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OTTAWA,
ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 29, 2009) - Orezone Gold Corporation
(TSX:ORE) is pleased to announce assay results for the remaining
thirteen holes of a twenty hole, 4,500m diamond drilling program on its
wholly owned Bombore gold project in Burkina Faso, West Africa. The
program has confirmed the continuation of the gold mineralization below
the surface oxide resources (average 40m depth) to a depth of 175m. Although
the program has only tested 200m of a 10km resource model, the average
grade of the mineralization is slightly better than expected as
compared to the projected resource model at depth. The mineralization
remains open at depth and will be tested along strike in due course
after completion of ongoing metallurgical studies. The Bombore Project
contains 0.93 Million ounces of Indicated resources and 1.78 Million
ounces of Inferred resources with grades averaging approximately 0.5
g/t in the surface oxide zone and closer to one gram of gold per tonne
in the fresh rock below.
The program is being carried out in an area where the pit shell used to
calculate resources is approximately 1km wide, centered on a core of
mineralization roughly 300m wide. Holes have been spaced every 90m
along two section lines that are 200m apart. The results from the last
thirteen holes further confirmed that the fresh rock mineralization at
depth (above 0.5g/t) occurs only below the core or centre of the oxide
resources and grades become marginal on either periphery. This is
offset by the fact that the weighted grade of the samples from the
Fresh zone above a lower cut-off of 0.5 g/t is 1.10 g/t, about 24%
better than predicted by the model. Table 2 shows results from the
Fresh zone from the entire program. Although the oxide mineralization
was more restricted than the model, the average grade of the
oxide/transition material was better than expected at 0.58 g/t vs 0.52
g/t (using a 0.25 g/t cutoff).
Table 1 Mineralized intervals above 0.25 g/t from the Oxide and Transition zones AREA SECTION HOLE FROM TO LENGTH AUPPM COMMENTS East 1650 BBD077 17.00 20.00 3.00 1.174 East 1650 BBD077 44.00 54.00 10.00 0.330 East 1650 BBD077 57.00 66.00 9.00 0.479 East 1650 BBD078 8.50 22.00 13.50 0.334 New results East 1650 BBD078 46.00 50.00 4.00 1.136 New results East 1650 BBD078 61.00 64.00 3.00 0.603 New results East 1650 BBD078 70.00 75.00 5.00 0.515 New results East 1650 BBD078 80.00 88.00 8.00 0.476 New results East 1650 BBD078 91.50 98.00 6.50 0.569 New results East 1650 BBD079 NS(1) New results -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Central 1650 BBD080 48.00 51.00 3.00 3.931 New results Central 1650 BBD080 62.00 68.00 6.00 0.471 New results Central 1650 BBD081 22.00 25.00 3.00 0.512 New results Central 1650 BBD081 38.00 41.00 3.00 0.400 New results Central 1650 BBD081 47.00 50.00 3.00 0.316 New results Central 1650 BBD082 24.00 38.00 14.00 0.382 New results -------------------------------------------------------------------------- West 1650 BBD083 9.00 22.00 13.00 0.646 New results West 1650 BBD083 29.00 42.00 13.00 0.556 New results West 1650 BBD084 0.00 4.00 4.00 0.424 New results West 1650 BBD085 7.00 40.00 33.00 0.503 New results West 1650 BBD085 43.00 52.00 9.00 0.453 New results West 1650 BBD085 58.00 66.00 8.00 0.317 New results West 1650 BBD086 0.00 33.00 33.00 0.516 New results -------------------------------------------------------------------------- West 1850 BBD087 0.00 23.00 23.00 0.424 New results West 1850 BBD087 48.00 66.00 18.00 0.676 New results West 1850 BBD087 72.00 79.00 7.00 0.323 New results West 1850 BBD088 26.00 29.00 3.00 0.464 New results West 1850 BBD088 39.00 42.00 3.00 0.474 New results West 1850 BBD089 2.00 13.00 11.00 0.342 New results West 1850 BBD089 20.00 26.00 6.00 0.445 New results West 1850 BBD089 38.00 42.00 4.00 0.830 New results West 1850 BBD089 50.00 56.00 6.00 0.335 New results -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Central 1850 BBD090 NS New results