LONDON (Alliance News) - Ariana Resources PLC said it has secured a financing agreement to bring the Kiziltepe Gold-Silver Mine in western Turkey into production, sending its shares soaring higher Thursday morning.
Shares in the Anglo-Turkish gold exploration and development firm were up 34% to 1.17 pence in mid-morning Thursday, making it the top riser on AIM. The stock touched 1.39p earlier in the morning, still below its 52-week high of 1.65p.
The Turkish mine is a joint venture between Ariana and Proccea Construction. The financing deal has been secured through Zenit Madencilik, the pair's joint venture entity.
The USD33 million, 5-year financing deal has been provided through Turkish investment bank Turkiye Finans Katilim Bankasi AS. The joint venture has completed the first drawdown of GBP236,000 on the facility.
Proccea will make an additional equity contribution to the project of approximately USD5 million.
"Securing the finance will enable us to hit the ground running in H2 2014 pending the completion of final permitting," said Ariana Managing Director Kerim Sener.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
Ariana (AAU)