REG - Ariana Resources PLC - Zenit Portfolio Operations Update

Ariana ResourcesAnnouncement

18/11/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 5856M  Ariana Resources PLC  18 November 2024

 

18 November 2024

AIM: AAU

ZENIT PORTFOLIO OPERATIONS UPDATE

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 provide an update on the Zenit Operations in Türkiye,
comprising the Kiziltepe, Tavsan and Salinbas projects. The projects are
operated by Zenit Madencilik San. ve Tic. A.S. ("Zenit") which is 23.5% owned
by Ariana, and is a partnership with Proccea Construction Co. and Ozaltin
Holding A.S.

Highlights:

·    Production of gold and silver continuing at the Kiziltepe Mine, with
2Mt ore mined since the commencement of operations to the end of Q3 2024, with
an average grade of 2.8g/t Au across the Kiziltepe Sector.

·    Mining continuing at the Tavsan Mine, 0.5Mt ore mined to the end of
Q3 2024 with an average grade of 2.2 g/t Au.

·     A total of 60,000t of ore (three months production) was stockpiled
and ready for processing by the end of Q3 2024.

·   Construction of the Tavsan heap-leach and processing plant is
proceeding smoothly and remains on track for completion of major works in
2024.

·  Drilling is continuing at the Salinbas Gold Project with over 1,290m
completed since September 2024 and additional drilling of c.8000m has been
planned at Tavsan.

·   The Zenit operational team have commenced a project assessment study,
following their recent visit to Zimbabwe and the Dokwe Project site.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"We continue to be very pleased with the progress being made by our Zenit
operational partnership in Türkiye, which is going from strength to strength.
With two operating mines in the portfolio and several positive developments in
our longer-term pipeline, we are currently positioning ourselves to expand our
partnership into new jurisdictions, in line with our long-term strategic
plans.

"We have recently hit another major milestone at the Kiziltepe operation - 2Mt
of ore mined - almost double our expectations since mining commenced in early
2017. With the gold price having climbed from US$1,200 per ounce in 2017 to
well over double that today, Kiziltepe remains a highly profitable mine and
the partners intend to maximise the returns from this operation over the next
few years. With a current cash cost averaging US$1,450 per ounce, partly
reflective of the additional costs of Tavsan, Zenit's finances remain robust.

"As Kiziltepe nears the end of its life, and with a view to the long-term
sustainability of the business, we have continued developing our project
pipeline and our second operation with Zenit in particular. Construction at
Tavsan commenced at scale in July 2023 and has been largely funded via Zenit
through its internal funds. More recently, a US$20 million debt facility was
committed to the project to accelerate construction for delivery of the new
processing plant by the end of 2024. As a result, we are now on track for gold
production through the Tavsan heap-leach in early 2025.

"With the positive developments being made across the portfolio in Türkiye,
we were delighted to host representatives from the Zenit mining, exploration
and construction teams on site at the Dokwe Project in Zimbabwe last month.
Over recent weeks, we have shared our project data with Zenit as we explore
opportunities to leverage their technical strengths with a view to involving
them in support of the Dokwe Feasibility Study."

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
EU Regulation 596/2014.

 

Summary

 

Since the most recent resource update for the Zenit Mining Operations in March
2024 (AIM: 26 March 2024
(https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/AAU/resource-and-reserves-update/16394487)
), mining has continued at Kiziltepe and Tavsan, with ore processing
continuing at Kiziltepe and construction continuing at Tavsan. Meanwhile, a
drilling programme continues at Salinbas.

 

Kiziltepe Sector

 

The Kiziltepe Sector is located in western Türkiye and includes Kiziltepe,
Kepez, Karakavak, Kizilcukur and Ivrindi (Figure 1). The ore from all the
satellite locations is planned to be processed at the Kiziltepe Processing
Plant.

 

Mining this year has been focused on the Banu vein of the Kiziltepe Project
(Figure 2). Mining has also continued slower than the other Kiziltepe pits,
including Arzu South, Arzu North and Derya pits. Up to 30 September 2024, 2
million tonnes at 2.83g/t Au of ore has been mined from the Kiziltepe Sector,
including Kepez North, with the trucking distances shown in Figure 2.

 

Following the successful application of detectORE(TM) on drill core samples on
Ariana's Dokwe Project in Zimbabwe, Ariana has trialled the detectORE(TM)
process on both soil and stream sediment samples across areas of known
mineralisation across the Kiziltepe Sector. DetectORE(TM) results correlated
strongly with laboratory results in the historical data. This trial was
followed up by a small soil sampling programme of 370 samples across the Kepez
area, with gold values detected by the detectORE(TM) process correlating
closely with the areas indicated by the pathfinder elements (arsenic, bismuth,
antimony) in the pXRF survey completed over the area in 2013. The
detectORE(TM) process will now be more widely applied in all of our
exploration.

