Avion drills 16.1 m of 13.42 g/t Au at Dioulafoundou

Avion Gold Corp (C:AVR)
Shares Issued 349,855,244
Last Close 5/12/2010 $0.68
Thursday May 13 2010 - News Release

Mr. Don Dudek reports

AVION CONTINUES EXPLORATION SUCCESS

Avion Gold Corp. has provided additional results from core drill holes that have tested the northwest-trending Dioulafoundou zone, located approximately two kilometres south of the Tabakoto pit. Drilling has identified two, closely spaced, zones of gold mineralization with new highlights including the following (complete 2008 to 2010 results are provided in the attached tables):

-- 13.42 g/t Au over 16.1 metres

-- 9.89 g/t Au over 9.1 metres

-- 5.87 g/t Au over 13.3 metres

-- 4.94 g/t Au over 5.5 metres

-- 16.92 g/t Au over 2.0 metres

-- 9.84 g/t Au over 6.0 metres

-- 9.66 g/t Au over 4.0 metres

Due to the encouraging exploration results from this area, Avion has initiated environmental permitting for an open pit.

The strongest of the two zones, Dioulafoundou NW zone ("DNW"), has been traced for approximately 400 metres along strike and to 170 metres depth (see figure 2). A second, parallel, zone of gold mineralization, DNW2, lies approximately 60 metres to the south and has been traced for approximately 190 metres along strike and to 115 metres depth (see figure 3). Both zones are steeply dipping and open down plunge.

Avion's work has extended the DNW and NW2 zones both along strike and to depth, relative to the defined and existing open pit inferred mineral resource for the Dioulafoundou zone (see Figures 2 and 3) of 349,300 tonnes grading 3.76 g/t Au totaling 42,000 ounces at a 1 g/t Au cut-off (Avion news release, May 19, 2009). In addition, the new drilling indicates significantly higher grades in the near-surface portions of the resource than were estimated and indicated by previous drilling.

Avion plans to update the mineral resources for these two mineralized zones by the end of the second quarter as part of a Tabakoto project resource update, with completion planned for fourth quarter, 2010. Avion has completed 90 holes totaling 7,702 metres over the Dioulafoundou area.

John Begeman, Avion's President and CEO, stated, "The Dioulafoundou zones display excellent continuity and good grades along strike and down plunge and as such I am confident that they will provide a near term source of open pittable and possibly underground mineral resources for Avion."

Avion's procedures for handling reverse circulation drill chips comprise initial splitting of the rock chips from one metre drill length samples into 2.0 kg samples, as well as description and logging into a database. These samples, and some of the recent core samples, are then delivered to the Company's mine site laboratory at Tabakoto. Assay standard samples are inserted every 25th sample and duplicate reverse circulation from every 20th sample are sent in as a separate sample to double check the assays from these intervals. This sampling procedure was initiated and periodically reviewed by Avion's Senior Vice President of Exploration, Don Dudek, P. Geo. The assay samples are then crushed to 3 mm and riffle split if required, to 1.5 kg and the entire sample milled in a LM2 mill to a nominal 95% passing 75 micrometres. All the preparation equipment is flushed with barren material prior to the commencement of the job and all sample bowls are scrapped clean with a scratch pad. Gold values were determined by Fire Assay and AAS with a 50 gram nominal sample weight. In order to ensure that local, exceptionally high grade assays are not overly represented in assay composites, Avion is also presenting assay composites, with high grade samples capped at 30.0 g/t Au. This capping level is deemed appropriate for the initial samples from the Dioulafoundou zone and is consistent with previous practice on the property.

Avion's results from the on-site laboratory have been of consistent high quality, with assay standards returning values well within accepted ranges.

To date, Avion's Tabakoto area exploration has completed over 224 holes totaling over 22,600 metres of core and reverse circulation drilling. This work has focused on the Dioulafoundou, DjambayeII and Tabakoto pit areas. Drilling is planned for the NW Segala, Far NW Segala, Dar Salam, Moralia and other structural targets throughout the property as part of a an approximate 60,000 metre 2010 drill program.

Don Dudek, P.Geo., the Senior Vice President, Exploration of the Company and a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical information in this press release.

