Ariana Resources (LSE:AAU) — Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2021

0:01 Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the ARIANA RESOURCES PLC Interim Results for the six months ended thirty of June Investor Presentation. Throughout this investor presentation, attendees will be in listen only mode. Questions are encouraged and can be submitted at any time via the Q and A tab situated on the right hand corner of your screen. To click Q and A, scroll to the bottom, type your question and press send. The company may not be in a position to answer every question it receives during the meeting itself. Have the company review all questions submitted today and publish responses where it's appropriate to do so. These are being available via investor me company dashboard. You'll be notified once they're ready for your review. Also,

0:33 I'd like to remind you this presentation is being recorded. Before we begin, we'd like to submit the following poll. I'd now like to hand you over to Michael DeVillis, chairman and Karim Senna, CEO of ARIANA RESOURCES PLC. Good morning. Good morning all, and thank you for attending. Good morning.

0:49 Karen, would you like to introduce the format we're going to to to to run with?

0:53 And then I will propose a question to you, which I think is the most relevant one that's come out of all our our review of questions. Okay. Thank you, Michael, and thanks thank you to everyone for joining us this morning for the presentation of our interim results. Now the format of this presentation, we're actually going to run differently to prior presentations. And rather than formally going through our corporate presentation, we would rather make that presentation available to

1:24 shareholders as it has been previously, give people plenty of opportunity to ask questions of the company. And then we'd like to spend more time with shareholders and investors going through answers to those questions and then dipping back into the presentation to help us in the process of answering those questions. So just to kick start this, I'll just provide a very brief introduction to where we've come and where we're going as a company. Most importantly, I'll talk a little bit about the history of where we brought the company from grassroots exploration through mineral project development, feasibility, environmental impact assessment, permitting processes in Turkey in partnership with Prosia Construction originally.

2:18 We then established the Kyzyl Tepe mining operation in Western Turkey, and we've been running that commercially since July 2017. And in fact, if you look at the company accounts, you can see that the company has been profitable over a five year period essentially since then, both in terms of profitable operations in Turkey, but also running an accounting profit as well. So we've developed the company substantially from those early days of pure grassroots exploration. We've developed a very broad portfolio. That portfolio now encompasses several other projects in Turkey, all of which have been brought under the umbrella of an expanded enterprise with our prior partners, PRCESIA Construction as well as our new partners, Ozalten Holding.

3:13 So this resulted from a partial divestment of our interests in what was a fifty-fifty joint venture in Western Turkey on our producing asset to a broader venture encompassing that asset, the Tarshan development project and the Solenbash project in Northeastern Turkey as well as several other smaller projects that we've since vended into the expanded venture.

3:40 In addition to that, in recent years, we've also become involved in the development of Venus Minerals, which is exploring portfolio of licenses in Cyprus. They are predominantly copper assets but with associated gold. And this morning, we provided a further announcement to market concerning another extremely significant development for that particular portfolio. So we'd like to be able to expand on that further as part of this Q and A session. In addition to that, we also have a 75 interest in Western Tethrin Resources. That is primarily based in Kosovo, but is actually exploring has a remit to explore across Eastern Europe, again, for predominantly copper gold assets.

4:33 Beyond the Eastern Europe, Eastern Mediterranean region, separate to that, in Australia, we have the Asgard Metals Fund. And the Asgard Metals Fund has recently been developing its strategy. And as part of that, it is going to be involved in the development of Panther Metals Limited here in Australia as Panther pursues an ASX IPO. But there will be other developments on the Asgard Metals Fund as well. So I think I've probably summarized all I need to at this stage for the purposes of this introduction. And I'd like to throw open the opportunity for questions and perhaps maybe take the lead from you, Michael, in terms of what we've been able to distill from the existing questions that have been presubmitted ahead of this call.

5:30 And then we'll we'll go from there. Karim, there's a lot that's been answered asked and answered in the in the details that you've you've prepared. But the thing that has stuck out in my mind is that we've transformed from a dramatically different company to what we were when we started fifteen plus years ago. And very likely, we've transformed into something that's quite different. And I use the analogy of an octopus where you've got a central brain, a central fund,

5:58 very flexible, very agile, yet it has many tentacles out. And partly what you've described is all of the different assets we've got, but I think I'd like people to imagine this as a central company owning parts of different assets all around it and has its tentacles on all these different assets. And some of them are well recognized like Kisl Tepe, which is producing cash, so that's something one tentacle is caught and holding on to. Tarshan is the next one to come in, and that will be drawn in as well. Is the huge one. We can't yet determine how big that is, but we know it's huge as is with Magellan and so on. So perhaps we could, in some ways, describe ourselves as a very, very active hunter explorer octopus with tentacles out reaching out for different projects. And, of course, the newest is is what we're doing in Cyprus, which we've just put some details out on.

