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(Sharecast News) - Ariana Resources opened its initial public offering in Australia as part of its planned ASX listing on Friday, aiming to raise between AUD 10m and AUD 15m.
The move came as the AIM-traded explorer also finalised commissioning of its Tavsan gold mine in Turkey, with first production expected in August.
Its ASX listing process followed a successful institutional bookbuild and regulatory approval of its prospectus by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission( ASIC).
The offer would be available to eligible investors via the OnMarket platform.
Proceeds from the listing would help fund the next phase of exploration at the company's wholly-owned Dokwe gold project in Zimbabwe.
Ariana said it intended to launch drilling once the listing completes, building on previous high-grade results including eight metres at 197.22 grams of gold per tonne, with a one-metre interval at 1,568 grams per tonne.
Meanwhile, Ariana confirmed that the Tavsan heap-leach processing plant had reached operational status and was awaiting final government approvals to begin gold production.
The company had already conducted cold and hot commissioning, and completed testing of the adsorption-desorption-recovery (ADR) system.
In the interim, high-grade ore from Tavsan was being processed at the Kiziltepe plant.
"We are excited to have launched our offer following the successful completion of the review of our prospectus by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission," said managing director Dr Kerim Sener.
"We are now advancing towards our planned ASX listing, which is seeking to raise between AUD 10m to AUD 15m.
"The timing of this offer, in parallel with the successful completion of construction at the Tavsan heap-leach pads and processing plant could not have been better, as we progress into the strongest gold price environment ever experienced."
At 1228 BST, shares in Ariana Resources were flat at 1.6p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