SUMMARY OF AVION'S DIOULAFOUNDOU NW ZONE ASSAY RESULTS

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HOLE #           FROM        TO    LENGTH        TRUE        Au   CAPPED(ii)
                                             WIDTH (m)      g/t       ASSAY
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-08-03(i)      153.0     160.5       7.5         3.5      8.93        8.93
D-09-03(i)      139.7     155.0      15.4          12      3.67        3.67
D-10-13          53.0      59.6       6.6         5.5      5.79        5.79
D-10-14          55.4      60.9       5.5         2.8      4.94        4.94
D-10-15(i)       64.0      81.2      17.2          12      6.51        6.51
D-10-16(i)       34.0      49.5      15.5         9.5      4.91        4.91
D-10-17(i)       39.9      50.4      10.5         6.5      7.65        7.30
D-10-18          73.6      79.7      6.08           4      1.26        1.26
D-10-19          21.0      24.5       3.5           2      2.34        2.34
D-10-20          56.3      59.0       2.7         1.5      4.04        4.04
D-10-21                                 0           0         0           0
D-10-28(i)       61.1      64.4      3.37         2.8      2.33        2.33
D-10-29                                 0           0         0           0
D-10-30A         59.4      72.7      16.6           9      5.46        5.46
D-10-31         105.4     121.5      16.1        10.5     13.42        6.80
D-10-32                                 0           0         0           0
D-10-33(i)       84.5     100.4      15.9          10     14.86        8.75
D-10-42          34.5      37.5       3.0           2      5.85        5.85
D-10-43           6.0       7.5       1.5         1.2      3.46        3.46
D-10-43          21.0      24.0       3.0         2.5      5.17        5.17
D-10-43          37.5      42.4       4.9         3.5      5.90        5.90
D-10-44                               0.0           0         0           0
D-10-45          59.0      62.0       3.0         1.8      3.46        3.46
D-10-46          21.0      25.5       4.5         2.5      4.18        4.18
D-10-47          16.9      24.0       7.1         1.8      3.58        3.58
D-10-48                                 0           0         0           0
D-10-49                                 0           0         0           0
D-10-50          29.3      31.5       2.2         1.5      1.29        1.29
D-10-51                                 0           0         0           0
DRC-10-24                               0           0         0           0
DRC-10-25                               0           0         0           0
DRC-10-26(i)     52.0      58.0         6           4      1.18        1.18
DRC-10-27        22.0      23.0         1         0.7      3.12        3.12
DRC-10-27(i)     39.0      50.0      11.0         9.0     17.12        10.1
DRC-10-28        34.0      43.0       9.0         6.2      2.39        2.39
DRC-10-28(i)     48.0      58.0      10.0         6.5      4.39        4.39
DRC-10-28        67.0      72.0       6.0         4.0      2.32        2.32
DRC-10-29(i)     17.0      22.0       5.0         4.0      2.06        2.06
DRC-10-29        26.0      38.0      12.0        10.0      9.91        9.23
DRC-10-30(i)     23.0      29.0       6.0         3.0     17.97       17.97
DRC-10-31(i)     21.0      30.0       9.0         4.5      7.42        7.42
DRC-10-32(i)     33.0      36.0       3.0         3.0     11.67       11.67
DRC-10-33(i)     56.0      76.0      20.0         9.5      4.98        4.98
DRC-10-34(i)     24.0      45.0      21.0        10.5     28.57       11.23
DRC-10-35(i)     12.0      14.0       2.0         2.0      1.47        1.47
DRC-10-36(i)                            0           0         0        0.00
DRC-10-37(i)                            0           0         0        0.00
DRC-10-49(i)     88.0      90.0       2.0         1.5     16.97       16.97
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Previously reported drill hole intercept
(ii)Individual assays above 30 g/t Au are cut to 30 g/t

SUMMARY OF AVION'S DNW2 ZONE ASSAY RESULTS

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOLE #           FROM        TO    LENGTH        TRUE    Au g/t   Capped(ii)
                                             WIDTH (m)                Assay
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
D-10-06            53      60.5       7.5           4      6.01        6.01
D-10-07          51.9      63.7      11.8           5      2.62        2.62
D-10-22            61        64         3           2      1.87        1.87
D-10-34            45        49         4         2.8      9.66        9.66
D-10-35            27        33         6         3.5      9.84        9.84
D-10-36            18      22.5       4.5         3.2      0.67        0.67
D-10-37                                 0           0         0           0
D-10-38            51        54         3           2       1.6         1.6
D-10-39            15        21         6           4      2.97        2.97
D-10-40            64        82        18          11      1.35        1.35
DRC-10-03          19        32        13           6      6.33        6.33
DRC-10-10          11        26        15           5      2.64        2.64
DRC-10-41(i)       19        35        16          11      2.63        2.63
DRC-10-43(i)       16        44        28          16      3.71        3.71
DRC-10-45(i)       25        32         7         4.2      1.78        1.78
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
(i) Previously reported drill hole intercept
(ii)Individual assays above 30 g/t Au are cut to 30 g/t