6:49 And, of course, Asgard, which is the surprise one. We that that we will see what that one brings in, but we will probably catch a lot of small interesting things through that process.

6:59 Yes. But I agree completely with that analogy. And, you know, the octopus is a very interesting animal, very efficient animal. And, yes, it has a sort of central nervous system, but they they believe that the individual arms of an octopus have some capacity for understanding their environment that's actually somewhat independent of their central nervous system or the central brain. So their their individual tentacles

7:29 are intelligent to a degree in their own form. And that that really hits the nail on the head because that's exactly what we're doing with our strategy and is identifying very capable teams in the form of Venus Minerals, in the form of Western Tethyan, obviously, in Turkey with Zenith Mardanjelik, You know, teams that are unique to their specific environments that are capable of applying that very local knowledge in clever ways. And yes, you know, overarching, there is a sort of a central intelligence and, you know, a central planning. But to a large degree, it's those little tentacles that are sort of worming their way through and and and catching the prey, that's that's the strategy in a nutshell.

8:23 And I think that's even more pertinent for the current time where we don't have the flexibility to travel as much as we used to. And so in having intelligent teams all around the areas that we're interested in, same same thought, think. Absolutely. That yes. Absolutely. That's absolutely core to the forward strategy. I mean, in many ways, this is a development of a strategy that has long existed. It's been sort of innate to ARIANA for many years. But of course, our capabilities and the experience base that we're able to draw on and indeed, the personnel, the whole team that we've built in Turkey largely and elsewhere, we're able to leverage all of that in really clever ways and exciting ways going forward.

9:13 On the back of a, you know, an overall resource base that is substantially strengthened. Just carry on with that thought. If we've got this intelligent central processing unit with our team of expertise in it and we now want to show how we're going to develop Asgard and its first investment, we should point out that we're not putting money into that first investment. We're putting a small amount of cash, but mostly a large amount of expertise over two years so that money doesn't get spent by the individual investment. It gets spent by us on what we are wanting to look at. I think then the term you've used is looking under the hood.

9:53 Yeah. That's exactly it. I mean, it gives us the opportunity to pop the hood on a a project or an asset base in a new jurisdiction, a jurisdiction which maybe we're not, you know, totally familiar with. I mean, in the case of Panther and Australia, yes, we're intimately familiar with that. But then there will be other examples. And we hope to be making further announcements in due course about some of the other projects that we've been looking at across the Eastern Hemisphere.

10:24 But it gives us the opportunity to pop the hood, have a really good look at what's in there, understand the opportunity to a very detailed degree, you know, more detail than you'd ever get from a sort of standard due diligence assessment.

10:41 And it's coming at, you know, effectively very little risk to ARIANA and its shareholders. We're just, again, applying our intelligence to and our experience of the mineral exploration sector to those new opportunities and determining whether they'd be a good fit for ARIANA in the longer run or not.

11:06 Most importantly, it allows us to decide whether we want to continue investing in it or stop it at that point when we've spent relatively little cash to know a lot more about it than probably most of the investing public could could get to grips with. That that's exactly right. Yes. I think it's also worth mentioning that both you and I have had numerous inquiries since we announced Asgard in the first investment just showing how productive that that channel of communication is. Yes. Very much so. Yeah. Similarly with Cypress, we've we've invested via both cash and our investment in in intelligent resources, and we know very much what we're looking at. Yeah. So, I mean, maybe it's just worth sort of running through the the news of today and, you know, what that means.

12:00 Just winding the clock back a little bit. We obviously, we've been undertaking drilling in Cyprus since earlier this year. Some of those results have been announced already relating to the Kokkinoye sector of the Magellan project. Now we went into that drilling program with the expectation that we were probably going to find significant gold associated with what is predominantly a copper volcanogenic massive sulfide system. And we had an inkling that there was probably gold there from two sources. One, we'd undertaken extensive sampling of some of the waste rock dumps around Kokkienoye, and they were coming back with significantly high gold grades.

12:47 And the other was from processing records. So when Kokkienoye was previously mined, it was mined as an underground operation primarily. That those processing record records demonstrated that there was gold associated with the copper concentrate. However, when it was being mined in the seventies, it was the gold was a very small economic component of the ore body. The reason that they were developing these ore body was primarily for the copper. And in fact, they weren't even assaying for gold in their drilling or other routine sampling. The entire operation was driven off copper.

13:28 But as we've determined from this latest drilling program is that we do indeed have this gold zone or a gold halo, that's what it looks like, surrounding the the copper ore body. And in fact, there's further complication to that as well. Complication in a good way. And that is that there's an associated zinc components to the ore body.

13:51 So it's it's a very interesting mineral system. In fact, we're probably going to be putting out a further update on the drilling that we completed at Kokkienoye as we've got to grips with the data even further since they were initially announced. So I think shareholders have that to look forward to in the coming weeks.

