The company will be spending about $15.4 million this year to develop the upper and lower portions of Zone 113 and the Lower Inter Zone. An additional $2.6 million will be spent on infrastructure and equipment improvements. Surface drilling will focus on the extension of the South fault, east of Zone 123-S and in the area of the East Mine crown pillar. More than 45,000 meters of drilling both on surface and underground is planned.
       The program is part of a three-year program of surface and underground drilling and underground development along the seven kilometers between the East and West Mine areas. Definition drilling at the East Mine is intended to upgrade mineral resources from inferred to indicated and eventually convert to mineral reserves.
       Further exploration of the land surrounding the Casa Berardi Mine will be conducted by Lake Shore Gold Corp., which holds an option from Aurizon to earn a 50% interest by spending $5 million over the next five years. The 11,594-hectare exploration property covers a 30-kilometer section of the Casa Berardi Fault and lies outside of Aurizon’s existing mining leases and outside of the company’s 100% owned Casa Berardi Mine.
       Under the farm-out agreement, Aurizon can back in for a total 60% interest if a large deposit is discovered of at least 500,000 ounces of gold is established. Ore produced from the property would be processed at Aurizon’s Casa Berardi mill.
       “The Casa Berardi Project is a very large property extending for 37 kilometers along a highly prospective fault. Lake Shore has a very experienced team that will help accelerate exploration of the entire property,” says Hall.

       Mineral resources at Aurizon’s Joanna gold project are currently estimated at 11.3 million tonnes averaging 1.7 g/t gold (630,000 oz/Au indicated), and an additional 28.6 million tonnes inferred averaging 1.6 g/t gold (1.42 million oz/Au).
       Four drill rigs are on site with the goal of upgrading the existing mineral resource from inferred to indicated, testing the extension of the mineralized corridor, and testing the high grade potential along the eastern block dip extension. A deep exploration program to 700 meters below surface is testing the potential for higher grade zones.
       Ten of 22 holes completed along the project’s western extension returned grades above 7.0 g/t gold over an average width of 1.3 meters. Six holes returned values above 13.0 g/t gold.
       “The combination of potential high gold grades to depth, together with the existing low grade near surface resource, could have a positive impact on future development of the project,” says Hall.
       Aurizon has hired an outside firm to prepare a preliminary economic assessment on the Joanna project, slated to be completed by the end of Q1 2008. Assuming a positive result, Aurizon could move the project to the pre-feasibility stage by early 2009.
       Aurizon also is developing a 2008 exploration program for its Kipawa gold/uranium/rare earth project which covers a 75 kilometer strike length half-way between the Elliot Lake uranium camp and the Abitibi Gold Belt. Kipawa encompasses a 200 square mile area highly prospective for gold, uranium, and rare earth metals – offering Aurizon new opportunities in the global energy and environmental markets. Data collected from 2007 discoveries will target expanded trenching and drilling.

       Aurizon’s combined property holdings cover more than 300 square miles of highly prospective ground in Québec’s Abitibi region, one of the world’s most prolific gold and base metal regions. Not only is Québec mining friendly, the politically stable region boasts a solid infrastructure, substantial mining service and equipment support, and a large pool of experienced mining talent.
       Over the past 10 years, Aurizon’s highly skilled technical team has more than proved itself – demonstrating continuing exploration success at its Casa Berardi, Joanna and Kipawa projects, and bringing the Casa Berardi Mine to commercial production on time and on budget. The company’s achievements are earning professional and market recognition, whether being named “Company of the Year” or being added to the S&P/TSX Global Gold Index – an international benchmark tracking the world’s leading gold companies.
       Today, Aurizon has 1.169 million ounces of mineral reserves, as well as 1.156 million ounces of measured and indicated resources and another 2.473 million ounces of inferred resources – numbers expected to increase substantially in future years. Aurizon management has grown the company’s market cap from $11.3 million in 2001 to about $600 million today. Gold production is expected to generate $50 million cash flow annually for further exploration and development. Consider: the Casa Berardi Mine’s resource remains completely open at depth; the vast majority of the Casa Berardi property remains virtually unexplored; exploration at both Joanna and Kipawa have resulted in significant new discoveries.
       According to Thomson One Analytics, mining analysts currently rate Aurizon a “Buy.” The company enjoys a solid financial position, with robust growth in revenue and net income, good cash flow from operations, and a solid stock performance – the bottom line is that Aurizon Mines has significant upside potential.