51% of Slivova Gold Project Acquired

Ariana Resources plc ("Ariana" or "the Company"), the AIM-listed mineral exploration and development company with gold project interests in Africa and Europe, is pleased to announce that Western Tethyan Resources ("WTR"), has formally acquired 51% of the Slivova Gold Project ("Slivova" or "the Project") in Kosovo. WTR is 76% owned by the Company.

Highlights:

• 51% of the Project has been formally acquired by WTR.
• Completion of a 3-hole diamond drilling programme targeting the extension of the Slivova deposit and the Dzemajl satellite mineralisation target zone.
• Plans for the coming months include continued environmental sampling, drill plan preparations and start-up of feasibility study work.
• Kerim Sener, Managing Director, commented:

"This is a great outcome for Western Tethyan and our longer-term development plans in Kosovo. We look forward to progressing the next stages of the project development at Slivova. The project represents the most advanced gold project in Kosovo, and it is ready to be moved towards a pre-feasibility level of study. Our 2023 Preliminary Economic Assessment demonstrated positive economics based on an assumed gold price of US$1,835 per ounce. With the current trajectory of the gold price, this is a project that has the capacity to be advanced quickly through to feasibility and financing. We are exploring various avenues to achieve this outcome."

Mentor Demi, Managing Director of Western Tethyan Resources, added,

"We are pleased to announce that we have officially acquired a 51% stake in the Slivova Gold project and are on track to increase our interest to 75%. When we entered into the Earn-In Agreement for this project in 2022, we recognised its significant growth potential and strong likelihood of becoming a viable mine. Our Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) study has highlighted the project's substantial potential, and the recent drilling programme has confirmed the geological expansion. While assay results from this drilling are still pending, the WTR team continues to advance the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) work, as well as mineral exploration within the Slivova license and nearby WTR application licenses, where notable geological and geochemical anomalies have been observed."

Current Activity and Earn-in Status

WTR has recently completed a 3-hole, 786.4-meter drilling programme to test for further down-plunge extensions of gold-silver mineralisation in the main gossan zone at Slivova and at the Dzemajl satellite target, located about 800 meters southwest of the main zone. Results are pending.

On completion of the drilling programme, WTR had met the Phase 1 of the earn-in requirements by fully spending the required 800,000 Euros to hold 51% of the Project, under the Option Agreement, dated 7 September, 2022. WTR has now formalised its earn-in to 51% through its shareholding in the project holding company, AVU Kosova LLC ("AVUK") from Avrupa Minerals (TSX-V: AVU).

WTR may now increase its holding to 85% in AVUK in two further phases over the next three years by making additional exploration expenditures totalling 1 million Euros, completing an Environmental Impact Study ("EIS") and a Feasibility Study ("FS") for the Project, and by making the required mining license application to the Kosovo mining authorities.

The next two phases include:

• WTR will commence further investment during 2025 in Phase 2 towards a JORC-compliant resource estimate and commencement of a full Environmental Impact Study ("EIS") to reach 75%.
• WTR must complete the EIS, FS, and Mining License application in the fourth and fifth years from the effective date (2026-2027) in Phase 3 to reach 85%.
• Phase 4 of the Option Agreement includes certain milestone and success payments to a previous joint venture partner, Byrnecut International Ltd.
• During Phase 5, Avrupa participates in mine construction or dilutes to a 1% NSR.

Plans for the coming quarter include continued baseline environmental sampling, commencement of the full EIS, and preparation of a plan for further drilling in the main zone resource area to include geotechnical and hydrology study holes, as well as follow-up resource drilling to the recently completed work. A further drilling programme is currently expected to begin in the second half of this year.

Slivova Project Summary

The Slivova Gold-Silver Project ("the Project") is located some 30 km southeast of Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. The Project is owned by AVU Kosova LLC, which was granted a seven-year exploration licence for the Project in 2022. The Slivova Project, contains a global NI43-101 Mineral Resource of 176,000oz of gold and 646,000oz of silver, largely in Measured and Indicated categories. There are four main exploration targets within the Slivova licence: Peshter, Dzemail, Valjeviste, and Brus. The Peshter prospect is further subdivided into three portions: the Main Gossan, Gossan Extension, and the Sandstone Gossan. The Peshter prospect is the main subject of a PEA which was announced on 7 September, 2022.

Within the Slivova licence, two units are identified: the calcareous unit and the non-calcareous greywacke unit. These are moderately to steeply dipping, northwest striking, and beyond the mineralised prospects, tend to be unaltered and weakly to moderately oxidised. Two types of intrusive dykes and sills are identified in the mapping and drilling: hornblende-biotite porphyry dykes and stock and a feldspar porphyry dyke. Economic mineralisation in the Main Gossan and Gossan Extension is concentrated in a calcareous pebble conglomerate and calcareous sandstones. Mineralisation at Slivova is classified as a distal, intrusive-related, stratiform, massive to disseminated gold-silver-lead-zinc deposit. The principal minerals of economic interest are gold with minor amounts of galena, sphalerite, chalcopyrite and silver.