14:12 So we understood that at Kokinoya, but the same is almost certainly going to be true at Clearu and at New Shah. Both of those locations, which also form part of the Magellan project, are copper gold ore bodies, and there's, again, associated zinc, certainly in the case of Clearu.

14:34 We have also undertaken some drilling at Clearu, and we'll announce the results of the drilling at Clearu when we have the opportunity to do so. Then take taking another step on from that relating to the news of this morning. The Apliki project is located further to the west of the Magellan project in an area that has been has actually seen extensive mining in the past.

15:03 So Mavrovouni was the big copper operation, which is now on the North Side. Skuritissa, that's been mined. Well, actually, it's an ancient mine, but it's been it's been mined for effectively thousands of years on and off. But it was last put into production with an SXEW plant in

15:25 the early 1990s. And very recently, its reserves were depleted finally. The SXEW plant shut down. But that operation and the skill sets associated with that operation and indeed the equipment associated with that operation, we'll be looking to integrate that or rather Venus will be looking to integrate that into the proposed new Apliki copper project. So the intention of Venus is to

15:57 acquire 50 of the mining entity, which will own the Apliki asset and the associated infrastructure. And ultimately, we expect to be mining there and indeed bringing the material from the Magellan project, or at least part of that material from Magellan through to the Apliki processing site.

16:24 So building up a a a, you know, substantial new copper and down the track, hopefully, mining enterprise in Cyprus under the umbrella of Venus Minerals. So it's very exciting new development. I like the way you geologists get excited about complexity. Anyway, is it Complexity is a great usually a great thing. You know, wherever you get complexity in a geological environment, sure as hell, that there's probably a deposit there of some sort. Well, essentially, we're talking about a gold mine with a lot of copper in it. Yep. And I'm not sure how much you can talk about Venus's next steps in terms of its corporate development, but that is happen happening presently.

17:11 That's correct. Yeah. And I I wouldn't want to steal Peter Vanderborg, the managing director of Venus Minerals. I don't want to steal his thunder. So I'll I'll leave him, and I'm sure there'll be plenty of opportunities for investors and indeed shareholders to ask Peter questions directly. But, yeah, very exciting days for Venus. Now we've had just a deluge of news out of Kisl Tepe and all the surrounding drillings. And I would like you, in in simpler terms that I can understand it, summarize it for us as to what it means in terms of, continuation of operations, how operations have stepped up since the expansion took place,

17:52 and how much longer we're going to be running at these good rates? Yes. So during last year, we recognized the opportunity to expand the processing facility at Khozaltepe. Previously, we were running the plant at a rate of about 200,000 tonnes of ore per annum, which in fact was an increase over the designed rate of 150,000 tonnes of ore per annum, but with the joint venture's operational efficiencies, they were able to crank that up to 200,000.

18:27 But there was clearly a pathway forward to expand that throughput. And we've achieved that between late last year, the latter part of final quarter into through to August of this year, we completed the new plant build, which involved extension to the existing processing facility, the introduction of a SAG mill and associated infrastructure, including two pre leach tanks. And as a result of that development, the throughput rate has been able to be increased incrementally to a nominal throughput of 400,000 tonnes of ore per annum. So it's basically a doubling of capacity.

19:20 Now this is absolutely essential as Khozl Tepe starts to move towards lower and lower grades. Obviously, we had a big advantage of the ARIANA RESOURCES south vein early in the operation. So for the first four years or so,

19:35 we were almost mining exclusively at ARIANA RESOURCES South. That's the high grade vein. It made sense to mine there first, very fast payback. But as we move to successively lower grade pits, ARZU North, Delhi and Banu, it was important to increase that throughput rate in order to keep the unit cost down.

19:57 Now through the again, you know, the skill sets that we have through our project partners, PROSEA Construction, they've done a fantastic job yet again. And they provided the end of the turnkey solution on the process plant. That was financed through a loan with Galanti Bankers for $6,600,000 A large part of that loan has now been repaid. The plant turned on, as I said, in

20:28 August. We just had some automation test work to complete through late August into September. That's all complete. And we're now running the mill continuously at the higher rate of about 45 to 50 tonnes per hour. So this operationally has been, you know, a tremendous development. And, they delivered it bang on time exactly when our schedule required the mill to go on stream. It's gone on stream, and we're processing at those higher rates. So it's absolutely fantastic. I mean, they've hit the nail on the head.

21:05 In terms of further exploration, we started a drilling program, which was originally budgeted for 5,000 meters. But as we've continued that program, we've wanted to test further and further targets. We've now we're almost approaching 15,000 meters of drilling across Khozaltepe, Kepes and Karakabak. And in fact, we've gone back to Kepes twice because the results of the initial drilling were really excellent, you know, showing very high grades, good intercept widths and so on. So it's likely that Kepes will become a source of very high grade ore that we can blend with some of the lower grade material coming from elsewhere within So, anyway, all of this work and and as the drilling program was continually expanded, this will eventually result in a new resource estimate for.

