RETURN OF CAPITAL FROM SUBSIDIARY

12 February 2019

AIM: AAU

RETURN OF CAPITAL FROM SUBSIDIARY

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the exploration and development company with gold mining operations in Turkey, is pleased to announce a financial update for the Company. 

The Company advises that it recently reduced the capital within its wholly-owned Turkish operating subsidiary Galata Madencilik San. ve Tic. Ltd. ("Galata") from 28,767,500 TL to 3,000,000 TL.  Consequently, 25,767,500 TL of capital is able to be returned to Ariana, corresponding to £3.79 million at a current exchange rate of 0.15 TL to £1. 

Up to 11 February 2019, Galata had transferred £1 million in capital back to Ariana, derived from funds received by Galata in repayment of loans previously made to Zenit Madencilik San. ve Tic. A.S. ("Zenit") prior to profitable operation of the Kiziltepe Mine. 

The capital reduction has been undertaken because the flow of funds from Zenit (derived from revenue achieved from the Kiziltepe Mine) will exceed the working capital requirements of Galata in the future, enabling the direct return of funds to Ariana.  These funds are being utilised by Ariana for exploration and development of the project portfolio (including the Salinbas Project) and to fund the general working capital requirements of the Group. 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014.

Contacts:

Editors' Note:

About Ariana Resources:

Ariana is an exploration and development company with mining operations focused on epithermal gold-silver and porphyry copper-gold deposits in Turkey, the largest gold producing country in Europe. The Company is developing a portfolio of prospective licences originally selected on the basis of its in-house geological and remote-sensing database, which now contain a total of 1.6 million ounces of gold and other metals (as at end-2017). Ariana's objective is to cost-effectively add value to its projects through focused exploration and to develop its operations, primarily through well-financed joint ventures. 

The Company's flagship assets are its Kiziltepe and Tavsan gold projects which form the Red Rabbit Gold Project. Both contain a series of prospects, within two prolific mineralised districts in the Western Anatolian Volcanic and Extensional (WAVE) Province in western Turkey. This Province hosts the largest operating gold mines in Turkey and remains highly prospective for new porphyry and epithermal deposits. These core projects, which are separated by a distance of 75km, form part of a 50:50 Joint Venture with Proccea Construction Co. The Kiziltepe Sector of the Red Rabbit Project is fully-permitted and is currently in production. The total resource inventory at the Red Rabbit Project and wider project area stands at c. 605,000 ounces of gold equivalent (as at end-2017). At Kiziltepe a Net Smelter Return ("NSR") royalty of up to 2.5% on production is payable to Franco-Nevada Corporation. At Tavsan an NSR royalty of up to 2% on future production is payable to Sandstorm Gold.

In north-eastern Turkey, Ariana owns 100% of the Salinbas Gold Project, comprising the Salinbas gold-silver deposit and the Ardala copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry among other prospects. The total resource inventory of the Salinbas project area is c. 1 million ounces of gold equivalent. A NSR royalty of up to 2% on future production is payable to Eldorado Gold Corporation.

Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited are broker to the Company and Beaumont Cornish Limited is the Company's Nominated Adviser.

For further information on Ariana you are invited to visit the Company's website at www.arianaresources.com.

Ends.