Mariana Resources Ltd : Hot Maden Gold Copper Project- NI43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment Lodged on SEDAR

AIM: MARLTSX-V: MARL   8 March 2017

Granite House, La Grande Rue,St. Martin, Guernsey, GY1 3RS Channel Islands

Hot Maden Gold Copper Project- National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report for the Preliminary Economic Assessment now Lodged on SEDAR

Highlights (100% Project Basis)

Post-tax discounted NPV for US$1.37 billion (8% discount rate).

Post-tax IRR 153% excluding acquisition costs.

Total Capex (Initial + Sustaining) of US$261M

Mariana Resources Limited ('Mariana' or 'the Company'), the TSX.V and AIM (MARL) listed exploration and development company with projects in Turkey, South America, and Ivory Coast, is pleased to announce it has filed on SEDAR the National Instrument 43-101 technical report for a Preliminary Economic Assessment dated 1 March 2017 ("PEA" or the "Study") of the high grade Hot Maden gold-copper project in NE Turkey. Both the technical report and required consents can be accessed via the link below:

Link : http://media.wix.com/ugd/24ee23_0cf311ae3c2d437e80310ec214d238b5.pdf

MARIANA RESOURCES LTD. "Glen Parsons"Glen Parsons, CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

**ENDS**

Qualified PersonThe technical and scientific information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved for release by Eric Roth, the Company's Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and for the purposes of AIM rules.  Mr Roth is the Company's Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director and holds a Ph.D. in Economic Geology from the University of Western Australia, is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), and is a Fellow of the Society of Economic Geologists (SEG).  Dr Roth has 25 years of experience in international minerals exploration and mining project evaluation.

Glen Parsons (CEO)	Mariana Resources Ltd	[phone]
Eric Roth (COO)	Mariana Resources Ltd	[phone]
Karen Davies (IR)	Mariana Resources Ltd (Canada)	[phone]
Rob Adamson	RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad)	[phone]
Will Souter	RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad)	[phone]
In U.K.
Oliver Stansfield	Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker)	[phone]
Jonathan Evans	Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker)	[phone]
Camilla Horsfall	Blytheweigh (Financial PR)	[phone]
Megan Ray	Blytheweigh (Financial PR)	[phone]

About Mariana ResourcesMariana Resources Ltd is a TSX.V and AIM (MARL) quoted exploration and development company with an extensive portfolio of gold, silver, and copper projects in South America, Turkey, and Ivory Coast.  

Mariana's most advanced asset is the Hot Maden gold-copper project in northeast Turkey, which is a joint venture with Turkish partner Lidya Madencilik (30% Mariana and 70% Lidya) and which is rapidly advancing to development.  On January 17, 2017, Mariana released the results of a Preliminary Economic Study ("PEA") which demonstrated exceptional potential economics for the Hot Maden Project (after-tax NPV and IRR of USD 1.37B and 153%, respectively) based on a development scenario incorporating a 1Mtpa underground mining / processing operation and the production of two saleable concentrates (a copper-gold concentrate and a gold-pyrite concentrate). This PEA was based on the updated (July 25, 2016) mineral resource estimate of 3.43 Moz gold equivalent (Indicated Category) and 0.09 Moz gold equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) in the Main Zone, as well as a maiden 351,000 Moz gold equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) resource in the New Southern Discovery. Elsewhere in Turkey, Mariana holds a 100% interest in the Ergama gold-copper project.  

On October 7, 2016, Mariana announced the signing of a binding Term Sheet to acquire an indirect 80% interest in Ivory Coast-focused private exploration company Awalé Resources SARL ("Awalé").  Through the transaction Mariana will gain an immediate foothold in an established exploration portfolio with known gold mineralisation and artisanal gold workings, and which comprises i) 3 granted contiguous licenses (1,191 km2) in the Bondoukou area, and ii) 4 licenses under application (1,593 km2) in both the Bondoukou and Abengourou areas. The Boundoukou concessions lie along the southwestern extension of the Birimian Bole-Nangodi greenstone belt in adjacent Ghana, host to a number of high grade orogenic gold deposits.

In southern Argentina, the Company's core gold-silver projects are Las Calandrias (100%), Sierra Blanca (100%), Los Cisnes (100%), and Bozal (100%). These projects are part of a 100,000+ Ha land package in the Deseado Massif epithermal gold-silver district in mining-friendly Santa Cruz Province.