22:01 So we expect the resource to grow again

22:04 as we've tested out extensions on our Azu North and Dediye areas in particular. We are going to then undertake a further optimization study for the Kuslethepe operation to demonstrate how we can expand the existing open pits. I think it's less likely that we'll be going underground at this stage based on the drilling that we've done. But we've got plenty of opportunity for

22:33 further mining of the existing open pits. And notably at ARIANA RESOURCES, actually in the Northwest End, there's a very decent area of about 150 meters, 200 meters of strike further into the into the hillside. So we're we're looking forward to to getting all of that work done in the latter part of this year. Is it worth flicking to a slide on on the Kisl Tepev map just pointing out how much we've got left to mine. And if you wouldn't mind commenting a bit on the what you currently see the life of mine to be. Yes. Well, we in this presentation, we don't have a Kisl Tepe map.

23:17 But I will I mean, the not the best slide to show it, but, you know, it will do. So, I mean, this is this is our team sort of located roughly in the center at the top center of the AZU South Open Pit.

23:37 In the background there is the is the wall, the the northwest wall of AZU South. And then just over here, we've got the the hillside associated with that extension of ARZU South. So it it's going out in that direction, the a good part of this additional ore body. Really, where I was going with that is how much have we got left to mine in that camp? Oh, we'll we'll determine that once we've completed the the drilling program, the new resource estimate, and most critically, the the new optimization. Because obviously, the new optimization is going to run slightly differently to prior optimization because of the our throughput rate that we've got now.

24:29 Yeah. There was a question around Kepes, and I'm sure people want to see that answered in the context of the of the Kiseltepe operations and what we might do with that. Yes. So at Kepes, you know, we do have very high grades. And, yes, it's a relatively limited area. It's it's located in the area that we call Kepes North. And there, we've got this 100 meter long zone of very high grade mineralization. It's yeah. 100 meters long, and it's probably about 50 meters down dip. We've now undertaken a regular grid drilling over that area to help develop a a final reserve.

25:17 And then on the back of the final reserve, we complete the final stage mine planning and permitting. One of the beauties of the Kepez area is that it's very low strip ratio. The ore body is very close to surface. There's very little waste material that needs to be moved. And and of course, because the grades are running from, you know, let's say, four grams per ton to seven grams per ton for a large part of the ore body,

25:47 you know, it's really on the very high end of what we've ever put through the Kusselteppe processing plant. So it actually becomes quite an interesting additional source of ore that we can use for blending with some of the the lower grade material. Okay. Now we've had a few questions around Talshan, and we haven't put out much news on that recently. But there's been a lot of activity in the background, which is coming to the surface now. So if you could skirt around the things you can't touch, but tell tell us about what you can. Yes. And, actually, I'm just reviewing a question here that's come in concerning, so maybe I can deal deal with all of those in one go.

26:37 So yes. I mean, Tarshan is a very interesting location, again, because the ore body is very close to surface. And in fact, a large part of the ore body actually sits at surface. So there are parts of the the ore body that have effectively a zero strip ratio, which makes it very amenable to fairly simple mining and low low cost mining. And the other interesting thing about the ore body is that the material the mineralized material is located within unit called jasperoid.

27:22 And that very salacious material breaks up to a very particular particle size. I mean, really, sort of almost thumbnail sized bits of rock. And those the facets of the rock expose the, ultimately, the gold bearing surfaces to the chemicals that we'll be using for leaching. So from a metallurgical perspective, it looks like it will leach extremely well. So we're proposing this site will be a heap leach. The environmental impact assessment submission deals with all of that. And there's been, you know, a lengthy process associated with the EIA element of Tauchan, and we're expecting that EIA to be concluded imminently.

28:16 And then we'll announce that in due course. Mhmm. In in terms of the production targets, which this question relates to, yes, you know, we are targeting 30,000 ounces of gold per annum. I mean, depending on the exact metallurgical processing outcome, it will probably be in the region of about 27 to 30,000 ounces, I suspect. We're expecting initially, based on the prior resource, four year mine life, so very short mine life. But as we've demonstrated, resource has been expanded. We're now looking at more like an eight year mine life.

29:04 But one of the things that we wanted to complete before we sort of press the final trigger to the development of Taishan is a one last drilling program. And that drilling program, again, to be undertaken on a grid pattern. That will then confirm the reserve ultimately, and then we can proceed into the development of of that site. Now we were hoping that we would start that drilling program a long time back, you know, several months ago, in fact. But one of the things that's impacted that is the expanded Kuslethepe drilling program that we keep extending. And, you know, we we have capacity within the team to to just deal with one project at a time effectively.

