Mariana Resources Provides Ongoing Diamond Drill Program Update on Hot Maden Gold-Copper Project

Mariana Resources Limited ('Mariana' or 'the Company'), the TSX.V and AIM (MARL) listed exploration and development company with projects in Turkey, South America, and Côte d'Ivoire, is pleased to provide the following update on the ongoing diamond drill program at the high grade Hot Maden gold-copper project in north east Turkey.

Results are reported for a total of 19 new drill holes (HTD-88 to HTD-106), all of which were completed around the Main Zone resource area and the "Ridge Area" (the transitional zone between the Main Zone and new Southern Deposit; Figures 1 & 2). Two of the reported drill holes (HTD-90 and HTD-106) form part of the 25m x 25m infill drill program underway in the Main Zone resource area, with the remainder being step-out holes designed to extend known high grade gold-copper mineralisation.    

Highlights:

• Two drill rigs currently remain active at Hot Maden, with a third rig having arrived on site.
• High grade gold-copper (Au-Cu) mineralisation continues to be intersected in both infill and step-out drilling on Main Zone sections 4,542,175N and 4,542,225N. Best results include:

Main Zone - Section 4,542,225N
HTD-90:                79.0m @ 8.1 g/t Au + 1.90% Cu from 248m downhole.
(Infill)                    Including 34m @ 15.2 g/t Au + 1.60% Cu from 256m downhole.
(approximate true width of Au-Cu zone is 55m)

HTD-88:                74m @ 3.0 g/t Au + 1.57% Cu from 326m downhole.
(Step back           Including 28m @ 6.3 g/t Au + 1.88% Cu from 326m downhole.
to HTD-75)          and 29m @ 0.3 g/t Au + 1.31% Cu from 422m downhole.
(approximate true width of total Au-Cu zone is 60m)

Main Zone - Section 4,542,175N
HTD-106:             116.5m @ 6.7 g/t Au + 1.70% Cu from 244.5m downhole.
(Infill)                    Including 16m @ 35.7 g/t Au + 2.90% Cu from 249m downhole.
                                (approximate true width of Au-Cu zone is 70m)

HTD-101:             33m @ 4.1 g/t Au + 1.24% Cu from 393m downhole.
(Step back           Including 9m @ 13.3 g/t Au + 1.8% Cu from 410m downhole.
to HTD-78)          (approximate true width of Au-Cu zone is 25m)

• Discovery drilling under the "Ridge Area" (the transitional zone between the Main Zone resource area and the new Southern Deposit) continues to return excellent results, with drill holes HTD-92 and HTD-100 both intersecting significant intervals of high grade gold(-copper) mineralisation. Host rocks to the Au-Cu mineralization in the Ridge Area are dominantly dacitic breccias with minor andesites / andesitic volcaniclastics.  Key results include:

HTD-92:                29.0m @ 6.8 g/t Au + 0.49% Cu from 151m downhole.
(Step forward to HTD-80)  (approximate true width of Au-Cu zone is 24m)

HTD-100:             32.8m @ 15.5 g/t Au + 1.07% Cu from 311.8m downhole.
(Step back           Including 2m @ 85.3 g/t Au + 0.54% Cu from 321m downhole.
to HTD-33)          (approximate true width of Au-Cu zone is 26m)

• High grade Au-Cu assays associated with vein / breccia zones continue to be returned from other scout holes in the "Ridge Area".  Highlights include HTD-93 (2m @ 41.8 g/t Au + 2.47% Cu from 329m downhole; 1m @ 21.7 g/t Au + 0.57% Cu from 339m downhole; and 1m @ 19.2 g/t Au + 3.20% Cu from 350m downhole) and HTD-102 (2m @ 49.9 g/t Au + 0.14% Cu from 260m downhole).
• Including the Ridge Area discovery, multi-phase gold-copper mineralisation has now been drilled over a strike length of 700m at Hot Maden.
• No drilling has yet been undertaken in the southernmost "Russian Mine Zone", which is located about 1.5 km south of the Main Zone Resource and where high grade copper-gold mineralisation was extracted prior to 1923 by Russian mining interests. Initial drilling of this prospective zone is now expected to be undertaken during Q2, 2017 with the 3^rdrig having arrived on site.
• The Company's cash position as at 1 March 2017 was -US$4.75M

Links to Figures: http://media.wix.com/ugd/24ee23_652e9ab3db884dcdb6a0a2767aa6be75.pdf

Chief Executive Officer, Glen Parsons, today commented:

"The focus for Mariana and the Joint Venture over the last two months has been to develop greater confidence in the resource area at Hot Maden for the purposes of completing the Preliminary Feasibility Study ( "PFS").

"Both infill and step-out drilling has occurred around the Main Zone resource area, as may be observed in the drill plan in Figure 2.  Results continue to impress and increase our confidence in the high grade mineralisation and continuity thereof.  Furthermore, drilling for extensions towards the New Southern Discovery zone has yielded particularly encouraging results with nice intercepts of high grade Au-Cu complementing the existing mineral resource.  If one compares the mineralisation footprint on the drill plan to that of late last year we can see the growth and continuity that has been achieved in drill holes HTD 63 to 106, with a mineralised strike length of now 700m, and which we are confident will translate into an increased mineral resource for this developing new zone."

"Drilling is continuing with one rig around the Main Zone for the completion of PFS-related studies. Meanwhile, the second drill rig is focused on the New Southern Zone extensions and the  third rig which has now arrived will be deployed over various targets, including the undrilled Russian Mine Zone."