Central 1850 BBD068 3.00 24.00 21.00 0.471 Central 1850 BBD068 33.00 43.00 10.00 0.422 Central 1850 BBD069 0.00 3.00 3.00 1.048 Central 1850 BBD069 9.00 15.00 6.00 0.675 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- East 1850 BBD070 59.00 62.00 3.00 0.710 East 1850 BBD071 0.00 3.00 3.00 0.306 East 1850 BBD071 36.00 39.00 3.00 0.340 East 1850 BBD071 69.00 75.00 6.00 1.248 East 1850 BBD072 3.00 23.50 20.50 1.846 East 1850 BBD072 78.00 82.00 4.00 0.407 East 1850 BBD072 85.00 95.00 10.00 0.806 East 1850 BBD073 15.00 24.00 9.00 0.357 East 1850 BBD073 72.00 80.00 8.00 0.408 Weighted grade, OX+TR Zone, intervals above lower cut-off of 0.25 g/t 0.583 (1) No significant result Table 2 Mineralized intervals above 0.5 g/t from the Fresh zone AREA SECTION HOLE FROM TO LENGTH AUPPM COMMENTS East 1650 BBD077 208.00 217.00 9.00 2.022 East 1650 BBD078 NS New results East 1650 BBD079 NS New results -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Central 1650 BBD080 84.00 87.40 3.40 0.699 New results Central 1650 BBD080 124.00 130.00 6.00 1.180 New results Central 1650 BBD080 154.00 167.00 12.00 1.393 New results Central 1650 BBD080 197.00 214.00 17.00 1.134 New results Central 1650 BBD081 55.00 60.00 5.00 0.600 New results Central 1650 BBD081 68.00 77.00 9.00 0.714 New results Central 1650 BBD081 88.00 105.00 17.00 1.801 New results Central 1650 BBD081 109.00 113.00 4.00 2.717 New results Central 1650 BBD081 139.00 147.00 8.00 0.752 New results Central 1650 BBD081 150.00 153.00 3.00 3.100 New results Central 1650 BBD081 190.00 194.00 4.00 0.735 New results Central 1650 BBD082 71.00 74.00 3.00 0.420 New results Central 1650 BBD082 107.00 114.00 7.00 0.621 New results Central 1650 BBD082 126.00 133.00 7.00 0.471 New results Central 1650 BBD082 138.00 144.00 6.00 0.908 New results Central 1650 BBD082 213.00 217.00 4.00 0.463 New results -------------------------------------------------------------------------- West 1650 BBD083 35.00 40.00 5.00 0.859 New results West 1650 BBD083 112.00 115.00 3.00 0.857 New results West 1650 BBD083 182.00 186.00 4.00 0.712 New results West 1650 BBD084 96.00 103.00 7.00 0.789 New results West 1650 BBD085 101.00 104.00 3.00 0.437 New results West 1650 BBD085 107.00 111.00 4.00 0.673 New results West 1650 BBD085 144.00 147.00 3.00 0.473 New results West 1650 BBD086 211.00 215.00 4.00 0.322 New results -------------------------------------------------------------------------- West 1850 BBD087 NS New results West 1850 BBD088 69.00 72.00 3.00 0.957 New results West 1850 BBD088 93.00 97.00 4.00 0.640 New results West 1850 BBD088 133.00 136.35 3.35 0.482 New results West 1850 BBD088 140.00 144.00 4.00 0.580 New results West 1850 BBD088 202.00 205.00 3.00 5.883 New results West 1850 BBD089 175.00 178.00 3.00 0.417 New results West 1850 BBD089 203.00 206.00 3.00 0.430 New results -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Central 1825 BBD090 76.00 82.00 6.00 0.515 New results Central 1850 BBD068 124.50 127.50 3.00 0.623 Central 1850 BBD068 146.50 175.50 29.00 1.229 Central 1850 BBD068 178.50 184.50 6.00 1.128 Central 1850 BBD068 203.50 206.50 3.00 0.693 Central 1850 BBD068 215.50 219.50 4.00 0.928 Central 1850 BBD069 93.30 104.30 11.00 1.010 Central 1850 BBD069 111.30 124.00 12.70 2.166 Central 1850 BBD069 132.00 136.00 4.00 1.423 Central 1850 BBD069 184.00 190.00 6.00 0.733 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- East 1850 BBD070 98.00 101.00 3.00 1.083 East 1850 BBD070 105.00 110.00 5.00 2.388 East 1850 BBD070 199.00 206.00 7.00 0.784 East 1850 BBD071 172.00 175.00 3.00 0.417 East 1850 BBD072 174.00 179.00 5.00 0.468 East 1850 BBD073 107.00 113.00 6.00 0.515 East 1850 BBD073 202.00 210.00 8.00 0.545 Weighted grade, FR Zone, intervals above lower cut-off of 0.5 g/t 1.10
"The
results are positive but this in only small sample of such a large
system", said Ron Little, President and CEO of Orezone. "The
results of the ongoing detailed metallurgical work are expected in Q4
and will assist in fully evaluating the economic potential of Bombore.