29:55 So once we've brought the Kuseltepe drilling program to a close, we'll then be able to move the team onto Taushan for that program. And another issue was to do ultimately with COVID and not being able to get the right driller into the country because we principally wanted to drill this via RC, reverse circulation methods.

30:19 And we we required a driller to to travel. But anyway, that's that's been resolved. So we're expecting a driller to to be available in the relatively near future so that we can get that drilling program complete before winter. I mean, that's what we're targeting at the moment. Well, there's time yet, and I'm looking forward to us being able to announce those results. Yes. Previously, we've always talked about Sunnabash Ardala as one entity in one project. And while it is housed within one operation, I think it's worth discussing how the two pieces come together. In the past, I've always described it as being something of a a flower with a petal coming off it. Yes. Adela being the main body of the flower and sullenbosch being the the petal and then the potential for other petals mineralization around it, which you've demonstrated in some of the work that you've presented to the board and that I've been able present to investors. But probably worth trying to describe that in a in a cartoon type fashion if at all possible.

31:23 Yes. And actually, this slide that I've brought up now does do that.

31:28 It actually does it very effectively. So That's page 19 of the page 11 of the annual report. Correct. So right at the top, we show the the sort of bird's eye view, the the aerial footprint of each of our resource areas

31:52 across Zenith, Mardinjilik, and we also show Magellan in in Cyprus as well separately. Now the the teal color and the pink color relate to Ardala and sullenbosch. Ardala the the footprint of Ardala is is shown there sort of colored in teal. And that is a copper gold molybdenum porphyry. It's a a multiphase intrusion, very steeply orientated, sort of almost invert funnel shape, and is exposed in the bottom of the Ardala Valley.

32:38 And then on one side of that, on its western flank, and indeed intimately related to the porphyry mineralization, at least in part, is the sullenbosch gold and silver ore body, and that's shown in pink. So I should point out that all of these bird's eye footprints of each of the resource areas, they're all shown to scale. And we also show the volume of each of those areas as well. So volumetrically, Ardala is very large. It's 30,000,000 meters cubed of potential mineralized material, whereas Sullenbosch is 3,200,000 meters cubed.

33:28 However, it is higher grade. So between both Ardala and Sullenbosch, because ultimately, developed as one part of a single system of mineralization, There's about one and a half million ounces of gold so far, but we've demonstrated opportunities to continue to expand that resource. In the case of Sullenbush,

33:53 both to the north and on its southern flank, but also in the region between the Ard De La Porphyry and the Sullenbosch gold silver zone. That there's as I said, there's a sort of interplay between those two, and they sort of inter finger. And it's quite an interesting zone of mineralization there.

34:16 And the other thing that this diagram does is it shows the total content of metal, be it gold or copper associated with each of these ore zones.

34:31 So just looking at the total content of metal in the case of underlay, it's by far the largest of anything in our portfolio. Southern Bash contains very little copper or other metals, a little bit of molybdenum. It it is primarily a gold and silver system. And, you know, it's it's significantly large ore body. Now this is slated for drilling later the season? Yeah. So this unfortunately, this was affected in just the same way as Tarshan. We couldn't get a driller into country, at least for the very specific rig that we were after. But as I said, that is resolved. We're just waiting for the rig now to become available to go to site. But we will almost certainly be drilling Tarshan first, and then the rig will be coming to Sollenbosch.

35:29 So that's where we can look for much later in the year news on on that drilling? Yes. That that's right. And, actually, another question has just come in relating to the exploration plan. At Sullenbosch, and, it's just to summarize, could we expand on the plan? To to to some degree, we've answered that. Yes. You know, the the next stage is to continue drilling. Some of that drilling is purely resource drilling. It serves to confirm the existing resource, but there are some holes in that program that is designed to start testing the periphery of Southern Bash. So it's our intention to both confirm and to some degree expand on the Southern Bash resource.

36:18 And and that that question is also correct to state that the plan in the longer term is to develop Southern Bash as a another production center producing at a rate of about 50,000 tonnes sorry, 50,000 ounces per annum over about ten years. So that 50,000 ounces, I should point out, relates to the prior resource, which we'd identified in 2015, and it was based on a scoping level study only. But our intention now that we've got Salenbosch into our expanded venture in Turkey with the benefit of result in funding another $8,000,000 worth of work specifically on Sullenbosch is to advance this as quickly as we can to a feasibility stage.

37:14 So we're probably going to jump straight through prefeasibility, and and the plan would be to sort of try and move as seamlessly as possible complete a feasibility. The question about the 8,000,000 and the investment from result, and I think there was a question around that in in the submitted questions, and maybe we should just explain how that money is being applied and when. Specifically to the Sullenbosch project. So the the Sullenbosch project was held by an entity, Pontig Maldenjik, which we held a 100% of through a Dutch subsidiary of ARIANA. So what happened was a share transfer or share sale associated with the Turkish subsidiary of our Dutch subsidiary.

