ARIANA RESOURCES, I TOLD YOU SO

For those of my loyal followers who have been reading my blog and outputs, I hope that you have been as positive on Ariana as I have been. Ariana announced today that they have secured the project finance for Red Rabbit. You can read my assessment of Ariana through my previous article on Proccea

Anyway, I TOLD YOU SO

RED RABBIT GOLD PROJECT: MINE 100% FINANCED

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the Anglo-Turkish gold exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to announce a finance agreement to bring its Kiziltepe Gold-Silver Mine ('Kiziltepe') into production.  Kiziltepe is the initial mine targeted at the Red Rabbit Gold Project in western Turkey, a joint venture between Ariana and Proccea Construction Co. ("Proccea").  The finance agreement has been secured via the joint venture company, Zenit Madencilik San. ve Tic. A.S. ("Zenit").

Highlights:

• US$33 million overall credit agreement, inclusive of capital repayments and borrowing costs, completed with Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi A.S., an international award winning Turkish investment bank.

• US$236,000 first drawdown completed by Zenit.

• Additional equity contribution by Proccea of approximately US$5 million to earn-in to 50% of the project completes project funding.

• Loan repayments will occur over five years, with a two-year principal repayment holiday following first drawn down.

• Facility is non-recourse and comprises no hedging or currency swap requirements.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"With our partners, Proccea Construction Co., we are exceptionally pleased to have secured the support of Türkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi A.S. for the financing of our first mine at Kiziltepe.  This is a major leap forward enabling us to advance our plans for the construction of the mine.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank Proccea for the resolute focus they have shared with Ariana as we transform from development into production.  We also warmly appreciate Türkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi's confidence in our joint venture.  Ariana and Proccea are highly encouraged and energised by these developments.  Securing the finance will enable us to hit the ground running in H2 2014 pending the completion of final permitting. 

"This is a refreshingly straight-forward form of non recourse project financing that allows us to get on with developing the significant potential of the Red Rabbit project."

Finance Facility

A US$33 million finance facility has been agreed following negotiations with Türkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi A.S. ("Türkiye Finans").  The facility has been provided in the name of Zenit Madencilik San. ve Tic. A.S. ('Zenit") in order to fund the construction of the Kiziltepe Gold-Silver Mine.  This is in addition to a final equity contribution (approximately US$5 million) to the project by Proccea which will complete their earn-in on 50% of the project.

The facility will have a term of five years from the time of first draw down.  Repayment of the loan will occur via 36 monthly instalments following a two-year principal repayment holiday after first draw down.  The total repayments are capped at US$33 million, which covers all capital repayments and funding costs.  Net lending prevailing at time of first drawdown is US$24 million with the balance of the facility attributable to borrowing costs.  As the facility is based on a participatory banking model, repayments are calculated according to the amount and timing of each drawdown, and will be dependent on market conditions prevailing at the time of each drawdown.  However, over the term of the loan, the overall credit profit margin cannot be changed in terms of the credit agreement.

Proccea Construction Co. and Ariana's subsidiary, Galata Madencilik San. ve Tic. Ltd., have provided joint and several security over their shares in Zenit to the bank until such time that the loan has been repaid.  Additional security provided against the loan includes all freehold land owned by Ariana's subsidiary, Camyol Gayrimenkul, Madencilik, Turizm, Tarim ve Hayvancilik Ltd. There is no hedging, currency swaps or other overhead requirements that are normally associated with traditional western-style project finance arrangements. 

Ariana has no further financial commitment to the JV for development level funding although it will aim to continue its exploration programmes across the JV region in order to improve overall potential and extend the life of mine to the maximum.

First Drawdown

Zenit Madencilik has undertaken a first drawdown of US$236,000 following the completion of the credit agreement with Türkiye Finans. This first drawdown has been applied to detailed engineering work completed by Proccea. 

Ariana Resources (AAU) & Proccea The Team Set to Build Turkey’s Next Gold Mine

Ariana (AAU) & Proccea The Team Set to Build Turkey’s Next Gold Mine

I have been spending some time in Turkey recently, visiting a place called Gaziantep, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Just 6o miles from Aleppo in Syria, Gaziantep is Turkey’s industrial powerhouse, its sixth most populous city and if you want to really experience what it is like doing business in Turkey, you just have to visit Gaziantep.