"Mariana has the ability to comfortably fund its operations well into the first half of 2018 with its existing cash reserves of US$4.75M; and expected exercise of "in the money" warrants which would deliver US$1.3M next month ; and further expected exercise of its remaining warrants which would provide an additional ~US$5.0M over the balance of 2017 and early into 2018."

"Mariana continues to be well positioned to take advantage of exploration successes in its portfolio and we look forward to updating the market accordingly."

Hot Maden Gold-Copper Project Update

Approximately 34,000 m of diamond drilling have now been completed by the Mariana-Lidya JV at Hot Maden since November, 2014 (Figures 1 and 2).  Recent drilling activities have dominantly focused on: -

• Main Zone: Two infill drill holes were completed on sections 4,542,175N and 4,542,225N, with step-out drilling also being completed around the margins of the current Main Zone resource area. Selected holes utilised for geotechnical studies and metallurgical testwork.   
• Deeper step-out drilling continued in the "Ridge Area", which lies in the transitional zone between the Main Zone and new Southern Deposit.

No significant work has yet been undertaken in the area of the former Russian mines (Figure 1).

Main Zone Resource Area

The planned 25m infill drill program in the Main Zone resource area advanced with a further two holes (HTD-90 and HTD-106) being completed on sections 4,542,225N and 4,542,175N, respectively. To date, this program has been highly successful in confirming the internal continuity of the high-grade gold-copper mineralisation within the Main Zone. In addition, step-out drilling was also advanced along the margins of the Main Zone resource area.  

On cross-section 4,542,225N (Figures 3a and 3b), infill drill hole HTD-90 returned 79m @ 8.1 g/t Au + 1.90% Cu from 248m downhole in a multiphase, chalcopyrite-pyrite-hematite-jasper-bearing breccia. A further two step-back holes on this same section (including HTD-88: 74m @ 3 g/t Au + 1.57% Cu from 326m downhole and 29m @ 0.3 g/t Au + 1.31% Cu) succeeded in extending the down dip extension of the Au-Cu mineralised zone.  However, Au-Cu grades decrease significantly at a vertical depth of 350m from surface (500m RL) as late-stage anhydrite floods the mineralised multiphase breccia.  The source of this late-stage anhydrite is currently not clear; deeper drilling will be required to establish what happens to the mineralized breccia below the 500m RL level.

Infill drill hole HTD-106 (cross-section 4,542,175N) successfully intersected 116.5m @ 6.7 g/t Au + 1.70% Cu from 244.5m downhole, and confirmed the continuity of high grade Au-Cu mineralisation within the core of the Main Zone resource.  This drill hole also intersected the "Ultra High Grade" mineral domain (16m @ 35.7 g/t Au + 2.90% Cu from 249m downhole) that typically lies on the eastern margin of the multiphase breccia system.  

New drilling on cross-section 4,542,125N (Figure 4) included holes HTD-89 and HTD-91. Drill hole HTD-89 (37.6m @ 1.9 g/t Au + 1.34% Cu from 304.4m downhole and 32m @ 1.2 g/t Au + 1.67% Cu from 349m downhole) is the step-back hole to HTD-82 and has confirmed a down-dip extension to the main Au-Cu mineralised zone. However, as is the case in adjacent sections, the tenor of the Au-Cu mineralisation is diminished due to the presence of late-stage anhydrite at these depths. Hole HTD-91 appears to lie close to a (fault?) contact which juxtaposes well-mineralised andesites and andesitic breccias to the E with poorly-mineralised dacites to the west.     

"Ridge Area"

High grade Au-Cu mineralisation continues to be intersected in scout drilling in the Ridge Area. Best results include HTD-92 (29.0m @ 6.8 g/t Au + 0.49% Cu from 151m downhole; Section 5,452,200N - Figure 5) and HTD-100 (32.8m @ 15.5 g/t Au + 1.07% Cu from 311.8m downhole; Section 4,542,75N). In addition, high grade vein / breccia zones were also intersected in HTD-93 (e.g. 2m @ 41.8 g/t Au + 2.47% Cu) and HTD-102 (2m @ 49.9 g/t Au + 0.14% Cu).

Gold-copper mineralization in the "Ridge Area" is mostly hosted by dacites, with the mineralisation tending to occur in discreet, sub-parallel and sub-vertical vein / breccia zones. These features may suggest that these dacitic units acted as more rigid blocks in the deformation history of the Hot Maden Fault Zone (as compared to the andesite hosted Main Zone to the North); further structural interpretation will be required in order to connect the main mineralized trends.   

Table 1: Summary of assays for drill holes HTD-88 to HTD-106 (see also Figures 1 to 5 for drill hole locations and key cross sections).

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 was 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 1 m intervals (in clearly mineralised sections) or 2 m intervals (elsewhere), with one half of the core being placed in a sealed sample bag and dispatched to the analytical laboratory for analysis. Samples have been analysed at ALS Laboratories' facility in Izmir, western Turkey. All samples have been analysed for gold using a 30g Fire Assay with AAS finish (or Screen Fire Assay for higher grade samples), in addition to a 32 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) were reanalysed using the AAS analytical technique, Standards and blanks were inserted in to the analytical sequence on the basis of one standard for every 20 samples, 2 blanks in every batch, and one duplicate every 40 samples.