38:08 So we sold the company. We didn't sell the asset. We sold the company held the asset. And into as part of the deal that we did with Ozalten, Ozalten injected $8,000,000 cash into that company. So that $8,000,000 is sitting there. It's ready to be applied. But, you know, we have been just waiting for rig availability before we can properly advance the next stage of resource development work, which ultimately, we need to do in order to get to, you know, progress towards a feasibility. So other work has been underway. You know, obviously, there's a certain amount of activity that has to be ongoing on any mining project in Turkey.

38:55 And, you know, we're ticking all the boxes in that regard. And certain aspects of feasibility work are also underway. So there are elements of the environmental requirements, environmental permitting, and things like that. Site plans, sort of initial site plans that we need to to to to be able to start the process of of feasibility and an EIA application. You know, all of that work is is fully underway at this point in time. Just having a look at a cup there was another question relating to Before you go to the questions that I can see we're waiting to answer, we've discussed all the assets that we've got on our balance sheet, which is what's on page 11 of the annual report.

39:49 The one that's not on here is, of course, what we're gonna be doing in Eastern Europe and how that might unfold. And rather than us going into any specifics which are are not yet available for discussion, we could outline the broad plan of what we're going to do with what we've got in terms of intelligence and where we're going to get other intelligence from and how we've got a team deployed on the ground in Kosovo. Yes. So I think it's probably worth emphasizing that the the team in Kosovo, this this is a group that we've known for a long time. Yes. So we both have. Yeah. And and, you know, we've worked within some capacity in in the past. So, you know, it it's not it's not a team that's coming from left field.

40:37 And, you know, it's been a pleasure developing the strategy for Western Tethien with that a very capable team. They are based in Pristina in Kosovo. And, actually, Kosovo, in that sense, geographically, performs a nice hub for all exploration activities across Eastern Europe because it is very central. Our overall interest is to explore the region encompassing Bosnia to Covina all the way out to Bulgaria on the East, and then Serbia in the North down to to North Macedonia. That's really sort of the overall block. Now that this is a region that has seen a lot of exploration success in recent times in the sort of gold and copper gold space primarily.

41:32 There are opportunities for other mineral deposit styles as well, carbonate hosted styles of mineralization, including base metals. There's obviously more a little bit more left field, and that's the Yadar discovery of Rio Tinto, which is a lithium project in Serbia. But really, our core focus is going to remain on copper gold opportunities because this is where we see value in the long term. It's what we are most familiar with in terms of our overall understanding of the geology of the Tethyan Belt. It's what we've worked on most often across Turkey. And, you know, maybe it's just worth me just going to a to a slide on on the Tethian Belt here.

42:24 Now this is very much a a cartoon. I'd love to show more geological detail, but one of these things that you can't do in a presentation. So in the the far western side of the the Tethyan Belt, what what we understand from the Tethyan Belt is that overall, it's not only under explored relative to some other metallogenic belts in the world, but it's also in terms of potential and prospectivity. It's one of the best. So looking at the statistics of exploration success across the the Tethyin Belt, you can boil it down to sort of bang for buck metric.

43:18 And the bang for buck in the Tethym Belt is significantly higher than the global average. So that tells you something about how important it is to emphasize exploration in such a region because you're you're just that much more likely to be ultimately successful in the exploration that you do. Now Eastern Europe and and obviously through Tethyn has seen a lot of exploration activity in recent years. And and Turkey sort of stormed ahead. And, you know, we've now got 17 operating gold mines in the country. Eastern Europe, I'd say, is lagging a little bit in terms of its potential for development. But geologically, the potential is clearly there.

44:06 And just like we sensed all the way back in 2004, an opportunity to do something in Turkey, and we timed it beautifully, we sensed the opportunity to do something now in Eastern Europe. So with a good team, with the right timing and given what's going on in the commodity space and and particularly with what's happening in copper, we we think that Eastern Europe and, you know, the whole Western strategy is is going to be a very good place to be. So we're in the right place at the right time again. Elephant country. Indeed. Elephant country.

44:51 The question from Andy m is what catalyst should we be looking in for near term asset base and value creation? I think we've answered that in all we've discussed. I I don't know if we can add more. Yeah. I mean, we we've answered that in different forms, I think. You know, we we've got assets really across a whole range and different stages of development. So let me just jump to We're progressing them at the appropriate rates and in many different theaters. So we've diversified risk, and we've diversified asset types and also asset participation. That that's right. Yeah. Very very much so.

