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Ariana to buy gold exploration properties in Turkey from KEFI Minerals

Last updated: 17:52 16 Mar 2011 AEDT, First published: 18:52 16 Mar 2011 AEDT

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Ariana Resources PLC (LON:AAU) said it has signed heads of agreement to buy four exploration properties in western Turkey from KEFI Minerals PLC (LON:KEFI) which will potentially create synergies with its Red Rabbit gold project ahead of scheduled production in 2012.

Red Rabbit is a joint venture with Turkish construction firm Proccea and brings together Ariana’s Kiziltepe prospect with Proccea’s Tavsan gold area.

Ariana will be taking over four exploration properties including the Kizilcukur, Muratdag and Yatik West projects for a nominal cash payment and £50,000 in shares. KEFI will also be granted a 2 percent net smelter royalty on all future mineral production from the licences.

Ariana managing director Dr Kerim Sener said: "The acquisition of the Kizilcukur property is a strategically significant move, as it will provide Ariana and its Red Rabbit joint venture with access to the entire gold mineralised trend within the Sindirgi gold corridor.  

“Surface sampling results including 152 grammes per tonne gold and 1,320 grammes per tonne silver and several high-grade drill intercepts underpin the prospectivity of the property.  We are expecting that, with further exploration at Kizilcukur, we will be able to define a mineral resource to integrate into our Red Rabbit project development.  Our target resource base for this Red Rabbit region is 1 million ounces gold equivalent and we are putting all the building blocks in place to achieve this in the medium term."
 
The Kizilcukur project consists of one licence located in the Balikesir Province in Western Turkey.  The licence covers an area containing a series of parallel quartz veins that trend northwest and extend for at least two kilometres.  

Preliminary rock chip sampling by KEFI in 2007 returned encouraging assay results of up to 152 g/t gold and 1,320 g/t silver in an area containing old workings.  

A total of 17 drill holes were completed by KEFI on the property during 2007 and 2008.  No mineral resource has been calculated by KEFI for the area drilled to date.
 
The Muratdag project consists of two licences located in the Usak Province in Western Turkey that are considered by Ariana to be prospective for listwaenite-hosted gold-silver and laterite-hosted nickel-cobalt mineralisation.

In 2007, KEFI completed geological mapping, rock-chip sampling and soil sampling on the licences.  A number of historical workings for mercury are present immediately to the west and north of the project area.  A triangular shaped gold-silver soil anomaly up to 350 metres north-south and 250 metres east-west at more than 20 parts per billion gold is present within the northern licence.  This anomaly has not been followed up with any drilling by KEFI.

Ariana considers that there are several geological similarities between the Muratdag project and its Tavsan and Demirci gold projects.  All three projects lie on the same stratigraphic horizon, which is a regionally significant zone for gold mineralisation.
 
A further announcement will be made when the companies enter a definitive agreement.

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