Mariana Resources Ltd Ergama Project Intersects Porphyry-Style Gold-Copper Mineralization

Mariana Resources Ltd (LON:MARL), the TSX.V and AIM listed exploration and development company with projects in Turkey, South America, and Côte d’Ivoire, is pleased to provide the following update on the maiden diamond drill program currently underway at its 100%-owned Ergama gold-copper project in Balikesir province, western Turkey (Figure 1).

To date, three of the seven proposed drill holes (ERD-01 to ERD-03, for a total meterage of 1,522m) have been completed, with assays having now been received for the first two holes (Figures 2-4). Targets to be tested in this initial drill program include the northern margins of two porphyry gold-copper (“Au-Cu”) targets (the Main Porphyry Target and Porphyry Target B), in addition to a high grade, vein / fault-hosted epithermal gold-silver target.

The Ergama project licence covers an area of 2,168 Ha (21.6 km2), and is located 90km SE of Teck-Pilot Gold’s Halilaga Au-Cu project in the highly mineralised Biga Peninsula, and 230 km west north west of Eldorado Gold’s Kisladag gold mine (2016 production of 211,000 oz gold).

Highlights

Drill holes ERD-01 and ERD-02 were collared on the northern margin of the Main Porphyry Target (Figures 2 & 3) and successfully intersected long intervals of gold-bearing, porphyry-style quartz (-pyrite +/- chalcopyrite) stockwork mineralisation (Figure 5). However, host rock alteration assemblages are dominantly phyllic and suggest that these drill holes may be distal to the potassic-altered (and potentially better mineralised) core of the porphyry system. Increasing Au-Cu grades at the bottom of ERD-02, which was drilled from north to south, also suggest that the core of the porphyry system lies to the south of current drilling. The Main Porphyry Target was originally defined through a combination of surface hydrothermal alteration and a >1km long IP Chargeability anomaly which remains open to the south.

Drill hole ERD-02 returned a downhole average of 626.4m @ 0.18 g/t Au and terminated in the highest-grade interval to date (56.4m @ 0.33 g/t Au + 0.12% Cu from 570m downhole). Other better grade intercepts include (Table 1):

141m @ 0.23 g/t Au from 57m downhole.

56m @ 0.22 g/t Au from 274m downhole.

156.4m @ 0.25 g/t Au from 470m downhole, including 56.4m @ 0.33 g/t Au + 0.12% Cu from 570m downhole.

A 1m interval from 621m downhole in ERD-02 close to bottom of hole at 626.4m assayed 0.79 g/t Au + 0.15% Cu (Figure 5).

Drill hole ERD-01 returned the following mineralised intercepts:

66m @ 0.22 g/t Au from 43.8 m downhole.

88m @ 0.19 g/t Au from 117.8m downhole.

22m @ 0.25 g/t Au from 215.8m downhole.

For reference, Teck-Pilot Gold’s Halilaga Project has a reported Indicated Mineral Resource of 182.7Mt @ 0.30 g/t Au + 0.27% Cu and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 178.7Mt @ 0.24 g/t Au + 0.23% Cu.

Hole ERD-03 was drilled on the far north-western margin of the Main Porphyry Target and intersected dominantly argillic / phyllic altered andesite porphyry (with quartz – pyrite stockworks) and localized blocks of recrystallized carbonate-rich rocks (probably sourced from basement rock sequences). Assays are pending.

Next planned drill holes (ERD-04 and ERD-05) will target the high grade, vein / fault-hosted epithermal gold-silver system. Previous surface rock chip sampling from this sector returned gold values up to 16 g/t.

Permitting of new drill holes over the central portion of the Main Porphyry Target is currently being undertaken, with drilling expected to commence as soon as the permits are granted.
Link to figures: http://media.wix.com/ugd/24ee23_7c4901e219b143aba053bc3767df0034.pdf

Chief Executive Officer Glen Parsons today commented: “The first two holes of the initial scout drilling program at our 100% Ergama Project in Western Turkey are encouraging and indicate the presence of a mineralised gold-copper porphyry system.

“The positive results from holes 1 and, particularly, 2 show strong stockworking on the margin in the phyllic zone with grades increasing at depth to the south and potentially closer to the main potassic zone. This main zone appears to be further south and close to the centre of the 1km2 chargeability anomaly as shown in Figure 2. Drill permitting is currently in process to allow testing of this main zone to the south as can be seen in Figure 3.

“What is encouraging are the initial grades from our first two holes on the margin of the system are similar to reported resource grades for other projects in the area and we still have yet to test the main zone.

“I look forward to updating the market with assays pending for hole 3 and the high grade gold silver vein targets currently being drilled, as well as further updates from Hot Maden and our portfolio in general.”

General Discussion
The drilling completed to date at Ergama appears to confirm our conceptual model of a porphyry-style gold-copper system underlying, and slightly offset from, an essentially barren quartz-alunite(+/-clay) “lithocap”. Drill holes ERD-01 and ERD-02 are the first holes to test this model and, whilst initial results have been positive, both the observed hydrothermal alteration assemblages and general increase in Au-Cu grades towards the south are suggesting that the key potassic zone (and likely the most metal-rich part of the system) is located to the south of current drilling. Permitting of drill holes in this area is currently in progress, with drilling expected to be undertaken as soon as the permits are granted.

Previous drilling at the Ergama project by Newmont in 2004 was restricted to a short (1,140m in 8 holes) Reverse Circulation (RC) drill program. This RC program focused on the low temperature chalcedonic silica “caps” found on topographic highs within the northern part of the Ergama project, and only returned low level gold values (note that these “caps” form part of the barren “lithocap”). Newmont’s only “deep” drill hole (244m total depth) was drilled in unmineralised volcanic rocks lying between our Main Porphyry Target and Porphyry Target B, leaving Mariana’s 2017 drill program to be the first to test the porphyry gold-copper concept.

Quality Control and Assurance

Mineralised intervals presented in Table 1 are drill intersection widths and may not represent true widths of mineralisation. Drill core obtained from the diamond drill program is dominantly HQ-sized core with the remainder being PQ-sized core. All drill core was photographed and quick logged prior to sampling. Standard sampling protocol involved the halving of all drill core and sampling over generally 2 m intervals, with one half of the core being placed in a sealed sample bag and dispatched to the analytical laboratory for analysis and the other half remaining on site in core trays. Samples were analysed at ALS Laboratories’ facility in Izmir, western Turkey. All samples have been analysed for gold using a 30g Fire Assay with AAS finish, in addition to a 35 element ICP-AES analysis of an aqua regia digest. Samples in which ICP analyses returned greater than the maximum detection limit for the elements Ag (10 ppm), Cu (10,000 ppm), Fe (15%), Pb (10,000 ppm), and Zn (10,000 ppm) are reanalysed using the AAS analytical technique, Standards and blanks were inserted in to the analytical sequence on the basis of one standard or blank for every 20 samples and one duplicate sample approximately every 50 samples.

Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE)
No HSE incidents have been reported during the current diamond drill program.

Ergama Project drill holes – technical data