45:38 And this diagram summarizes the the the opportunity pyramid of the company. And I think this question is really answered by this diagram. So throughout this diagram, there are opportunities both near and long term and everything in between. Obviously, Zenith, it's the highest value asset within the portfolio that we own 23.5% of and the least risk. So now within Zenith, there are, again, tiers. So, obviously, Kuseltepe is the producing mine. That's the least risk, and it has a most well quantified value and opportunity Sitting one rung underneath that is the Tauschan development project, and then another rung underneath that is the Sullenbosch asset.

46:44 So there there obviously, there's more granularity associated with this diagram that we can't show here. Mhmm. So then if coming down from the apex of that diagram, we then come to the the category shown in orange there, our investments into Venus Minerals. And as per this morning's announcement, we are going to be increasing our shareholding in Venus Minerals to 50%. And Venus Minerals has now given an indication as to its trajectory. So ultimately, it will be pursuing an IPO in London. And associated with that, there are a series of projects that, again, different stages representing different levels of value and risk.

47:37 Another part of of that component is the Western Tethrin Resources, which we've just discussed. That's much earlier stage. That is greenfields type exploration to a large degree. We're looking for opportunities across Eastern Europe. But that's where ARIANA was back in the day. And again, it's it's all about having the right team in the right place. So we fully expect Western Tethium to do a really good job on that front. And then sitting another level below that is this very nimble part of our project identification strategy, and that's the Asgard Metals Fund.

48:25 So that this is going back to the octopus analogy. This is that very long and nimble tentacle that's able to sort of seek out opportunities. So discovery stage opportunities that have the potential for high value can be potentially catalyzed with the input of the ARIANA team. And that tea that that team and that input is not just purely technical. It's corporate as well because we've got a a very successful track record of bringing companies to the market, and and we've been involved in several listings along the way. One example of that is Royal Road Minerals. And over here in Australia, Kingston Resources, and it's being taken over now by Perseus Mining, but it it was Exor Resources.

49:20 And that and also the associated expertise that we've got in the company, we're we're able to recognize the value. If if we can get the the right ingredients together around that, including that technical input, that corporate input, then we're able to capitalize that opportunity and create value going forward. So that's what Asgard Metals is all about. And then, of course, sitting underneath that, which is the very sort of technical part of our business, that's the project generation division. And that's not really sort of the nuts and bolts, the really exciting stuff where we're seeking those opportunities across the Eastern Hemisphere.

50:09 And as Michael's pointed out, since the launch of the Asgard Metals Fund, we're getting opportunities coming our way now, which is exactly where we wanted to put ourselves. You know, why create work for yourself when, you know, you can just put up a big banner and say, here we are. And that's exactly what we've done. And I think we've both been in this game long enough to know the characters are coming to us to know whether how long we talk to them. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Steve b has asked the question, do we envisage realizing cash from Venus listing over the short term, and are you more interested in letting an investment ride? Look. I I think, you know, our We'll see. Modus operandi is, you know, we're we're mind finders and mind builders.

51:02 That that's what drives us. That's where the passion lies, finding that early stage opportunity. As I said, identifying the right ingredients to turn that opportunity into a producing asset. And why do we do this? Well, ultimately, we do we do this, and I'll I'll come to the key slide. That's it. This is why we do it. It's creating opportunity for people. Stakeholders? It's stakeholders. And and stakeholders include our shareholders, obviously, but it also includes the very specific environment in which we're operating.

51:50 It's the local communities that ultimately provide this the the manpower. So a good example shown in that collage of photographs, you know, that a lot of the local people in the case of Khozl Tepe are employed on our mine site. So, you know, we've we've created a a local economy associated with the mine. We're not only adding to the economy, but we're adding to the environment as well. Reforestation programs, which, you know, we haven't dealt dealt with at all. But those and other environmental programs are only benefiting the communities in which we're operating. And ultimately, we're benefiting the countries in which we're operating.

52:38 Now in the case of Turkey, yes, we've got one mine operational. We're expecting a second mine to go operational. And then all being well, the largest of all, Solombozh, eventually get that operational too. That's the objective. And then in the case of Venus, so specifically dealing with that question, yes, we want to be involved in a producing copper asset in Cyprus. And then, hopefully, all all being well, we'll do the same again somewhere in Eastern Europe and potentially elsewhere in the world. Karen, we've got about five minutes left, and I was wondering if we should turn to some of the presented questions that may need a bit more discussion while you've provided a comprehensive written answer. And I think the question around whether we are a gold producer, explorer, or an investor is worth discussing.

53:32 Yes. We both have our perspectives on that. But I think we've probably answered it in the content we've put forward. But to say that we we continue to be perhaps both in in the truest sense of the word, but primarily our our driving force is is is exploration and employing a very, very central intelligence hub we've got both in Ankara and in The UK and in Perth. Yes. That that that's exactly right. And just on the the subject of the the questions that came in prior to this presentation, we have endeavored to answer all of those questions in in written form as best we can. And that those have already been answered, and they'll be published shortly after we bring this presentation to a close.

