Avion's Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources Increases 169% at Tabakoto and Segala Gold Projects in Mali from

TORONTO, ONTARIO, May 19 (MARKET WIRE) --
Avion Resources Corp. ("Avion" or "the Company") (TSX VENTURE: AVR),
today announced the results of an ongoing review of the mineral resource
estimates for the contiguous Segala and Tabakoto gold projects in Mali
(West Africa). Since releasing the Segala zone resources on December 12,
2008 (Measured and Indicated 4,001,000 tonnes @ 3.5 g/t Au and Inferred
4,072,000 tonnes @ 3.48 g/t Au) Avion has been modeling and evaluating
the mineralized zones proximal to the historic Tabakoto pit, the newly
discovered Dar Salam South zone and the Dioulafoundou zone. Highlights of
the most recent estimates include:

- Open Pit Measured and Indicated mineral resource estimate of 4,136,000
tonnes grading 3.30 g/t Au totaling 439,300 ounces at a 1.0 g/t cut-off

- Open Pit Inferred mineral resource estimate of 2,527,000 tonnes grading
3.52 g/t Au totaling 285,900 ounces at a 1.0 g/t cut-off

- Underground Measured and Indicated mineral resource estimate of
2,685,000 tonnes grading 3.73 g/t Au totaling 321,800 ounces at a 2.0 g/t
cut-off

- Underground Inferred mineral resource estimate of 3,386,000 tonnes
grading 3.68 g/t Au totaling 400,500 ounces at a 2.0 g/t cut-off

The Tabakoto pit area resources, which form the bulk of the above
resource estimate, combines a series of mineralized structures along an
approximate 1.8 km long part of the northerly-trending Tabakoto
mineralized trend (see attached figure). These mineralized structures
have been defined by drill data and geological mapping in the Tabakoto
pit. Avion's next step will be to better define the mineralized
structures with drilling aimed at upgrading inferred resources to
measured and indicated resources, and to further increase the resources
on the property. To provide a guide to the strength of the mineralized
system the charts at the end of this document present cut-off grades
ranging from 0.5 g/t Au to 3.0 g/t Au. The resource study was prepared by
Milko Rivera, P. Eng. and Farshid Ghazanfari, G.I.T. with a third party
review and initial open pit versus underground mining reviews carried out
by Eugene Puritch, P.Eng. of P&E Mining Consultants. Inc.

Total project measured and indicated resources now comprise 18.44 million
tonnes grading 2.55 g/t Au or some 1.51 million ounces Au at a 0.5 g/t Au
cut-off. Total project inferred resources total 17.68 million tonnes
grading 2.58 g/t Au at a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off. Note that there have been no
studies which support a cut-off grade of 0.5 g/t Au and that these
resources are only provided as an indication of the size of the
mineralized system on the two properties. The mineral resources in the
Tabakoto Pit area combine a series of northerly-, northeast- and
northwest-trending zones and a series of shallow-dipping to flat-lying
zones. The mineral resources for Dar Salam comprise three distinct
mineralized zones. The Dioulafoundou inferred mineral resource is
understood to be one northwest-trending mineralized body. Most of the
zones are open down plunge and to a lesser extent along strike. Details
of the resources are presented at the end of the release.

To develop the mineral resources presented herein the first step was to
create 3-dimensional models of the mineralized zones. Once these
mineralized domains were defined a statistical review of the drill hole
intercept data was carried out to determine capping or top cut grades.
This work indicated that assays in the Tabakoto Pit area should be cut to
32.0 g/t Au, those in the Dar Salam zones to 21.5 g/t Au and the zone at
Dioulafoundou cut to 28.0 g/t Au. Assay grades were then composited into
2.0 metre intervals with resources calculated with a minimum 2.0 metre
width with a variety of cut-offs as presented in this release. The
assumptions used to determine open pit resources include the following:
Ore mining equals $2.73/t mined, Waste mining equals $1.54/t mined,
Processing equals $20/t milled, G&A equals $5/t milled, Au Price equals
$825/oz and Process Recovery equals 92%. The assumptions used to
determine underground resources include the following : Ore mining equals
$25/t mined, Processing equals $20/t milled, G&A equals $5/t milled, Au
Price equals $825/oz, Process recovery equals 92%.

The newly developed resources will be presented in an independent
technical report that will be filed under the profile of the Company on
SEDAR within 45 days of this news release.

"The significant increase in the mineral resources in the project further
supports Avion's Segala and Tabakoto expansion strategy" commented John
Begeman, President and CEO. "These new resources support Avion's goal to
increase the capacity of the plant from 100,000 ounces per year to
200,000 ounce per year. As well, we believe that the project and area
have excellent potential to deliver more resource ounces in the future."

Milko Rivera, P. Eng , a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, and Farshid
Ghazanfari are responsible for the mineral resource estimates presented
herein and have reviewed the scientific and technical information in this
document relating to those estimates. Updated resource calculations at
the Tabakoto Deposits were independently reviewed by Eugene Puritch,
P.Eng. of P&E Mining Consultants Inc. (P&E) of Brampton, Ontario. P&E is
of the opinion that the resource estimates were prepared in accordance
with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM)
definition standards regarding Mineral Resources and Reserves; Mr.
Puritch's work indicated that in general similar resource results were
obtained while using the mineralized zones that Mr. Rivera and Mr.
Ghazanfari defined along with the assistance of and review by Don Dudek,
P.Geo., Vice President Exploration of Avion. Avion has not completed a
feasibility study in regards to the resource presented herein and there
is no certainty the proposed operations will be economically viable.
Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated
economic viability.

