Global Resource For Turkish Project Reaches 1.5m ozs
Ariana Resources plc (AIM:AAU) has reported a significant JORC Resource update for the Salinbas Project in Turkey.
The company revealed that the global resource for Salinbas has increased from one million ounces to 1.5Moz, split between the high-grade Salinbas Deposit and the low-grade, high-tonnage Ardala Porphyry Complex:
The new figures show that the Salinbas Deposit contains 8.4Mt @ 2.21g/t Au + 16.9 g/t Ag for 0.6Moz gold and 4.6Moz silver, while the Ardala Porphyry comprises 66.4Mt @ 0.44g/t Au for 0.9Moz, plus 3.3Moz silver, 110,000t copper and 4,200t molybdenum, which includes a higher-grade core of 32.5Mt @ 0.51g/t Au, 0.21% Cu, 0.01% Mo.
Managing Director, Dr Kerim Sener, said there has also been a material improvement in the resource classification of the Salinbas Deposit, with 35% of the resource now in Measured (11%) and Indicated (24%) categories.
“This new Resource Estimate represents a major increase in the resource, confirming the Project as having multi-million ounce, multi-commodity potential and indicates further growth opportunities,” Dr Sener said.
“The prospectivity of this region is attested by the presence of several other major copper-gold systems in the immediate vicinity, such as the >4Moz Hot Maden deposit, located just to the south of our project licences, and the scale of the alteration systems encountered within our property in the vicinity of the porphyry centres at Ardala and Hizarliyayla.
“We are well-positioned right at the heart of a major copper-gold province, which already shows potential for >10Moz across the circa 100km long and 10km wide Artvin-Yusufeli Gold Trend.
“We look forward to further exploring this exciting project in the months ahead in the format of our proposed new partnership with Özaltin Holding and Proccea Construction.”
