavsan Mine ("Tavsan" or "the Project") in Türkiye,
in which Ariana has a 23.5% interest.  This is an important step towards
commencement of gold processing operations at Tavsan, the Company's second
operating gold mine in Türkiye.

 

Highlights:

 

·    Tavsan Mine is expected to achieve operational status from late July
2025, ready for the commencement of gold production from the heap-leach.

 

·    Heap-leach pads are completed, with overliner aggregate currently
being laid ahead of ore loading, which will follow the conclusion of statutory
government inspections.

 

·    Hot-commissioning of the crushing and screening plants and
cold-commissioning of the agglomerator is complete.

 

·    Approximately a year of full ore production remains stockpiled ready
for loading, with crushing and screening of this material now underway.

 

·    Overland conveyors installed with their liners and with testing due
to commence imminently.

 

·    Testing of the Adsorption-Desorption-Recovery ("ADR") system
underway, with pumps being installed for the pregnant and barren ponds.

 

·    A second water well to ensure adequate water availability for the
operation is being drilled to a maximum depth of 500m (currently at 200m).

 

·    Resource and exploration drilling programme ongoing, having completed
over 6,000m of an up to 15,000m programme and testing the potential for
increases in the life of mine.

 

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

 

"It is a pleasure to report further substantial progress over the past month
at the Tavsan mine site.  The Tavsan operation is nearing final commissioning
ahead of ore loading onto the heap-leach pad, which is expected from later
this month.  The Zenit team is working around the clock to ensure that all
remaining system tests are completed on the plant and heap-leach areas ahead
of statutory government inspections, before the operation proceeds to
production.  Meanwhile, high-grade ore continues to be prioritised for
processing through the CIL plant at Kiziltepe, while we prepare for the
processing of the stockpile of heap-leachable ore on site, ready for loading
onto the pads.

 

"We are very much looking forward to achieving the first gold pour from the
Tavsan mine, enabling the first in-situ gold production from our second mine
in Türkiye.  The amount of work completed in recent months and the level of
professionalism of the Zenit team and its contractors are nothing short of
extraordinary.  We congratulate the team on their collective efforts and wish
them a successful start to heap-leach operations at Tavsan."

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of UK Domestic Law by virtue of the
European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("UK MAR").

Figure 1: General site view at Tavsan showing the mine offices in the
foreground with crushers, screens and agglomerator shown towards the top
right.  The overland conveyors to the Phase 1 heap-leach pad are installed
and run diagonally across the image.  Photograph taken in late-June 2025.

Figure 2: General site view at Tavsan encompassing the latest status of the
Phase 1 heap-leach area, with the ADR plant and pregnant and barren ponds in
the foreground. Overliner aggregate is being spread over the Phase 1
heap-leach pad.  Photograph taken in early-July 2025.

Enquiries:

 

 Ariana Resources plc                           Tel: +44 (0) 203 476 2080

 Michael de Villiers, Chairman

 Kerim Sener, Managing Director

 Beaumont Cornish Limited                       Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396

 (Nominated Adviser)

 Roland Cornish / Felicity Geidt

 Zeus Capital (Joint Broker)                    Tel: +44 (0) 203 829 5000

 Harry Ansell / Katy Mitchell

 Fortified Securities (Joint Broker)            Tel: +44 (0) 203 411 7773

 Guy Wheatley

 Shaw and Partners (Lead Manager - ASX)         Tel: +61 (0)2 9238 1268

 Damien Gullone

 Yellow Jersey PR Limited (Financial PR)        Tel: +44 (0) 7983 521 488

 Dom Barretto / Shivantha Thambirajah /         arianaresources@yellowjerseypr.com

 Bessie Elliot

 

Beaumont Cornish Limited ("Beaumont Cornish") is the Company's Nominated
Adviser and is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Beaumont Cornish's
responsibilities as the Company's Nominated Adviser, including a
responsibility to advise and guide the Company on its responsibilities under
the AIM Rules for Companies and AIM Rules for Nominated Advisers, are owed
solely to the London Stock Exchange. Beaumont Cornish is not acting for and
will not be responsible to any other persons for providing protections
afforded to customers of Beaumont Cornish nor for advising them in relation to
the proposed arrangements described in this announcement or any matter
referred to in it.

