TIDMAAU
RNS Number : 8128U
Ariana Resources PLC
28 November 2023
28 November 2023
AIM: AAU
DRILLING COMPLETED AT KIZILCUKUR
A strong set of results from the Kizilcukur drilling
programme
Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the AIM-listed
mineral exploration and development company with gold mining
interests in Europe, is pleased to announce positive results from a
recent drilling programme at the Kizilcukur Project ("Kizilcukur"
or "the Project") of the Kiziltepe Sector. Kizilcukur is part of
Zenit Madencilik San. ve Tic. A.S. ("Zenit"), in partnership with
Proccea Construction Co. and Ozaltin Holding A.S. and is 23.5%
owned by Ariana.
Highlights:
-- Resource infill and extension drilling programme has been
completed , testing all three main zones of mineralisation,
identifying potential extension zones.
-- Initial results of drilling include:
6.0m @ 4.75g/t Au + 135.2g/t Ag
7.3m @ 2.43g/t Au + 36.3g/t Ag
4.5m @ 3.76g/t Au + 17.7g/t Ag
-- Process metallurgical testwork of the Kizilcukur
mineralisation yields an average gold recovery of 97%,
significantly higher than Kiziltepe.
-- A rock-chip sampling programme designed to test the
extensions to outcropping zones returned grades up to 15.47g/t
Au.
-- Re-analysis of historic core samples confirms the historic gold grades.
Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:
"This is a great set of results from the Kizilcukur drilling
programme. The vein system has now been sufficiently well tested
for the Zenit mining team and the incoming data is continuing to
demonstrate the continuity of gold and silver mineralisation in
many of the areas tested. The Zenit team have commenced the
detailed work to bring Kizilcukur into the Kiziltepe Sector mining
plan.
"At this stage, we are confident that Kizilcukur will yield a
small, high-grade resource capable of being converted to a reserve,
which will augment the ongoing operations at Kiziltepe.
Metallurgically the ore performs very well with exceptionally high
gold recovery, which is in part the result of nuggety free-gold. We
expect Kizilcukur will be operated as a satellite mine to Kiziltepe
within the next eighteen months."
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").
Drilling Programme
This drilling programme was designed to increase the confidence
in the resource, and upgrade the classification, in addition to
further testing along known mineralised structures, both at depth
and along strike ( Figure 1 ). In particular, the vein systems at
Ziya and Zafer were targeted, which had previously received only
limited drill testing. In addition, in-fill drilling at depth and
along strike was completed at the Zeki main vein system.
From the end of July through to November 2023, Ariana and Zenit
exploration teams completed the HQ diamond drilling programme of 56
holes, totalling 3,563.8m. At the peak of the programme, two drill
rigs were operating simultaneously. The average depth for all
drilling was approximately 63 metres, with a minimum depth of 28.6
meters and a maximum depth of 118.8 metres. The dip angles were
planned from 45deg to 77deg to test the extents of the
mineralisation.
Figure 1: Map showing historic and new drill collars at the
Kizilcukur Project, with quartz veins mapped at surface shown in
red. Holes for which assays have been received are shown in dark
blue and holes for which data is still to be received are shown in
light blue.
Results have returned for 20 holes to date (Table 1), with the
most significant intercepts within the expected target zones
including:
-- KCR-D01-23 : 6.0m @ 4.75g/t Au + 135.2g/t Ag
o including 1.0m @ 5.95g/t Au + 268.8g/t Ag
o including 1.1m @ 6.42g/t Au + 7.6g/t Ag
-- KCR-D02-23 : 7.3m @ 2.43g/t Au + 36.3g/t Ag
-- KCR-D19-23: 4.5m @ 3.76g/t Au + 17.7g/t Ag
-- KCR-D20-23: 2.3m @ 4.55g/t Au + 78.4g/t Ag
Table 1: Significant gold and silver intercepts calculated for
all 2023 drilling to date, using a 0.5g/t Au minimum cut-off and
allowing for up to 1m internal dilution. Intercepts calculated
using KML data.
Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au (g/t) Ag (g/t)
KCR-D01-23 20.9 26.9 6.0 4.75 135.2
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
incl. 20.9 23.8 1.0 5.95 268.8
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
incl. 25.8 26.9 1.1 6.42 7.6
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D02-23 0.0 2.1 2.1 1.54 125.3
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
13.2 20.5 7.3 2.43 36.3
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
31.4 32.7 1.3 0.72 13.5
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D04-23 39.7 41.5 1.8 0.66 89.1
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D05-23 55.7 56.6 0.9 0.52 4.5
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
79.3 81.5 2.2 1.89 88.0
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D06-23 77.6 78.6 1.0 0.50 0.3
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
82.6 83.6 1.0 1.13 22.2
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D07-23 63.4 65.2 1.8 0.90 208.6
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D08-23 58.7 59.7 1.0 0.73 98.1
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
60.4 60.9 0.5 0.62 47.9
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D09-23 74.0 78.9 4.9 0.82 46.2
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D10-23 15.9 17.7 1.8 2.25 62.0
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D13-23 43.4 44.7 1.3 0.77 172.5
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
57.3 59.3 2.0 0.50 38.2
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
60.5 61.7 1.2 0.52 5.3
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D14-23 55.5 56.5 1.0 1.29 16.3
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D15-23 2.0 3.0 1.0 4.30 30.0
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
8.0 12.3 4.3 1.58 50.6
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
15.3 16.3 1.0 0.81 2.1
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
23.0 24.0 1.0 0.56 65.2
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D16-23 0.0 1.0 1.0 0.57 27.8
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D18-23 20.0 22.9 2.9 2.91 2.7
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
78.7 79.7 1.0 3.33 16.6
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D19-23 94.1 98.6 4.5 3.76 17.7
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D20-23 10.3 12.6 2.3 4.55 78.4
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
incl. 11.5 12.6 1.1 6.42 85.8
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
KCR-D51-23 25.0 26.0 1.0 1.06 1.9
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
39.5 42.9 3.4 1.07 126.3
--------- ------- ----------- --------- ---------
The drilling programme also highlighted the complex multi-phase
mineralisation characteristic of the Kizilcukur deposit (Figure 2).
Three different mineralisation phases have been identified and will
be evaluated following the receipt of all assay results. These
represent epithermal quartz veins, manganese rich zones, and a
deeper sulphidic lead and zinc zone, which are suggestive of a low
to intermediate sulphidation type system.
Figure 2: An example of the mineralised zones seen at
Kizilcukur.
A total of 90.30m drill core from 5 selected historic drill
holes have been re-analysed for gold, silver and multi-elements to
check the results, which all returned results within reasonable
confidence intervals. The results of the highest grade re-analysed
zone are seen below in Table 2. Photon assay is being considered as
a check analysis for core samples as a potential nugget effect has
been noted.
Table 2: Original and repeat assay results for historic
hole.
Hole ID From To Interval Au g/t Ag g/t
m m m
Original Repeat Original Repeat
--------- ------- --------- -------
KDTD013 109.65 111.00 1.35 14.50 30.21 39.0 35.1
------- ------- --------- --------- ------- --------- -------
111.00 111.52 0.52 0.40 0.26 66.5 37.5
------- ------- --------- --------- ------- --------- -------
111.52 112.50 0.98 26.50 35.03 70.5 60.0
------- ------- --------- --------- ------- --------- -------
112.50 113.60 1.10 0.10 0.29 22.6 20.5
------- ------- --------- --------- ------- --------- -------
Metallurgical Testwork
Two HQ diamond holes were drilled to twin the best
representative mineralisation intervals of the 2015 RC and 2019
diamond drilling programmes. The whole core representing 2.90m and
3.20m were sampled with average grades of 5.17g/t and 2.20g/t Au,
respectively. Both samples were crushed and sieved to -106 micron
and subjected to NaCN leach tests. The average recovery of gold was
97%, following 72 hours leach time. Silver showed recoveries of up
to 75% after 72 hours.
