Ariana Resources upbeat on latest drilling at Kiziltepe

The AIM-traded firm said Kepez North is part of the Zenit joint venture with Proccea Construction and Ozaltin, which is 23.5% owned by Ariana.

It said infill resource drilling results from the Kepez North vein included 2.7m at 15.26 grams of gold and 90.7 grams of silver per tonne, 2.6 metres at 5.75 grams of gold and 9.2 grams of silver per tonne, and 6.05 metres at 2.34 grams of gold and 22.5 grams of silver per tonne.

New intercepts from surface for the Kepez North scree returned 4.5 metres at 10.21 grams of gold and 133.8 grams of silver per tonne, four metres at 8.26 grams of gold and 107.3 grams of silver per tonne, and 1.5 metres at 5.02 grams of gold and 51 grams of silver per tonne.

A revised geological model now supported the mineralised vein with more confidence, the board said, and also included a robust domain for highly-mineralised surface scree.

Revised resource estimation and optimisation studies were now underway.

“The Kepez area has always been an enigmatic jewel in the portfolio,” said managing director Dr Kerim Sener.

“Our earliest work at the site undertaken in 2005, confirmed the presence of very high gold grades in mineralised surface scree.

“However, follow-up drilling in 2006 along strike and down dip of the structure, while encountering vein mineralisation, did not provide many significant intercepts.”

Dr Sener said despite that, further work over the years, concentrating in a limited area of 150 metres by 150 metres, continued to confirm the presence of very high-grade precious metal mineralisation.

“The latest drilling was the first to be conducted in the central part of this unique area and demonstrates, for the first time, the potential for a northwest trending high-grade mineralised shoot, cutting across the main vein structure, and which dips at about 40 degrees to the west.

“This new data will lead to a revised resource estimate for Kepez, which now shows the potential for a significant grade boost.”

The fact that most of the high-grade mineralisation was directly accessible from surface to a depth of about 70 metres suggested that the majority of the resource was likely to convert to mining reserves, Dr Sener said.

“Accordingly, our joint venture is looking at ways to expedite the mining of this area.”

At 1155 BST, shares in Ariana Resources were up 6.25% at 5.1p.