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RESULT OF AGM
Ariana Resources, the Anglo-Turkish gold exploration and development company, has confirmed that all of the resolutions put to shareholders at the Company’s Annual General Meeting held today were duly passed.
The Chairman, Michael de Villiers, made the following comments at today’s meeting:
“Ariana Resources has been an AIM-listed company for 10 years. In that time, we have witnessed its transformation from grassroots gold exploration, through to project development and all the way to the point of mine construction. This is an incredibly rare occurrence for any mineral resources company. Indeed, the odds of any individual mineral exploration target becoming a world-class mine are reported to be perhaps one in tens of thousands. It is testament to the team at Ariana that they have been able to beat these odds and it has been my privilege to have played a role.
Following the receipt of the long-awaited forestry approvals from the Turkish Government, we may now commence the construction phase of our Red Rabbit joint venture mine at Kiziltepe. Our partners, Proccea Construction, are readying their teams to initiate site works within the coming weeks. Meanwhile, land acquisitions are continuing at a pace in order to secure all remaining surface rights required for the infrastructure footprint of the mine site. Detailed engineering work and budgeting are also complete, ahead of loan draw-downs expected through our finance arrangement with Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi A.S.
We look forward to providing the market with further updates on our mine construction schedule in due course, though it is clear that early H2 2016 is probable for first gold pour. We expect to be able to provide further guidance once we know the likely delivery times on certain long-lead equipment orders. Steady-state production of approximately 20,000 oz gold equivalent per annum is currently expected some time during H2 2016.
As construction proceeds at the Kiziltepe Mine, we are also planning to advance our strategy of exploration and resource development across the wider Red Rabbit Project Area. In addition to identifying satellite resources at some of the other gold-silver prospects that sit within the Kiziltepe Sector, it is our intention to focus on strategies that could ultimately lead to an enhanced production rate. The Red Rabbit project already shows potential to be scaled up to a production rate of 50,000 oz gold equivalent per annum in the event that the Tavsan Sector can be developed and brought on stream in a few years time.
Your Company is exceptionally well-placed to continue to add value across its project portfolio and to deliver on its objective of becoming one of the next generation of gold producers in Turkey. In the last decade, the country has proven itself as a reliable low-cost destination and, importantly for any exploration company, one that still hosts plenty of long-term exploration and development upside. Ariana is poised to further capitalise on this potential.
And on that note, we welcome shareholders, old and new, on the journey of the next decade.”