Rock-chip Sampling
A total of 66 rock-chip samples were collected to sample the
untested subparallel and extensional zones of the known Kizilcukur
vein system (Figure 3). The highest gold grade from this sampling
programme is 15.47g/t, proving that the new zones are potential
targets for further gold mineralisation and will be used to define
new drill targets. Areas to the NW of Zeki and to the SE of Zafer,
in addition to a parallel vein system to Ziya, are of particular
interest.
Figure 3: Results of the Kizilcukur rock-chip sampling, with
highest grades labelled.
Project Summary
The Kizilcukur Project consists of one operational licence
located in Balikesir Province in Western Turkey. The property lies
22km to the northeast (straight line) and 70km by road from the
Kiziltepe Mine. The Kizilcukur Project is one of the 3 satellite
projects which have been sold to Zenit (see announcement of 2
December 2020).
The Project covers an area containing a series of sub-parallel
quartz veins hosted by ophiolitic (dominantly basaltic) units that
trend northwest and extend for about two kilometres. The veins
exhibit classic low-sulfidation epithermal textures and attain a
maximum true width of 8m. The Zeki Vein extends over a strike
length of 820m. Composite rock-chip sampling of 80m strike along
this quartz vein returned encouraging assay results of 6m at 3.3g/t
Au, 2m at 9.6g/t Au and 1m at 7.2g/t Au prior to drill testing. The
peak rock-chip assay result in this area was 152g/t Au and 1,320g/t
Ag, suggesting the potential for substantial near-surface
enrichment.
The Mineral Resource Estimate for Kizilcukur is c. 21,100oz gold
(Au) and 0.62Moz silver (Ag) contained metal on three main veins
(see announcement of 11 May 2020). 85% of the tonnage is in
Measured and Indicated (M+I) categories: 218,317t @ 2.72g/t Au and
77.04g/t Ag. 46% of the M+I tonnage is located within the
higher-grade Zeki Main Vein, with a grade of 3.62g/t Au and
82.54g/t Ag, upon which trial mining operations have been
undertaken previously.
Trial mining was completed within the central part of the Zeki
Pit in 2017. This pit is the largest and highest grade of the three
pits defined following Whittle optimisation of the Kizilcukur
resource in 2016. The General Directorate of Mining Affairs
approved blasting operations on the licence as part of the Mining
Permit (see announcement of 18 November 2015).
Sampling and Assaying Procedures
All diamond drill core is currently being processed at the
Kiziltepe mine site and analysed at the Kiziltepe Mine Laboratory
("KML"). Results are assessed systematically and are grouped
according to project.
HQ-size drill-core samples from the drilling programme at
Kizilcukur were cut in half by a diamond saw and sent for analysis
in batches in line with the Company's quality control procedures.
Core recovery for all drilling conducted at Kizilcukur during this
campaign was 90%. A total of 3,621 samples (including 762 QA/QC
samples) were submitted to KML, of which results for 1,615 samples
have been received. Samples to be sent to ALS Global, Izmir as an
external laboratory check to add confidence to KML results, have
been selected and are awaiting dispatch.
QA/QC sample insertion rates vary depending on the batch size
accepted by the laboratory. Ariana sampling protocol requires
insertion of 4 QA/QC samples per batch to include 1 blank, 1 CRM, 1
field duplicate and 1 pulp duplicate to assess the accuracy and
precision of all stages of the sampling and analysis. During this
drilling programme, Zenit QA/QC protocol required 1 blank, 1 CRM, 1
field duplicate, and 1 pulp duplicate per batch of 19 samples and
over 10% samples analysed at external laboratory.
