Gold Exploration in West Africa

[FL]

Correction: Not quite ALL of Orezone (OZN)...

[Iamgold (IAG) is effectively buying Orezone's main asset, the Essakane mine, with Iamgold shares but Orezone's other exploration properties are apparently to be spun off to pre-merger Orezone shareholders. See below.]

Orezone Closes Private Placement

Orezone Resources Inc. (OZN:TSX, AMEX) announces that is has closed its previously announced financing whereby IAMGOLD Corporation (IMG: TSX, IAG: NYSE) has purchased 71.4 million common shares of Orezone, on a private placement basis, at a price of Cdn$0.28 per share for total proceeds of approximately Cdn$20 million. IAMGOLD now holds approximately 16.6% of the outstanding common shares of Orezone. Orezone will use $10 million of the proceeds to continue development of the Essakane project and $10 million will be used to fund a new exploration company that will hold the non Essakane assets of Orezone and is being “spun out” to Orezone shareholders pursuant to the previously announced business combination between Orezone and IAMGOLD.IAMGOLD

Orezone also announces that it has called a special meeting of shareholders, to be held on February 18, 2009 in Toronto, to consider and if thought fit to approve, the business combination under which Orezone shareholders will receive 0.08 common shares of IAMGOLD plus a pro rata share of the new exploration company for each Orezone share held. A notice of the special meeting and accompanying management information circular and other materials are expected to be mailed on or about January 21, 2009. The transaction is expected to close by the end of February 2009.

Orezone is an explorer and emerging gold producer that owns Essakane and Bomboré, the two 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.

For further information please contact Orezone at [phone] or Toll Free: [phone]

Ron Little, CEO, [e-mail]

Janet Eastman, Manager IR, [e-mail]


[legal tedium re forward-looking & inferred etc., omitted here]