Why is my reference to this old Turkish industrial town relevant when it comes to Ariana Resources, the AIM listed gold mine development company? Simply because for the many investors who look at junior gold mining companies like Ariana, there is often a suspicion by investors that the company will either never get into production or never get the permits necessary to build a mine. Many investors believe that junior’s like Ariana cannot make the step leap from explorer to miner and that Turkey may be a difficult place for them to do that, I disagree.

Turkey’s reputation as a mine friendly development country took a bit of a dent when the former AIM listed nickel miner, European Nickel struggled to get a forestry permit for its Caldag nickel project, and ended up selling the whole asset to a Turkish group for US$40 million back in 2011, to then end up de-listing from AIM in 2012, when its other Philippine based nickel project was sold for £49.8 million. You could say the Turkish got their hands on Caldag cheaply or given the current price of nickel, they paid over the odds, either way, the property for good or bad was never able to deliver the sort of returns European Nickel investors could potentially have enjoyed over the longer term.

My dealings in Turkey and my experiences so far have only been positive. The one cultural factor that I have picked up on is partnership. When I had my first meeting at the Chamber of Commerce in Gaziantep, I really wanted to understand what I would need to do to make sure the basis for a successful relationship could exist between myself a British businessman and my Turkish business partners. “Protocol, Friendship and Trust” was the reply. Protocol meaning the establishment of a Memorandum of Understanding, essentially a business accord that set out the relationship, objectives and importantly the financial clarity of our relationship. The second was friendship and the third was trust.

I have to say that the advice the Chamber of Commerce gave me in Gaziantep early on has been invaluable in helping me make successful business in Turkey, not just financially, but also culturally. I see the same business accord at work between Ariana and their Turkish business partner Proccea. The Joint Venture partnership Galata (Ariana’s 100% owned Turkish subsidiary) and Proccea have created a Turkish joint stock company Zenit Madencilik San. ve. Tic. A.S. (Zenit) to develop Red Rabbit, Ariana’s flagship near term gold mine project and get it into production. Ariana currently holds 86% of the joint venture, this is likely to be reduced because of Proccea’s commitment to invest a further US$5 million into the Red Rabbit JV.

As someone who actually invested in European Nickel, looking back on it, I did not fully appreciate at that time, the importance of joint venture partnerships and protocols and how vital they are if you want to do successful business in Turkey. Also just how important it is, not just to have a local partner in namesake only, but to have a true shareholding local partner that can bring something to the party.

Proccea, Will Make All The Difference to Ariana

In Ariana’s case they have not just got any local partner in Turkey, they have in Proccea, one of the most respected construction companies in the country one that is highly connected, but more importantly for Ariana shareholders, one that brings real value to the company and one that has an incredible track record in gold mine development. A track record that will absolutely help both Ariana and Proccea get the debt finance they need to bring Red Rabbit into production. Proccea will make all the difference. Maybe for European Nickel a similar partner possibly would have seen their Turkish adventure be more successful.

Proccea is an Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management Company (EPCM). In mining terms think of them in the same light as DRA, famous for the building of many of the world’s best platinum mines and experts in the design and engineering of platinum concentrators.

Think of Proccea as a Bateman Engineering, now Tenova, who have built mines all over the world.

Think of Proccea as a HATCH the Canadian EPCM contractor, who have built gold mines all over the world. I remember working in South Africa a few years ago on a debt financing deal and one of the South African banks said to me. “Who is the Jockey for this project” in other words they wanted to know who was going to oversee the money they were looking to provide, who was going to take the project from concept into production and make sure they actually got their money back. Banks love to see “BAT” on the finance application, Best Available Technology” they like to see the names of proven EPCM contractors that have brought mines into production on behalf of their mining clients, they will see that with Proccea’s name on the paperwork, and the beauty id they are Turkish, no language barrier, no cultural barrier, they are not giving money to any old EPCM contractor, if it’s a Turkish bank, they will be giving it to one of their own.

Ariana into Production

What Proccea can do is bring Red Rabbit into production, because it can tick all the boxes the banks will need ticking in order to release the debt finance for Red Rabbit to be built. In other words, Proccea is the perfect “Jockey” the banks will be looking for, backed up by the highly talented and proven track record mine development team at Ariana. Just take a look at the track record Proccea will put before the banks to support Ariana and why I believe Rad Rabbit will get financed.

