Ariana upbeat on drilling at Magellan Project

The AIM-traded firm owns 50% of Venus, which is focussed on the exploration and development of copper and gold assets in Cyprus.

It said the drilling confirmed that gold was a “significant component” of the Klirou deposit.

Key intercepts from the new drilling included 22 metres at 0.72 grams of gold per tonne, 0.38% copper and 1.64% zinc, 16 metres at 0.73 grams of gold per tonne and 0.34% copper, and 14 metres at 0.64 grams of gold per tonne and 0.34% zinc.

“These initial drilling results at the Klirou Sector have confirmed the presence of significant gold within the deposit,” said managing director Kerim Sener.

“Like Kokkinoyia, it appears there is a metal zonation at Klirou, with gold mineralisation most closely correlated with zones of zinc mineralisation.

“While these drilling results are preliminary and have tested only one part of the deposit, they reinforce our understanding of the Klirou VMS system.”

Dr Sener said the results further suggested that future exploration needed to focus on the gold-rich zones, which were also identified recently in several surface outcrops.

“These results also indicate that the mineralisation is likely to be more structurally controlled than previously considered, with high-grade gold mineralisation encountered along metre-wide structures; this observation will need to be taken into account in future programmes.

“Follow-up work at Klirou will probably involve a detailed geophysical survey, to help identify extensions to the mineralisation at depth and along strike, prior to a future round of drilling.

“Meanwhile, Venus is continuing to progress towards its planned IPO in London and we look forward to providing further updates on this in due course.”

At 1152 GMT, shares in Ariana Resources were up 3.62% at 3.58p.