Cyprus mining company sets sights on IPO — poised to exploit copper demand

Ariana Resources plc, a mineral exploration and development company listed on AIM, a market for small and medium-size growth companies on the London Stock Exchange, has announced a significant update regarding its Cypriot subsidiary Venus Minerals.

With gold mining interests across Europe, Ariana holds a 58 per cent shareholding in Venus, and the latter is now actively pursuing its plans to seek admission to AIM.

According to an announcement on the London Stock Exhange, Venus aims to raise up to £3 million from new investors, a move that will result in Ariana retaining approximately 35 per cent ownership in the company.

The IPO process is set to take place during the third quarter of 2023, with marketing efforts commencing shortly.

Arianna Resources Managing Director Kerim Sener said that the company is “very pleased to report the latest progress on Venus”, noting that “with the support of its brokers and other advisers, Venus is currently expecting to advance toward listing on AIM during the third quarter of 2023”.

Sener explained that with a very strong pipeline of copper-gold exploration and development projects in Cyprus and a cutting-edge exploration model, Venus is strategically placed to capitalise on the global deficit currently predicted in the years ahead for the copper market.

“Cyprus is a well-established and low-risk mining jurisdiction in Europe, so now it is imperative for Europe to develop its own copper resources to support the global decarbonisation agenda,” Sener stated.

“We expect Venus to help advance and develop a series of high-quality copper projects to satisfy this demand,” he added.

The managing director continued by saying that Ariana “looks forward to reporting further progress from Venus in due course”.

Meanwhile, Peter van der Borgh, Managing Director of Venus Minerals said that the company’s project portfolio is the “culmination of years of geological fieldwork and research, which has resulted in a proprietary, island-wide database of historical exploration, and innovative exploration models for target selection”.

“Ariana’s involvement over the past few years has enabled us to define JORC 2012 Resources, expand our portfolio to include several exciting new projects, and position ourselves for the IPO,” he added.

The impending IPO presents Venus with exciting opportunities for growth and expansion, as the raised capital will enable the company to conduct an extensive exploration programme on its portfolio of 100 per cent-owned copper and gold assets in Cyprus.

The developments surrounding Venus Minerals mark a significant step forward in Ariana Resources’ strategic initiatives and reinforce its commitment to the mineral exploration and development sector.

The LSE announcement also noted that Venus is being advised by Beaumont Cornish (nomad), Tavira Securities Limited (broker), Fieldfisher (legal), Coffey Group (technical advisor and competent person), Moore Kingston Smith LLP (auditor), and other parties.

Finally, the announcement clarified that Venus has undertaken further fieldwork and is refining targets at several of its exploration projects in Cyprus in order to carry out drilling once it has completed its planned IPO.