 

Figure 1: Kiziltepe Sector summary map, showing the location of the main
Kiziltepe area and the satellite projects of Ivrindi and Kizilcukur.

 

Figure 2: Kiziltepe, Kepez and Karakavak area map showing primary access
routes and locations of significant mineralisation and exploration
opportunities.

 

Tavsan Sector

 

The Tavsan Project is located in western Türkiye, 130 kilometres by road from
Kiziltepe Gold Mine. Tavsan is being developed as Zenit's second gold mining
operation in Türkiye and is currently in construction, with mining underway
since the end of 2023. Zenit continues to finance the Tavsan mine construction
through a combination of internal funds and a US$20 million loan facility with
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Ziraat Bankasi A.S. Construction is on schedule for
completion of major works by year-end 2024. Low-grade ore is being stockpiled
on site whilst higher-grade ore is prioritised for processing. To date,
485,000 tonnes of ore have been mined, with 200,000 tonnes at an average of
2.19g/t Au having been processed. Meanwhile, a new drilling programme of
c.8000m is being planned at Tavsan.

 

 

Figure 3: View of the crushers and screens buildings nearing completion at
Tavsan, with all internal components installed. Photograph taken in early
October 2024.

 

 

Figure 4: View of the Adsorption-Desorption-Recovery ("ADR") plant nearing
completion at Tavsan, with major component installation underway before
finalisation of the housing structures. Photograph taken in early October
2024.

 

Salinbas - Ardala

 

Drilling is ongoing at Salinbas - Ardala with six holes completed to date for
over 1,290 metres, with 2,800 metres (18 drillholes) planned for the first
phase of the drilling programme at Salinbas - Ardala. A further 1,000 metres
of drilling is planned for the second phase of the programme. Drilling at
Salinbas is now on hold over the winter months, but is continuing at Ardala.

 

Restructuring of Holding in Zenit

 

During 2024, Zenit acquired 100% of the shares of Pontid Madencilik San. ve
Tic. A.S. ("Pontid") through an all-share merger (Pontid owned the Salinbas
Project) as announced in the Interim Results RNS (AIM: 30 September 2024
(https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/AAU/interim-results/16689132)
). This rationalisation has ensured all of Zenit's advanced mines and projects
in Türkiye, specifically Kiziltepe, Tavsan and Salinbas are now held directly
through Zenit, with Ariana continuing to hold a 23.5% interest in the projects
of the enlarged Zenit portfolio.

 

Contacts:

 

 Ariana Resources plc                           Tel: +44 (0) 20 7407 3616
 Michael de Villiers, Chairman
 Kerim Sener, Managing Director
 Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Adviser)   Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
 Roland Cornish / Felicity Geidt
 Panmure Liberum (Joint Broker)                 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886 2500
 Kieron Hodgson / Atholl Tweedie / Rauf Munir
 Zeus Capital Limited (Joint Broker)            Tel: +44 (0) 203 829 5000

 Harry Ansell / Katy Mitchell / George Krokos

 Yellow Jersey PR Limited (Financial PR)        Tel: +44 (0) 7983 521 488
 Dom Barretto / Shivantha Thambirajah /         arianaresources@yellowjerseypr.com (mailto: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.

 

Editors' Note:

 

The information in this announcement that relates to exploration results is
based on information compiled by Dr. Kerim Sener BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD,
Managing Director of Ariana Resources plc. Dr. Sener is a Fellow of The
Geological Society of London and a Member of The Institute of Materials,
Minerals and Mining and has sufficient experience relevant to the styles of
mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity
that has been undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined by the
2012 edition of the Australasian Code for the Reporting of Exploration
Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (JORC Code) and under the AIM
Rules - Note for Mining and Oil & Gas Companies. Dr. Sener consents to the
inclusion in the report of the matters based on his information in the form
and context in which it appears.

 

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 JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of over 1.83 million
ounces of gold (as at June 2024) 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 Mine and the Tavsan and Salinbas projects.

 

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. 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 Mining Corporation
(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 5.5% holding of Panther Metals Limited
(ASX: PNT).

 

Panmure Liberum Limited and Zeus Capital Limited are 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.

 

Glossary of Technical Terms:

 

"Au" chemical symbol for gold;

 

"g/t" grams per tonne;

 

"JORC" Joint Ore Reserves Committee;

 

"k" thousand

 

"km" Kilometres;

 

"m" Metres;

 

"MRE" Mineral Resource Estimate;

 

"M" million

 

"oz" Troy ounces;

 

"t" tonnes;

 

Ends.

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