Vasgold Gold Mine, Kazakhstan. The largest gold reserve in Kazakhstan where Proccea were engaged by Summit Valley via the Fooldgate Holding (Netherlands) / Government of Kazakhstan JV partners to build the adsorption, desorption and recovery plant (ADR)

Amesmessa-Trek Gold Mine, Algeria. Proccea was the prime contractor for the mine, awarded the contract by the ENOR SPA Team that included AIM listed GMA Resources. Proccea did the structural steel design & manufacturing

cic columns design & manufacturing, the ADR plant installation, start-up & commissioning, plus the staff training.

Kittilä Gold Mine, Finnish Lapland. In the harsh arctic frozen landscape town of Kittilä in Finnish northern Lapland, Proccea was selected by Canadian listed Agnico Eagle to commission the ADR plant.

In Turkey, Proccea has helped build the, Çöpler Gold Mine, for TSX and ASX listed major Alacer Gold Corp where the mine is set to produce over 200,000 ounces of gold this year. Other projects Proccea has played a leading role in the development of are the Eti Gümüs-Silver Mine, Turkey, the Koza Gold-Mastsa Gold Mine, Turkey, the Maaden Gold Mine, Saudi Arabia, the Tüprag (Eldorado Gold)/Klada Gold Mine, Turkey, the Minera Triton project, Argentina, the Ouagadogou Gold Mine, Burkina Faso, the Tüprag (Eldorado Gold)/Kisladag Gold Mine, Turkey and the Zarcan-Takeb Gold Mine, Iran.

At Red Rabbit, Proccea will have to build a simple Carbon In Leach (CIL) plant, run of the mill standard processing that been done time and time again for gold mines all over the world.  There is no re-writing history, its not new technology, it’s bog standard processing of a simple oxide ore body, just like Alacer’s Çöpler project. Ariana and Proccea will not be asking the banks to fund any new fancy never been done before process………….

Summary:

I have no doubt Ariana will get Red Rabbit into production. With the support of Proccea and the fact the company has the right protocol in place in Turkey, a factor that I now appreciate the importance of more than ever before, means that for AIM investors, you are now looking at a company in Ariana that given its current share price of circa 0.08p would mean the only way is up for this Anglo Turkish success story in the making.

ARIANA RESOURCES, TURKISH GOVERNMENT GIVES MAJOR INCENTIVE BOOST TO HELP ENABLE MINE DEVELOPMENT AT KIZILTEPE-RED RABBIT

Ariana Resources (AIM:AAU) announced today that it had received a major package of incentives from the Turkish government that will help pave the way for the company to press ahead with mining at the flagship Kiziltepe Red Rabbit project in Turkey. Ariana is partnering with Proccea a major Turkish construction, EPCM and mineral process engineering company  under Zenit Madencilik the local joint venture partnership, that is working to begin mining at the Kiziltepe project. 
The range of incentives include

1. Exemption from customs duty domestic and foreign machinery and equipment (100% exemption). 

1. 80% reduction in corporation tax up to a tax limit of 40% of the capital investment.

1. Social insurance contributions for all mine employees will be paid by the Turkish Government for 7 years.

1. Interest repayment support on any Turkish Lira or foreign currency loan secured by the company.

1. VAT exemption domestic and foreign machinery and equipment (100% exemption).

The Company has commissioned an independent analysis of the above incentives, specifically focusing on the corporation tax reductions and social insurance support in order to estimate the magnitude of the incentives provided.  Over the life of the operation, an estimated saving of approximately US$1.2 million in corporation tax and US$1 million in social insurance support has been secured.  Further savings will be made from the customs duty and VAT exemptions and further work to quantify these is underway. 

Zenit has also recently applied for the inclusion of the project as a Strategic Investment.  If the application is successful there will be a further 10% reduction (i.e. 90% total reduction) in corporation tax up to a tax limit of 50% of the capital investment. 

These incentives are certain to make the debt financing for Kiziltepe now even more attractive to lenders, but also provide the strongest signal yet that the Turkish government is really keen to see Kiziltepe get into production. 

What investors should be really pleased about with this announcement is the fact that Ariana, through its Turkish  Zenit Madencilik structure is clearly has an operational management system in place in Turkey that can go all the way and build a mine.

I will be putting together a profile on Proccea in another post where readers of my blog will be quite amazed at the experience Proccea has in bringing new mine developments into play.

Watch this space

Ortac Resources, Investment in Eritrea Set to Pay Dividends

Copper grades to outclass and outperform

When AIM listed exploration and mine development company Ortac Resources (LSE:OTC) informed the market in January that it had taken an investment stake in the private Eritrean focused exploration company Andiamo Exploration, the market took and instant like to the deal, Ortac shares rose over 10% in January on the back of the news.