In Suriname, Mariana has a direct holding of 10.2% of the Nassau Gold project. The Nassau Gold Project is a 28,000 Ha exploration concession located approximately 125 km south east of the capital Paramaribo and immediately adjacent to Newmont Mining's 4.2Moz gold Merian project. 

In Peru and Chile, Mariana is focusing on acquiring new opportunities which complement its current portfolio.

	Hot Maden Mineral Resource Estimate - Main Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off)
			Indicated Mineral Resource
Domain		Tonnes		Au	Cu	Zn	AuEq	Au	Cu	AuEq
		t		g/t	%	%	g/t*	Ounces	Tonnes	Ounces**
Main Zone LG		463,000		1.1	1.1	0.3	2.4	17,000	5,000	36,000
Main Zone HG		4,501,000		3.9	1.9	0.2	6.3	570,000	87,000	908,000
Main Zone UHG		2,086,000		32.7	3.5	0.1	36.9	2,195,000	73,000	2,476,000
Mixed Gold-Zinc		17,000		7.5	3.1	3.6	11.2	4,000	1,000	6,000
Peripheral Lodes		60,000		2.1	0.4	0.4	2.5	4,000		5,000
Total		7,127,000		12.2	2.3	0.2	15.0	2,790,000	166,000	3,431,000
			Inferred Mineral Resource
Domain		Tonnes		Au	Cu	Zn	AuEq	Au	Cu	AuEq
		t		g/t	%	%	g/t*	Ounces	Tonnes	Ounces**
Main Zone LG		395,000		1.7	0.9	0.03	2.8	21,000	4,000	35,000
Main Zone HG		31,000		3.9	1.6	0.1	5.8	4,000		6,000
Main Zone UHG		6,000		39.1	2.1	0.01	41.6	7,000		8,000
Mixed Gold-Zinc		4,000		1.7	0.4	2.4	2.2
Peripheral Lodes		282,000		3.2	0.9	0.1	4.3	29,000	2,000	38,000
Total		718,000		2.7	0.9	0.1	3.8	62,000	7,000	88,000
	Hot Maden - Southern Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off)
			Inferred Mineral Resource
Domain		Tonnes		Au	Cu	Zn	AuEq	Au	Cu	AuEq
		t		g/t	%	%	g/t*	Ounces	Tonnes	Ounces**
South Zone LG		396,000		2.8	0.7	0.0	3.6	35,000	3,000	46,000
South Zone HG		583,000		5.3	0.7	0.0	6.1	98,000	4,000	114,000
Main Zone UHG		224,000		22.2	1.0	0.0	23.4	160,000	2,000	169,000
Mixed Gold-Zinc		44,000		9.0	1.0	3.2	10.2	13,000		15,000
Peripheral Lodes		104,000		1.9	0.3	0.0	2.2	6,000		7,000
Total		1,352,000		7.2	0.7	0.1	8.1	313,000	10,000	351,000

*Au Equivalence (AuEq) calculated using a 100 day moving average of $US1,215/ounce for Au and $US2.13/pound for Cu as of May 29, 2016. No adjustment has been made for metallurgical recovery or net smelter return as these remain uncertain at this time. Based on grades and contained metal for Au and Cu, it is assumed that both commodities have reasonable potential to be economically extractable.

1. *-The formula used for Au equivalent grade is: AuEq g/t = Au + [(Cu % x 22.0462 x 2.13)/(1215/31.1035)] and assumes 100 % metallurgical recovery.
2. **-Au equivalent ounces are calculated by mulitplying Mineral Resource tonnage by Au equivalent grade and converting for ounces. The formula used for Au equivalent ounces is: AuEq Oz = [Tonnage x AuEq grade (g/t)]/31.1035

Safe HarbourThis press release contains certain statements which may be deemed to be forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements are made as at the date of this press release and include, without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, the realization, cost, timing and extent of mineral resource estimates, estimated future exploration expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, and requirements for additional capital.  The words "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimate", "forecasts", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "may", "will", or similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the effects of general economic conditions; the price of gold, silver and copper; misjudgements in the course of preparing forward-looking statements; risks associated with international operations; the need for additional financing; risks inherent in exploration results; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters; currency and commodity price fluctuations; title matters; environmental liability claims; unanticipated operational risks; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or in the completion of development or construction activities; political risk; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's annual financial statements for the most recently completed financial year which is available on the Company's website at www.marianaresources.com .  Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.  There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.  Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.  We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.