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OTTAWA,
ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Oct. 14, 2009) - Orezone Gold Corporation
(TSX:ORE) is pleased to report positive metallurgical test results on
its 100% owned Bombore gold deposit located in Burkina Faso, West
Africa. All test results for the near surface oxide and transition
(mixed oxide/sulphide) resources are better than estimates previously
used for an in-house scoping study and will therefore enhance the
economics of the project.
Metallurgical Highlights
Bottle-roll Cyanidation on coarse material (passing 25mm) -- +82% gold recoveries for the oxide resource; -- +72% gold recoveries for the transition resource. Column Leach test -- +79% gold recoveries for the oxide resource and +76% recoveries for the transition resource after 26 days of leaching (test ongoing); -- Agglomeration: 3kg/t cement for the transition and 9kg/t cement for the oxide resource.
The potential to increase all categories of
the resources is high, however the Company's primary focus is on the
expansion of the oxide and transition resources. Significantly less
capital investment and time is required to develop a heap leach
operation at Bombore. The Company will carry out a $2M delineation
drill program to both increase and upgrade the oxide and transition
resources. This drill program will be completed by mid-2010. All metallurgical
testing, updated scoping study results, and a baseline study of the
project foot print will be completed by year-end. The Company is
continuing to study power costs for grinding and processing of the
sulphide resource using conventional milling techniques as they may
provide additional upside for the development of the project beyond a
heap leap leach operation.
The Bombore gold deposit hosts 0.93 Million ounces of Indicated
resources and 1.78 Million ounces of Inferred resources at an average
gold grade of approximately 0.5 g/t in the near surface oxide zone and
1.0 g/t in the underlying primary sulphide resource. Approximately half
of the inferred resource is oxide and transition material amenable to
heap leach processing.
The Bombore property has the potential to host a large, open pit gold
project with very good infrastructure in place compared to many
projects in West Africa as it is located just 80km east of the capital
city of Ouagadougou and adjacent to a major national highway, near a
large water reservoir, and accessible to an international power grid
expected to be constructed in the near future.
Dr. Pascal Marquis, Vice
President of Exploration for Orezone, supervised the metallurgical
sampling program. Alex Mitchell, Principal Metallurgist with GBM
Minerals Engineering Consultants Limited, designed and supervised the
test work program. The test work was performed by AMMTEC laboratory in
Perth, Australia. The samples sent to AMMTEC were selected to be
representative of the various grades and rock types for 85% of the
Bombore gold resources. Tests included head analyses, coarse bottle
leach and preliminary heap leach (including percolation and
agglomeration tests), column leach, extraction on milled samples
(including true SG determination, AMD testing, grind establishment,
gravity separation, flotation, and cyanidation of whole ore, gravity
tailings and flotation concentrate). Samples included six HQ half core
200kg composites of oxide (2), transition (2) and fresh zones (2); two
300 kg PQ whole core composites of transition and fresh zones only; and
one 60 kg PQ whole core composite oxide sample. Mr Mitchell and Dr.
Marquis are both Qualified Persons under National Instrument 43-101 and
approved the technical information in this release.
Orezone is a gold exploration and development company with more than 15
years experience in West Africa, one of the world's fastest growing
gold producing regions. Orezone delineated, developed, financed and
sold Burkina Faso's largest deposit (Essakane) to IAMGOLD for $350M and
continues to focus on developing the rest of its pipeline of advanced
projects including Bombore, one of the largest deposits in Burkina
Faso. 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 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, 2008 available at www.sedar.com, for
this detailed information, which is subject to the qualifications and
notes set forth therein.
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