Since the deal with Andiamo was announced, significant progress has been made on their flagship Eritrean copper gold project, Yacob Dewar, where last month the first assay results were released which have turned out to be pretty impressive including 53m at 1.38 per cent copper and 42.5 m at 1.32 per cent copper respectively, secured from an oxide ore body and at surface.

At the same time Ortac announced they had increased their stake in Andiamo to 25.37% in what is now a US$ 1.5 million investment with the option to take that stake to over 40%. This investment by Ortac is not to be sniffed at, clearly they see something in Eritrea and in particular the Yacob Dewar project that they like, least of which is the extensive level of high quality technical work and investment of over $10 million that Andiamo has already sunk into its Eritrea projects.

What I have picked up on is an interesting analogy between Ortac-Andiamo and Central Asia Metals (LSE:CAML) the Kazakhstan focused copper “waste dump” processor. The reason that I am making the connection between Ortac and CAML is that I was astonished to learn that CAML not only paid a dividend to shareholders in 2013 but is also planning to pay a dividend this year too………………and the really incredible point about this is that the grades of copper they are processing from their Kounrad dump are 0.10% from their oxide eastern dump and as little as 0.03% from other parts of their dump.

This is absolutely incredible and I have to say to CAML well done! Not only are you paying a dividend, you are also delivering real shareholder value  (stock is up 54% this year so far) and you are also proving technically that you can make a profit by processing copper at grades of 0.10% and you only own 60% of the Kounrad project!!!!!!!!!!! And this is your only cash-generating asset!!!!!!!!!!!

CAML Share Price    Jan to MayCAML stock has risen over 54%In the last 12 months

Which leads me nicely into Ortac. I understand that by next year Ortac-Andiamo will deliver a technical and economic assessment of Yacob Dewar. Subject to approval by the Eritrean authorities, and by the way they have the right to buy into the project, Andiamo could be awarded a mining licence. This leads me to my next point.

Ortac-Andiamo like CAML plans to use a solvent extraction, leaching method & electrowinning (SX-EW) process to recover the copper and produce a saleable copper cathode.

Its worth noting that CAML’s Kounrad waste dump processing plant was constructed within 21 months for a capital cost of $39m, $8m below the budget, so whilst their might be some short term dilution for Ortac, in the medium term it will be pretty easy to secure debt finance to get Yacob-Dewar into production, especially if the Eritrean government buy in.

The high copper grades that Yacob Dewar is currently delivering over more than decent lengths, all within oxide and at surface, essentially mean that Yacob Dewar could initially be mined pretty much as an open cast operation where their would be some blasting, shoveling to a heap, followed by exactly the same process that CAML are using at Kounrad, so not much difference in extraction costs.

I can categorically state that it will not cost Ortac-Andiamo the value of 1.2% copper to just blast and scoop, more like 0.1%.

To cap this all off, Yacob-Dewar will also deliver a high grade gold deposit that will further add to the economic viability of the project as a whole, an aspect  that CAML appears not to be getting from their waste dump treatment.

So really it’s quite a story.  Ortac is currently trading at 0.021 p and is one of the most liquid stocks on AIM trading over 6 million shares daily.

If CAML can deliver a dividend on 0.10 per cent copper

What can Ortac do on 1.3 per cent copper?

Central Asia Metals SX-EW Kounrad Project

Simple Processing method that would be a benchmark for Ortac-Andiamo’s Yacob-Dewar Project

Low cost Capex built in under 2 years and was producing 10,000th tonne of 99.99%-purity copper. within 12 months of commissioning.

Ariana Resources, Flagship Red Rabbit Project Boosted by New Gold & Silver Discoveries

Ariana Resources the Anglo Turkish gold exploration and mine development company advanced Thursday with news that it had discovered new gold and silver zones Kiziltepe Sector of the Red Rabbit Mining Project, in Turkey.

See below for for details of the RNS

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the Anglo-Turkish gold exploration and mine development company is pleased to announce the discovery of additional gold-silver bearing zones within the Kiziltepe Sector of the Red Rabbit Mining Project, which it holds in a joint venture with Proccea Construction Co.

