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Aurizon
Options Midland Exploration's Patris Gold
Property
Aurizon Mines Ltd. (TSX:ARZ;
NYSE Amex:AZK) ("Aurizon")
is pleased to announce the signing of an option agreement with Midland
Exploration Inc. ("Midland") (TSX-V: MD) on the Patris gold property, currently held 100% by Midland.
The property, which comprises 50 claims covering a surface area of 22
square kilometres, is located in La Pause and Clericy townships, 30 kilometres
northeast of Rouyn-Noranda, and 7 kilometres from Aurizon's
Joanna project, in the Abitibi region of Quebec.
Aurizon can acquire a 50% interest in the Patris gold property during a four-year earn-in
period under the following conditions:
- Cash
payments totalling $230,000, of which
$40,000 is payable upon signing the agreement;
- Exploration
expenditures totalling $3,000,000, of
which $600,000 is a firm commitment in the first year.
Midland will be the initial operator. Upon acquiring a 50% interest, Aurizon will be the operator and have the option to
acquire an additional 10% interest by delivering a pre-feasibility study
on the property within a four-year period during which it will make
annual cash payments of $80,000 and complete 40,000 metres
of drilling.
"We are pleased to enter into the option agreement with
Midland." said David Hall, Aurizon's Chief
Executive Officer. "The Patris property is
well situated in the heart of the Abitibi gold camp, in the same area
where Aurizon is actively exploring the Joanna
and Fayolle properties. This represents a
continuation of Aurizon's strategy to actively
explore an attractive portfolio of properties close to our production and
technical base."
Recent exploration work by Midland on the Patris
property consisted of line cutting followed by ground-based geophysical
surveys, comprising a magnetic survey and an IP survey totalling about 30 kilometres.
The latter geophysical method has the ability to detect even small
amounts of mineralization, often occurring as finely disseminated sulphides in country rocks, which may contain gold.
The newly defined targets mainly consist of weak chargeability highs
combined with higher resistivity values. This type of IP anomaly is
typical of strongly silicified zones and mineralized felsic
intrusive zones. These new anomalies are all located proximal to the La
Pause Fault (Destor-Porcupine South), in both ultramafic rocks of the Malartic
Group and sedimentary rocks of the Kewagama
Group.
The Patris property has a very strong potential
for gold discoveries similar to deposits in the Cadillac and Malartic gold mining camps, as it covers the faulted
and folded contact between sedimentary rocks of the Kewagama
Group and mafic to ultramafic
volcanic rocks of the Malartic Group over more
than 4 kilometres of strike length. Several new
folded structures were recently interpreted based on magnetic data, which
represent favourable sites for the injection of
porphyry intrusions and deposition of gold mineralization. Many gold
showings occur near this contact.
Additional
Information
The attached sketch shows the location of the Patris
property.
Information of a scientific or technical nature in this news release has
been reviewed by Martin Demers, P. Geo, Manager, Exploration, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument
43-101.
About Aurizon
Aurizon is a gold producer with a growth
strategy focused on developing its existing projects in the Abitibi
region of north-western Quebec, one of the world's most favourable mining jurisdictions and prolific gold and
base metal regions, and by increasing its asset base through accretive
transactions. Aurizon shares trade on the
Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "ARZ" and on the NYSE
Amex under the symbol "AZK". Additional information on Aurizon and its properties is available on Aurizon's website at www.aurizon.com.
For Further Information,
Contact
FORWARD
LOOKING STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION
This report contains "forward-looking statements" and
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable
securities regulations in Canada and the United States (collectively,
"forward-looking information"). The forward-looking information
contained in this report is made as of the date of this report. Except as
required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not
intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this
forward-looking information. Forward-looking information includes, but is
not limited to, statements with respect to and the effects thereof, the
entering into of a final agreement with Midland, the timing and amount of
estimated exploration expenditures, plans and budgets for and expected
timing and results of exploration activities, Forward-looking information
can be identified by the use of words such as "intends", or
statements that certain actions, events or results "would",
"will" be taken, occur or be achieved.
The forward-looking information contained in this report is based on
certain assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, that the
current price of and demand for gold will be sustained or will improve.
However, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different
from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied
by the forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others,
the risk that actual results of exploration activities will be different
than anticipated, that cost of labour,
equipment or materials will increase more than expected, that the future
price of gold will decline, that the Canadian dollar will strengthen
against the U.S. dollar, that mineral resources are not as estimated,
that actual costs or actual results of reclamation activities are greater
than expected; that changes in project parameters as plans continue to be
refined may result in increased costs, of accidents, labour
disputes and other risks generally associated with exploration,
unanticipated delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or
in the completion of exploration activities, as well as those factors and
other risks more fully described in Aurizon's
Annual Information Form filed with the securities commission of all of
the provinces and territories of Canada and in Aurizon's
Annual Report on Form 40-F filed with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission, which are available on Sedar
at www.sedar.com and
on Edgar at www.sec.gov/.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that
could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from
those described in forward-looking information, there may be other
factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated,
estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking
information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof.
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