"The second quarter results from the Kiziltepe mine continue to reflect positively on the performance of our flagship operation," said Ariana Resources managing director Kerim Sener.

Ariana produced 13,734oz from Kiziltepe in the first half of 2019 at a cash operating cost of $589/oz (the company did not report an all in sustaining cost per oz). Ore milled during Q2 was 48,132 tonnes at an average head grade of 4.18g/t.

The average realised gold price was $1,307/ounce.

The company's reported cash operating cost included an annual state right royalty payment to the Turkish government paid during the quarter.

Ariana said its mill was running at 95.8% utilisation for the period, and process recoveries averaged 95.2%.

The company has repaid 69% of the $33 million capital loan for Kiziltepe and expects to complete repayments by April 2020.

"We remain encouraged by the rallying gold price, which today sits at US$1,542 per ounce," said Sener. "During the July and August period the gold price is up about 10% and this increase will be reflected in our Q3 results."

Earlier this year, Ariana received favourable drilling results at its 100%-owned Kizilcukur project, which confirmed the potential to establish a satellite source of high-grade ore for the Kiziltepe processing plant.

Ariana shares were trading at 2.1p on Wednesday, up from 1.5p at the start of 2019. The company's shares usually trade between 1.5 and 2.5p. Ariana's market capitalisation is £22.3 million.