Our goal is to first focus on establishing the viability of the
extensive surface oxide resources followed by a more detailed
examination of the size and potential of the fresh rock resources at
depth" he added. Bombore has the potential to host a large, lower
grade open pit operation with very good infrastructure compared too
much of West Africa. It is located 80km east of the capital city of
Ouagadougou adjacent to a major national highway, near a large water
reservoir, and will have access to an international power grid in the
coming years.
Orezone is also pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. James Gill
to the Board of Directors. Dr. Gill is one of Canada's most successful
mining executives with almost 40 years of experience involving
exploration, feasibility studies, mine finance, development and
operations. He founded Aur Resources Inc. and served as President and
CEO for 26 years until its acquisition by TeckCominco Ltd in August
2007 for $4.1 billion. Dr. Gill is a graduate of McGill and Carleton
Universities and holds a Ph.D. in economic geology.
"We are very pleased to welcome Jim to the Board and believe his
wealth of experience in the mining industry will be invaluable to the
Company" said Ron Little, President and CEO of Orezone.
"Jim's entrepreneurial spirit is well suited to Orezone's
exploration growth and development strategies" he added. Dr.
Gill's appointment remains subject to approval by the Toronto Stock
Exchange.
Drilling on the Bombore property was supervised by Dr. Pascal Marquis,
Vice President of Exploration for Orezone, who is a Qualified Person
under National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the
technical information in this release. Orezone employs a rigorous
Quality Control Program (QCP) employing a minimum 10% standards, blanks
and duplicates. All core holes were entirely sampled and the half core
samples collected by Orezone are averaging a length of 1 m. The sample
preparation was performed by Abilab Burkina S.A.R.L., a subsidiary of
ALS Chemex. Assays were completed at BIGS Global Burkina S.A.R.L. for
oxide and transition material using the LeachWELL(TM) method and the
fresh rock material was analyzed by SGS Burkina S.A. using Fire Assay
method.
Orezone is a gold exploration and development company that owns
Bombore, one of the largest gold deposits in Burkina Faso, West Africa.
Orezone also has a pipeline of developing projects, all located in
politically stable areas of West Africa, one of the world's fastest
growing gold producing regions. Orezone's mission is to create wealth
by discovering and developing the earth's resources in an efficient and
responsible manner.
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 and forward-looking
information in this new release include statements with respect to the
scope and timing of the drilling project and metallurgical testing for
Bombore and the timing of the release of a resource update for the Sega
project.
Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions, opinions
and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and
are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in
the forward-looking statements. The assumptions include that contracted
parties provide goods and/or services on the agreed timeframes, that
equipment necessary for the drilling program is available as scheduled,
that no labour shortages or delays are incurred, that no material
adverse change occurs to Orezone. Factors that could cause the
forward-looking statements and forward-looking information to differ
materially in actuality include the failure of contracted parties to
perform as contracted and the failure of equipment. 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.
Readers are advised that National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian
Securities Administrators requires that each category of mineral
reserves and mineral resources be reported separately. Readers should
refer to the annual information form of Orezone for the year ended
December 31, 2008, and other continuous disclosure documents filed by
Orezone since January 1, 2009 available at www.sedar.com, for
this detailed information, which is subject to the qualifications and
notes set forth therein.
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