- New Executive Appointment Strengthens Avion Management Team -

TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwire) -- 09/16/08 -- Avion Resources Corp. ("Avion Resources" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE: AVR), today announced that the Company's Board of Directors have approved a new mining strategy for the Segala and Tabakoto gold projects, located in Mali, West Africa. The Company will focus on the Segala project during the first phase of the new mining strategy. Avion Resources plans to commence mining operations at Segala, which has a 43-101 compliant resource, with two years of open-pit production (at a projected low-strip ratio), followed by underground mining. The Company believes that the new plan will realize robust, earlier-than-expected cash flow from operations, as Avion Resources anticipates production to begin at Segala in mid-February 2009. The new strategy is to mine near-surface mineral resources to minimize waste stripping and then proceed to underground mining.

Avion Resources considers the Segala deposit, with a 43-101 compliant, measured and indicated resource, to be less geologically complex, as compared to the Tabakoto deposit, which in turn is expected to reduce mining costs. Initial mining at Segala will focus on the free-digging saprolite; historic metallurgical testwork on the un-weathered mineralization indicates that it is softer than at Tabakoto, which means that higher plant throughput can be achieved when milling Segala mineral resources compared to Tabakoto.

Avion Resources plans to commence a shallow continuation of the existing open-pit at Tabakoto concurrently with the Segala underground mining operation to supplement plant feed. Underground mining at Tabakoto is also being planned and is projected to follow the shallow open-pit operation. By the fourth year of the new production plan, Avion Resources plans to employ only underground operations at both Segala and Tabakoto, which is expected to eliminate high waste stripping costs. Concurrent with mining and as a follow-up to exploration success in 2008, exploration will continue to be carried out for new open pit and underground resources; this work is expected to be funded from cash flow.

"The new mining strategy approved by the Board demonstrates the success Avion has achieved to date at Segala and Tabakoto," commented Stan Bharti, Chairman of the Board. "Since the acquisition of these projects, Avion's team has worked diligently to execute an exploration and evaluation program that will move the company to the next stage and support our vision of becoming a near-term, low-cost, gold producer. The Board is pleased to announced that Avion is not only on its way to reaching this goal, it will do so earlier than expected, with the Segala deposit expected to commence production in mid-February 2009."

In addition to the new mining strategy, the Company's Board of Directors is pleased to announce the appointment of John Begeman to the position of President and CEO. Mr. Begeman is a mining engineer with over 30 years of mining experience. He is currently the President and CEO of Valencia Ventures Inc.