Orezone Awards Essakane Contract to GRD Miniproc

February 4. 2008 Orezone Resources Inc. (OZN:TSX, AMEX) Orezone Resources Inc. is pleased to announce that leading international engineering and construction group GRD Minproc has been awarded the engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract for the processing facilities at the Essakane Gold Project in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

GRD Minproc has successfully completed 130 gold projects, nine in West Africa. GRD Minproc will be responsible for of the EPCM services related to the carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing facility and assistance with commissioning. The Definitive Feasibility Study indicates the project has a capital cost of US$346 million, and when operational is expected to produce an average of 292,000 ounces of gold per annum, operating at an annual milling rate of 5.4 million tonnes.

"We are fortunate to have a senior experienced team at GRD Minproc, that will have taken the project from concept to commissioning," said Louis Gignac, Project Executive for Orezone. "We look forward to getting started on construction."

"Essakane is a large project that will build on GRD Minproc's unrivalled expertise in gold extraction and the timely delivery of projects," said GRD Limited Chief Executive, Cliff Lawrenson. "Our African team has a strong understanding of critical project execution issues such as transport, logistics and management of local contractors. Having carried out the Essakane Definitive Feasibility Study, we are very impressed with the tenacity of the Orezone team as well as their focus on Burkina Faso – we look forward to working together on this exciting project," continued Mr. Lawrenson.

Orezone is an explorer and emerging gold producer whose main asset is Essakane, the largest gold deposit in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Essakane contains 4.0Moz of indicated resources and 1.3Moz of inferred resources at a 0.5g/t cut-off. Reserves contained within a US$500 gold price mine plan are 2.65 Moz. The deposit remains open and untested below 300m from surface and is surrounded by several satellite deposits. Orezone 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: Telephone: (613) 241-3699 Toll Free: (888) 673-0663

Ron Little
Chief Executive Officer
rlittle@orezone.com

Pascal Marquis
President
pmarquis@orezone.com

Niel Marotta
VP Corp
nmarotta@orezone.com

Janet Eastman
Manager IR
jeastman@orezone.com

GRD Minproc

Mr. Cliff Lawrenson
Chief Executive, GRD
+61 8 9278 1888

Mr. Casey Cahill
Group Manager Corporate Affairs, GRD
+61 8 9278 1888

Statements relating to the anticipated use of proceeds are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in Orezone's Annual Report on Form 40-F for the year ended December 31, 2006 and Reports on Form 6-K filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other risks include the inherent risks involved in the exploration and development of mineral properties, the uncertainties involved in interpreting drilling results and other geological data, fluctuating metal prices, the possibility of project cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future and other factors. 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.