 

About Ariana Resources:

Ariana is an AIM-listed mineral exploration and development company with an
exceptional track-record of creating value for its shareholders through its
interests in active mining projects and investments in exploration companies.
Its current interests include a major gold development project in Zimbabwe,
gold production in Türkiye and copper-gold exploration and development
projects in Cyprus and Kosovo.

 

Ariana owns 100% of the Dokwe Gold Project ("Dokwe") in Zimbabwe. Dokwe is
made up of the Dokwe North and Dokwe Central gold deposits which are located
in the Tsholotsho District near the city of Bulawayo. The deposits have a
combined in-pit JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of over 1.42
million ounces of gold (as at March 2025) and the project represents the
largest undeveloped gold project in Zimbabwe.

 

The Company holds 23.5% interest in Zenit Madencilik San. ve Tic. A.S. a
joint venture with Ozaltin Holding A.S. and Proccea Construction Co. in
Türkiye which contains a depleted total of c. 2.2 million ounces gold
equivalent (as at March 2024, using a price ratio of 90 Ag to 1 Au). The joint
venture comprises the Kiziltepe and Tavsan mines and the Salinbas project.

 

The Kiziltepe Gold-Silver Mine is located in western Türkiye and contains a
depleted JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 171,700 ounces gold
and 3.3 million ounces silver (as at March 2024). The mine has been in
profitable production since 2017 and has been producing at an average rate of
c.22,000 ounces of gold per annum. A Net Smelter Return ("NSR") royalty of
2.5% on production is being paid to Franco-Nevada Corporation.

 

The Tavsan Gold Mine is located in western Türkiye and contains a JORC
Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 311,000 ounces gold and 1.1
million ounces silver (as at March 2024). Following the approval of its
Environmental Impact Assessment and associated permitting, Tavsan is being
developed as the second gold mining operation in Türkiye and is currently in
construction. The Tavsan processing plant is expected to achieve operational
status in July 2025, ready for gold production from the heap-leach. A NSR
royalty of up to 2% on future production is payable to Sandstorm Gold.

 

The Salinbas Gold Project is located in north-eastern Türkiye and contains
a JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 1.5 million ounces of gold
(as at July 2020). It is located within the multi-million ounce Artvin
Goldfield, which contains the "Hot Gold Corridor" comprising several
significant gold- copper projects including the 4 million ounce Hot Maden
project, which lies 16km to the south of Salinbas. A NSR royalty of up to 2%
on future production is payable to Eldorado Gold Corporation.

 

Ariana owns 76% of UK-registered Western Tethyan Resources Ltd ("WTR"),
which operates across south-eastern Europe and is based in
Pristina, Republic of Kosovo. The company is targeting its exploration on
major copper-gold deposits across the porphyry-epithermal transition. WTR is
being funded through a five-year Alliance Agreement with Newmont Ventures
Limited (www.newmont.com) and is separately earning-in to up to 85% of the
Slivova Gold Project.

 

Ariana owns 61% of UK-registered Venus Minerals PLC ("Venus") which is
focused on the exploration and development of copper-gold projects in Cyprus,
some of which are in application, containing a combined JORC Indicated and
Inferred Resource of 16.6Mt @ 0.45% to 0.80% copper (excluding additional
gold, silver and zinc).

 

Ariana owns several investments in listed and private companies via its
Australian subsidiary Asgard Metals Pty. Ltd. ("Asgard"), which also
provides technical input into the various investee company exploration
programmes. Investments have been made in high-value potential,
discovery-stage mineral exploration companies located across the Eastern
Hemisphere and within easy reach of Ariana's operational hubs in Australia,
Türkiye, UK and Zimbabwe. Its most advanced interest is through a 4.1%
holding of Panther Metals Limited (ASX: PNT).

 

Zeus Capital Limited, Fortified Securities and Shaw and Partners are the
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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