Ariana Resources PLC said results from recent drilling at the Hizarliyayla area of the Salinbas project in Turkey have confirmed similarities with the nearby Hot Maden discovery.
Grades from 10 holes drilled so far include 2.8 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over a narrow width, though Ariana said the widths increase at depth with one intercept of 36 metres (m) at 0.17 g/t gold from 186m down.
Initial results from a geopysical survey were also encouraging, it said.
Some 4,503 assay results have been received to date, with 2,467 remaining samples pending assay and multi-element analysis at the Kiziltepe Mine Laboratory.
Kerim Sener, Ariana’s managing director, commented: “We were able to yield typically better gold and silver grades than our discovery drillholes.
“We recognise that Hizarliyayla represents a zone of mineralisation and alteration which lies on a potential extension of the Hot Maden system, separated by about 8 kilometres and developed along similar structures.
“Significantly, the gold and silver grades encountered in all drilling to date typically improve with increasing depth, suggesting that a precious-metal dominant zone lies somewhere beyond 250 to 500 metres below surface.
“Geological, geochemical, and geophysical data obtained from Hizarliyayla to date suggests that there are several similarities to the mineralisation encountered at Hot Maden.
“Furthermore, the spacing of mineralisation centres along the NNE-trending corridor encompassing Hot Maden, Hizarliyayla and Salinbas/Ardala is an intriguing feature of the geology and reinforces the high prospectivity of this region.
“Hizarliyayla appears to be located at the heart of this corridor and the drilling results continue to demonstrate a widely dispersed alteration system containing abundant zones of mineralisation.”
Hot Maden was discovered around eight years ago in the northeast of Turkey and contains around 2.61Moz of gold and 129,000t of copper.
Sener added that Ariana’s goal now is to identify whether the system has “a more highly mineralised core”.
“We are presently underway with an Induced Polarization (IP)/Resistivity geophysical survey at Hizarliyayla, which has been designed for maximum depth resolution.
“The survey will aid the definition of deep drilling targets ahead of a future drilling programme, which we will aim to conduct in 2024.
“Initial results from this geophysical survey are encouraging, having established a significant meridional chargeability anomaly across the first three lines of the programme.”
Ariana owns a 23.5% share in Salinbas.
Source: proactive