Between 2020 and 2021, KML has undergone an extensive expansion
to meet the significant demands for sample assaying, from both the
mining and exploration teams. This expansion is complete with the
onsite laboratory, now housing seven furnaces, two ICP-OES
instruments, two Atomic Absorption spectrometers (AAS), three
drying ovens, three crushers and three pulverisers. The laboratory
upgrades have allowed for a doubling of sampling throughput (70
samples per day to 135). The two major upgrades for 2021 included
the addition of 1) a multi-element ICP-OES (Perkin Elmer Avio 550)
analyser, and 2) an Elementrac CS-I sulphur-carbon analyser. The
ICP-OES provides the team with a full suite of elements on selected
samples (as opposed to just gold and silver).
However, new operating procedures are currently being internally
reviewed and calibrations of the new instruments are being
assessed. As part of this, the laboratory team are sending in
excess of 10% of their crushed rejects from selected drill core
samples to ALS Global in Izmir for check assays. Zenit's internal
QA/QC data and sample duplicates have been reviewed, and are
considered approved for Ariana's reporting purposes. In addition,
since October 2022 KML has been accredited by the Turkish
Accreditation Agency (TÜRKAK) with 'TS EN ISO/IEC 17025:2017
General Requirements for the Competence of Experimental and
Calibration Laboratory.'
All samples were assayed for gold using a 30g fire assay.
Reviews of the assay results have determined that all Quality
Control and Quality Assurance samples (blanks, standards, and
duplicates) passed the required quality control checks established
by the Company, with duplicate samples showing excellent
correlation. Laboratory sample preparation, assaying procedures and
chain of custody are appropriately controlled. Zenit maintains an
archive of half-core samples and a photographic record of all cores
for future reference.
Contacts:
Ariana Resources plc Tel: +44 (0) 20 7407 3616
Michael de Villiers, Chairman
Kerim Sener, Managing Director
Beaumont Cornish Limited (Nominated Tel: +44 (0) 20 7628 3396
Adviser)
Roland Cornish / Felicity Geidt
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Joint Tel: +44 (0) 20 7886 2500
Broker)
John Prior / Hugh Rich / Atholl
Tweedie
WHIreland Limited (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 207 2201666
Harry Ansell / Katy Mitchell /
George Krokos Tel: +44 (0) 7983 521 488
Yellow Jersey PR Limited (Financial
PR)
Dom Barretto / Shivantha Thambirajah arianaresources@yellowjerseypr.com
/
Bessie Elliot
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
gold production in Turkey and copper-gold exploration and
development projects in Cyprus and Kosovo.
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 Turkey which contains a depleted total of c.
2.1 million ounces of gold and other metals (as at February 2022).
The joint venture comprises the Kiziltepe Mine and the Tavsan and
Salinbas projects.
The Kiziltepe Gold-Silver Mine is located in western Turkey and
contains a depleted JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource
of 222,000 ounces gold and 3.8 million ounces silver (as at
February 2022). The mine has been in pro table production since
2017 and is expected to produce at a rate of c.20,000 ounces of
gold per annum to at least the mid-2020s. 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 Turkey and contains a
JORC Measured, Indicated and Inferred Resource of 307,000 ounces
gold and 1.1 million ounces silver (as at November 2022). Following
the approval of its Environmental Impact Assessment and associated
permitting, Tavsan is being developed as the second gold mining
operation in Turkey 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 Turkey 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 Gold eld, which contains the "Hot Gold
Corridor" comprising several signi cant 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 100% of Australia-registered Asgard Metals Fund
("Asgard"), as part of the Company's proprietary Project Catalyst
Strategy. The Fund is focused on investments 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, Turkey, UK and Zimbabwe.
Ariana owns 75% 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
ve-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 58% of UK-registered Venus Minerals Ltd ("Venus")
which is focused on the exploration and development of copper-gold
assets in Cyprus which contain a combined JORC Indicated and
Inferred Resource of 17Mt @ 0.45% to 1.10% copper (excluding
additional gold, silver and zinc.
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited and WH Ireland 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" gold;
"Ag" silver;
"g/t" grams per tonne;
"JORC" the Joint Ore Reserves Committee;
"km" Kilometres;
"m" Metres;
"Moz" Million ounces;
"oz" Troy ounces;
Ends.
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