Highlights:

• New highly anomalous zone of mineralisation identified at Kepez Far West with rock-chip samples of up to 6.3g/t Au + 54.8g/t Ag, 5.1g/t Au + 31g/t Ag and 3.5g/t Au + 17.3g/t Ag

• Mineralised zone extended to over 1.6km in strike length at Kepez West and Far West, containing alteration and high-grade quartz veins

• Trenching completed at Camalani identifies several anomalous elluvial quartz fragments with grades of up to 1.9g/t Au + 0.3g/t Ag, 1.2g/t Au + 91.2g/t Ag and 0.9g/t Au + 77.2g/t Ag

• Significant resource upside remaining, with only 6% of the total vein system mapped across the Kiziltepe Sector having received resource drilling

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"The latest sampling in the Kepez Far West area of our flagship Red Rabbit project has returned exciting results, and confirms the potential of the area to host a mineralised structure of over 1.6km in length.  We have previously drill-tested the far eastern end of this structure and intercepted 8m @ 3.65 g/t gold equivalent and have evidence that the mineralised structure continues at depth.

"We have now established over ten new drill targets across the Kiziltepe Sector, many of which are located within agricultural land and will not require forestry permits to be drill tested. Of 34km of veins mapped and sampled across the region only 2km have been resource drilled and have yielded JORC reserves of 1.1Mt @ 3.1 g/t Au and 39.8 g/t Ag.  We expect to identify significant further resources across this region that have the potential to increase mine life well beyond eight years."

Kepez West Sampling

In September 2013, Ariana announced the discovery of a high-grade zone of mineralisation encountered at the western end of the Kepez West structure* (Figure 1).  This area is referred to as Kepez Far West.  A second phase of exploration was recently undertaken to follow-up on a broadly east-west trending corridor of kaolinite-illite alteration, which continued beyond the known area of mineralisation.  The programme consisted of a 3.9km x 1.5km portable X-Ray Fluorescence ("XRF") soil study and aimed to comprehensively cover the east-west trending alteration zone.  

A total of 1,500 XRF readings were taken and a full geochemical analysis was completed.  Trends in trace element geochemistry, particularly for certain pathfinders such as arsenic and antimony were associated with known zones of mineralisation.  A new area extending a further 500m west of Kepez Far West was defined by anomalous arsenic trends and textured quartz vein float material.  Assay results from randomly selected quartz float samples returned with grades of 6.28g/t Au + 54.8g/t Ag, 5.09g/t Au + 31g/t Ag and 3.54g/t Au + 17.3g/t Ag.  The new area of mineralisation remains open to the west.  Further work will commence later this year to refine several drill targets to include within a future drilling programme. 

Figure 1: Kepez West and Kepez Far West discoveries identified from XRF geochemistry superimposed on satellite imagery.  A quartz vein bearing structure can be traced for over 1.6km in this area in addition to associated alteration.  The structure is significant due to the highly anomalous gold and silver grades and due to its ENE-trending orientation, which is not typical of the orientation of mineralised structures elsewhere in the project area.

* Kepez West occurs to the west of Kepez North within which the Company has identified an Indicated JORC resource of approximately 9,000 oz Au equivalent.  Kepez North is located 6.5km north-east from Kiziltepe. 

Camalani Trenching

In addition to the Kepez Far West work, the team have been working throughout the winter on a series follow-up targets.  Since obtaining access to the N2D (Newmont Two Decade) database early last year, the team have generated over 380 exploration targets within 75km of the Kiziltepe mine site.  Currently over 90 targets have been followed up, including several important targets within the Sindirgi Gold Corridor.  As part of this on-going work, 194m of trenching was completed within the Company's 100% owned Camalani licence located approximately 16km east of the planned Kiziltepe mine.  Results have identified a zone containing several anomalous elluvial quartz fragments (1.89g/t Au + 0.3g/t Ag, 1.205g/t Au + 91.2g/t Ag and 0.89g/t Au + 77.2g/t Ag) associated with a Miocene conglomerate horizon occurring between overlying and underlying volcanic tuffs.  Further work is currently on-going to locate the primary source of the elluvial fragments.  

Current Exploration Plans

The Ariana team are currently in an advance stage of initiating a 500km2 airborne geophysics programme, designed to cover all of the Kiziltepe Sector tenements including all the new targets identified above.  This geophysical programme is to be undertaken to further enhance our understanding of the structural architecture of the region and will likely lead to the identification of several new conceptual drilling targets.  Furthermore, early preparations are being undertaken for a drilling programme on the Kizilcukur and Karakavak prospects and scheduled to commence in Q3 2014.

