OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - May 16, 2011) - Orezone Gold Corporation (News - Market indicators) is pleased to announce another extensive uranium discovery in Niger, West Africa by its subsidiary, Brighton Energy Limited ("Brighton"). Brighton completed a 39-hole, 9,446 m reconnaissance drilling program on its 491 km² Assaouas 1 exploration permit that is located 60 km to the southwest of the city of Agadez.

The drilling program targeted a 40 km² area north of the Arli Fault on a 1.6 km by 1.6 km pattern drilled to an average depth of 278 m (see drilling location map at http://www.orezone.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/assaouas1_may_20111.jpg). Twenty out of twenty four vertical holes intersected anomalous uranium mineralization above a lower cut-off of eU₃O₈ = 100 ppm (0.01%), including fourteen holes that intersected more than 200 ppm of eU₃O₈. The best results are spatially associated with the north-northeast oriented In Assaouas lineament located to the west of the Assaouas dome, and with the east-northeast oriented Arli Fault to the south. The best hole was AM10056, in the immediate vicinity of the In Assaouas lineament, where a cumulative thickness of 9.4 m at a eU₃O₈ grade of 362 ppm was intersected between 196 and 255m, including a cumulative 5.1 m at a eU₃O₈ grade of 534 ppm. The hole is centered on the Assaouas dome, an antiformal structure located between the In Assaouas and the Arlit-in-Azaoua lineaments and traversed by the Arli Fault on the Assaouas 1 permit. The other fifteen holes targeted the area south of the Arli Fault and confirmed that this structural domain is not prospective. 

Table 1 Summary statistics, intervals above a eU₃O₈ cut-off of 200 ppm (0.02%)

"The Assaouas discovery further confirms the potential of Brighton's well-located 4,000 km² land package to host significant and extensive uranium mineralization," said Ron Little CEO for Brighton and Orezone. "We've now completed approximately 70% of the initial $3 million exploration program, and 46 of 69 drill holes have intersected anomalous concentrations of uranium mineralization. Given the prolific nature of this region of Niger, and the impressive results of our early-stage drilling, Orezone and Brighton stakeholders are well-positioned to benefit from this exploration program."

Brighton is targeting roll front style uranium deposits in this area of Niger, which hosts Areva's Somaïr (14,000 t U₃O₈ @ 0.3%), Cominak (29,000t U₃O₈ @0.4%) and Imouraren (120,000t U₃O₈ @ 0.15%) deposits.

Brighton resumed reconnaissance drilling this month at the Zéline 1 permit to further extend the definition of the new discovery announced in February, and will return to Assaouas for additional definition drilling afterwards. Brighton is well funded to complete its $3 million exploration program and plans to expand and test the limits of the mineralization of both these discoveries, and complete an airborne geophysical survey. Please visit Orezone's website for further information including maps and sections until Brighton launches its own website at www.brightonenergy.ca.

Cuttings were collected for each 1-m interval of the mud rotary boreholes and a detailed geological log and interpretation was established by ULC Afrique de l'Ouest. ULC also performed the down-hole logging of the radioactivity, resistivity and hole diameter using a GeoVista logging unit at a sampling rate of one reading per ten centimeters. This program was executed under the supervision of Dr. Pascal Marquis, V.P. Exploration for Orezone, who is a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 and approved the technical information in this release.

Brighton is owned 67% by Orezone with the remaining interest owned by private and institutional investors. Orezone is a gold exploration and development company with significant gold resources in Burkina Faso and more than 15 years of operating experience in West Africa, one of the world's fastest growing gold producing regions. Orezone is focused on developing Bomboré, the second largest gold deposit in the country, and its pipeline of advanced gold projects. Orezone's mission is to create wealth by discovering and developing gold resources in an efficient and responsible manner for the benefit of its shareholders and other stakeholders.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION: This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are frequently characterized by words such as "plan," "expect," "project," "intend," "believe," "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. 

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These factors include the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data, fluctuating metal prices, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future and other factors. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.