Gold hopeful Ariana Resources, out to establish 250,000 oz and then one million oz in Turkey, has trimmed its £1.1 million AIM float price from 20p to 12p.

Chaired by experienced mining financier Michael Spriggs and run by chief executive officer Steven Poulton, Ariana has 61 licences over 1,000 sq km in Turkey, judged an under-explored and mining-friendly country, but is particularly interested in two projects in the west of the country, Kinik and Sindirgi.

Beaumont Cornish is nominated adviser and Ambrian broker to the company, which has set itself the target of establish a 250,000 oz resource (as measured under the industry JORC standard) at Sindirgi, acquired from American mining major Newmont, by next June.

Poulton stresses that Ariana's intention is to reach a position where it can fund future exploration out of the proceeds of its own production, with the longer-term goal of discovering and developing gold resources of one million oz. He predicts average cash costs (before finance and investment spending) of $200 an ounce, against today's $424 market gold price.

Despite their optimism, directors, who hope to list the shares on 26 July, have reduced the float placing price from 20p to 12p because of tougher market conditions. That still leaves a 50 per cent paper profit for the favoured few, including RAB Capital and Golden Prospect, who subscribed to December's £715,000 pre-float placing at 8p.