Big Vote of Confidence by Standard Life Investments in Atlantic Coal (ATC:AIM) & Anthracite

For those of you who follow me, you might know that I have been taking an interest in the coal market of late. Particularly as a result of what has been happening in the Ukraine. If you check my blog, I wrote a piece on the coal sector in Ukraine and some observations on the Ukraine coal market. For those of you that did not read it, I took the trouble to point out that Ukraine's coal production is contained primarily in eastern Ukraine, in exactly the area where patrician is underway by the Russian's. Like it or like it not, Ukraine's coal production area is now under threat from Russian influence.

Most of Ukraine’s coal is produced from the Donbas basin, in Eastern Ukraine and when exported by sea often goes through the Berdyansk commercial seaport and or the Mariupol commercial seaport, both located on the Sea of Azov.

So far Russia has focused its attention on securing the Crimea peninsula and is currently in control of the Port of Sevastopol, home of its Black Sea military naval fleet and the straits of Kerch where much of Ukraine's coal is exported through by ship.


On Thursday this week, Standard Life took a 3% stake in London listed Atlantic Coal, one of a limited number of public quoted companies investors can actually invest in, if they want exposure to the anthracite market (Anthracite accounts for about 30% of Ukraine’s coal production)

Clearly Standard Life have seen something in Atlantic Coal, that I actually saw (Did they read my blog..........looks like they might have done) 

Although Atlantic Coal is a US based anthracite miner, how the pricing, supply and demand of anthracite is likely to unfold because of the Ukraine crisis, know one yet knows. What is certain is that production disruption from Ukraine can only add to supply shortages, serving to increase prices and may even see customers look as far afield as the US for their anthracite. Is this what Standard Life are seeing????????????????????
Watch this space

www.atlanticcoal.com

Ariana Resources, Head Closer to Production at Red Rabbit as Ore Stockpiling Begins

Ariana Resources (AAU:AIM) The Turkish near term gold and silver miner, released an update today on its Red Rabbit Gold-Silver project in Turkey. See RNS Below. It takes under 18 months to get a CIL plant up and running, Proccea are very experienced in the construction of CIL plants having built several of them over the years, both in Turkey and overseas, their track record is as below

• Vasgold Gold Mine, Kazakhstan
• Amesmessa-Trek Gold Mine, Algeria
• Çöpler Gold Mine, Turkey
• Eti Gümüs-Silver Mine, Turkey
• Kittila Gold Mine, Finland
• Koza Gold-Mastsa Gold Mine, Turkey
• Maaden Gold Mine, Saudi Arabia
• Tüprag (Eldorado Gold)/Klada Gold Mine, Turkey
• Minera Triton, Argentina
• Ouagadogou Gold Mine, Burkina Faso
• Tüprag (Eldorado Gold)/Kisladag
• Gold Mine, Turkey
• Zarcan-Takeb Gold Mine, Iran

So the question is, when is the best time to invest in a near term gold play?

Have a look at the diagram below

If you look at the projected cumulative cash flow and how that should elevate the share price, you are looking for a three fold increase in share price performance over the next three years, and I would suspect that within 12 months the stock could be around 2p if not higher meaning that if you invested now at 0.88p you would more than double your money, subject to Ariana maintaining its progress on permitting as I think funding Red rabbit will not be a problem

Se below details of RNS

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the gold exploration and development company focused on Turkey, is pleased to announce an update on the Kiziltepe Sector ('Kiziltepe') of the Red Rabbit Gold-Silver Project in Western Turkey ('Red Rabbit'). The Kiziltepe Sector will be the initial mine site at Red Rabbit, which is being advanced towards production with its joint venture partner Proccea Construction Co. ("Proccea").

Highlights:

• Proccea continuing to earn-in on Red Rabbit, having spent approximately US$1.2 million during 2013.

• Proccea has indicated that a conditional financing arrangement to fund mine construction has been negotiated with a Turkish bank.

• Proccea now owns 26.5% of the project and is continuing sole-funding through the final permitting and construction stages.

• Trial mining at the Kiziltepe Sector has produced 4,800 tonnes of ore, which is stockpiled on site ready for processing.

• Positive report completed by the General Directorate of Mining Affairs following a site visit as part of the mining licence renewal process.

Dr. Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"We are very encouraged by the progress our Joint Venture partner Proccea has made on the Red Rabbit project and specifically at the Kiziltepe Sector which is being advanced towards production. Following the receipt of the Environmental Impact Assessment, which was a major project milestone, our partners are continuing to fund the development of Kiziltepe through the permitting and construction stages. With the final stage of permitting fast approaching, we look forward to updating our shareholders on new developments in due course."