LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Ariana Resources announced the start of cold-commissioning of the processing plant at the Tavsan gold mine in western Turkey on Thursday, marking a key step toward the start of production at the site.
The AIM-traded company, which holds a 23.5% interest in Tavsan through its partnership in Zenit Madencilik, said the commissioning process would continue in phases throughout June following the project's recent connection to grid power.

It said the heap-leach pads were nearing completion, with first ore loading expected from late June.

Around one year's worth of ore was already stockpiled in preparation.

The processing plant was on track to be fully operational by July, at which point gold production was expected to begin.

At the same time, final planning was underway for a newly-approved 2,555kW solar power system to supplement the site's energy requirements.

Ariana also reported ongoing resource and exploration drilling, with 3,700 metres completed so far in a programme of up to 15,000 metres aimed at expanding the mine's lifespan.

"After several months of a monumental effort from the Zenit team and its contractors, the latest developments at Tavsan are exceptional," said managing director Dr Kerim Sener.

"The connection to grid power remained outstanding until recently, which has now enabled the commissioning of the processing plant to commence.

"Work on the heap-leach pads, which had been impeded due to inclement weather conditions, has accelerated rapidly since the onset of warmer and somewhat drier conditions from April and is currently on track for completion later in June."

Dr Sener said that a notable new development had been the recent approval of a significant solar power project for the mine, which would both help reduce operational costs over the life of mine and also contribute to reducing the power demand from the grid, enhancing the operation's environmental credentials.

"Even longer term, it will make a sustainable contribution to the development of the area.

"This will be our first heap-leach operation in Türkiye, which, by operating in parallel with the Kiziltepe CIL processing plant, provides Zenit with a large degree of operational flexibility.

"Our biggest advantage is that Zenit has about a year's worth of ore production ready for loading on the heap-leach pads at grades ranging from 1.2 to 0.7 grams of gold per tonne."

At 1102 BST, shares in Ariana Resources were up 8.28% at 1.16p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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