54:27 But would would it be helpful, do you think, Michael, for me to just read the answer to that question? Please do go ahead. In that case, so I'll just quickly recap the question. It was question number two. Do you consider ARIANA to be a gold producer explorer or to be an investor in gold explorers? Do you think that some of the weakness in the recent share price may be because of uncertainty and doubt among investors over the strategy and focus of directors? So our answer to that is fundamentally, ARIANA is an exploration development company. These are our core strengths and have been since the company was founded. Our strategy has been proven repeatedly over time, leading to the creation of value seen within the asset base of the company today. From these core strengths, we've been able to develop further and diversify our business, not only derisking the company, but also providing additional revenue streams, making ARIANA more attractive as an investment.

55:23 ARIANA currently has an interest in gold silver mining operations in Turkey via its involvement in Zynik Mardincik, and it is also developing strategic interest in the region around Turkey in the form of Venus Minerals and Western Tethrin resources. Beyond this, it is advancing a strategy to identify early stage, high value potential opportunities across the Eastern Hemisphere. It is important to realize that this strategy stems from our previously demonstrated ability to discover projects that offer the potential to generate returns for the company and its shareholders. Perhaps the best example of this skill set historically includes the currently operating Kuseltepe mine, the multimillion ounce Solenbrusch project, and the lithium projects in Australia identified by Asgard. Yeah. Thank you. Okay.

56:11 I don't think we have any more unanswered questions in the chat room. And I think you're you're just coming up to the hour there, guys. So thank you very much indeed for updating investors today. And, of course, we will publish those responses to you very kindly and those pre submitted questions along with the audio transcriptions of those answered today. And, of course, any further questions that do come through, Mike and Cream will will have the opportunity to review those. Cream, perhaps before we redirect the attendees to give you some feedback, I may I ask you just for a closing snapshot, please? Yes. Certainly. Let me just quickly go to the summary slide. I'm very much looking at that. I'll just answer one question, and that is that the next dividend payment is due by the 03/31/2022.

56:58 And I, again, look forward to getting another dividend check-in the post. It's been the best result I've had in ages. That's what it's all about. Exactly. So, yes, to to summarize, ARIANA represents a a cash generative, dividend paying exploration and development company. Now as Michael's mentioned, you know, getting a dividend check-in the the post, you know, is is a highlight certainly of the fifteen years that we've been a public company. And we feel that it's absolutely critical that we continue to generate value within the enterprise as a whole so that in the longer term, we can continue to pay dividends. But the success or otherwise of that, only time will tell.

57:44 But that's the intention. That's the trajectory that we've taken the company on. And based on our experience to date and the ability of our team to unlock value, we've created a very unique opportunity, I think, for investors. Ultimately, all of that is underpinned by the very profitable operations at Kuseltepe. Now one thing we haven't touched on in this presentation is the very low operating cost base. And fortunately, in Turkey, that's naturally the case. But in the case of Kuseltepe, because of the skill set of PROSEA as a manager and indeed builder of processing plants, we've been able to ensure that, that cost base remains at minimal levels.

58:33 We've demonstrated also not just in the case of the producing asset, but across other assets within our portfolio, an exceptional track record. And we just build on one success after another. We're we're not a company that fails. We always delivered. And you look back at our history, go back to 2005 when we first listed on AIM. And the intention there was that we were going to define a mineral resource and ultimately get that mineral resource to the point that it could be mined. Well, we've done it, and we're gonna do it again. And we'll do it again. That's that's, as I said, what drives us. That's what makes us passionate about what we do. And also relating to that is the the slide that I brought up regarding our corporate and social responsibility or ESG, as it's more broadly called.

59:31 And and that's ultimately that's what underpins everything that we do. It it is feeding back to all stakeholders. So we don't have a very narrow view of of what it means to be a corporate enterprise. We have an extremely broad view of what our responsibilities are, and we act accordingly. And we act in the overall best interests of the company and all of its stakeholders. And then, you know, we've been able to take this expertise, and we're now applying it with further leverage as a result of the position we're now in to explore for new opportunities potentially anywhere in the Eastern Hemisphere.

1:00:18 So it's a very exciting time for the company. And, you know, we look forward to bringing shareholders and new investors along with us on this journey into the future. That's fantastic. Thank you very much indeed. Michael Crim, thanks again for updating investors today. Could I please ask investors not to close the session as you'll be automatically redirected for the opportunity to provide your feedback in order that the management team can better understand your views and expectations? This will only take a few moments to complete and is greatly valued by the company. On behalf of the management team of ARIANA RESOURCES PLC, we'd like to thank you very much for attending today's presentation. That concludes today's session. Thank you, and good morning. Thank you very much, everybody. Thanks.