About Avion Resources Corp.

Avion is a Canadian-based gold company focused in West Africa. The
Company holds 80% of the Tabakoto and Segala gold projects in Mali. Gold
production at these projects has commenced, with approximately 66,000
ounces of production forecast for 2009 with an expected cash cost of
US$505 per ounce of gold. Avion has a highly skilled management team,
with a focus on growth and consolidation within West Africa.

Should you wish to receive Company news via email, please email
info@avionresources.com and specify "AVR News" in the subject line.

Mineral Resource Estimate Sensitivities (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

Tabakoto Pit Area Open Pit Measured Resource Estimate (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
Assay Cut-off Tonnes g/t Au Ozs Au
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
1.0 g/t Cut-off 1,253,992 2.89 116,383
---------------------------------------------------------
2.0 g/t Cut-off 693,667 4.07 90,878
---------------------------------------------------------
3.0 g/t Cut-off 389,979 5.35 67,132
---------------------------------------------------------

Tabakoto Pit Area Open Pit Indicated Resource Estimate (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
Assay Cut-off Tonnes g/t Au Ozs Au
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
1.0 g/t Cut-off 2,882,992 3.48 322,946
---------------------------------------------------------
2.0 g/t Cut-off 1,813,301 4.69 273,246
---------------------------------------------------------
3.0 g/t Cut-off 1,165,532 5.92 221,705
---------------------------------------------------------

Tabakoto Pit Area Open PitInferred Resource Estimate (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
Assay Cut-off Tonnes g/t Au Ozs Au
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
1.0 g/t Cut-off 982,628 3.47 109,568
---------------------------------------------------------
2.0 g/t Cut-off 651,492 4.48 93,810
---------------------------------------------------------
3.0 g/t Cut-off 472,113 5.25 79,728
---------------------------------------------------------

Tabakoto Underground Measured Resource Estimate (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
Assay Cut-off Tonnes g/t Au Ozs Au
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
2.0 g/t Cut-off 39,746 3.39 4,331
---------------------------------------------------------
3.0 g/t Cut-off 15,975 4.95 2,540
---------------------------------------------------------

Tabakoto Underground Indicated Resource Estimate (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

-----------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------- Assay
Cut-off Tonnes g/t Au Ozs Au
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
2.0 g/t Cut-off 2,645,337 3.73 317,476
-----------------------------------------------------------
3.0 g/t Cut-off 1,340,154 5.01 215,830
-----------------------------------------------------------

Tabakoto Underground Inferred Resource Estimate (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
Assay Cut-off Tonnes g/t Au Ozs Au
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
2.0 g/t Cut-off 2,682,100 3.73 321,300
-----------------------------------------------------------
3.0 g/t Cut-off 1,431,979 4.90 225,439
-----------------------------------------------------------

Dar Salam Area Open Pit Inferred Resource Estimate (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
Assay Cut-off Tonnes g/t Au Ozs Au
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
1.0 g/t Cut-off 1,195,228 3.49 134,155
-----------------------------------------------------------
2.0 g/t Cut-off 901,396 4.15 120,346
-----------------------------------------------------------
3.0 g/t Cut-off 567,930 5.13 93,682
-----------------------------------------------------------

Dar Salam Area Underground Resource Estimate (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
Assay Cut-off Tonnes g/t Au Ozs Au
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
2.0 g/t Cut-off 601,965 3.35 64,785
-----------------------------------------------------------
3.0 g/t Cut-off 292,247 4.30 40,360
-----------------------------------------------------------

Dioulafoundou Open Pit Inferred Resource Estimate (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
Assay Cut-off Tonnes g/t Au Ozs Au
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
1.0 g/t Cut-off 349,296 3.76 42,177
-----------------------------------------------------------
2.0 g/t Cut-off 219,559 5.20 36,690
-----------------------------------------------------------
3.0 g/t Cut-off 181,703 5.75 33,563
-----------------------------------------------------------

Dioulafoundou Underground Inferred Resource Estimate (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
Assay Cut-off Tonnes g/t Au Ozs Au
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
2.0 g/t Cut-off 102,010 4.41 14,461
-----------------------------------------------------------
3.0 g/t Cut-off 54,401 6.11 10,680
-----------------------------------------------------------

Tabakoto Pit Area, Dar Salam and Dioulafoundou Open Pit &
Underground M&I Resource Estimate (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)

-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
Assay Cut-off Tonnes g/t Au Ozs Au
-----------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------
0.5 g/t Cut-off 12,628,412 2.37 963,391
-----------------------------------------------------------
1.0 g/t Cut-off 9,678,520 2.86 891,254
-----------------------------------------------------------
2.0 g/t Cut-off 5,192,091 4.11 685,931
-----------------------------------------------------------
3.0 g/t Cut-off 2,911,639 5.42 507,207
-----------------------------------------------------------

(1) The Inferred Resources are in addition to the Measured and Indicated
Resources.
(2) The mineral resources have been classified in accordance with
requirements of NI 43-101 and the CIM standards. Resource estimates
based on a gold price of USD$825 per ounce
(3) Milko Rivera, P.Eng and Farshid Gazanfari independent consultants,
Qualified Persons under NI 43-101, prepared the above mineral resource
estimates and have reviewed the technical disclosure herein relating to
the resource estimates. Eugene Puritch, P. Eng. of P&E Mining
Consultants Inc. carried out an independent review of the resource model
and provided preliminary open pit and UG mining costs for the
development of resource cut-off grades.
(4) Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated
economic viability.
(5) Estimates as of May 17, 2009

Cautionary Notes

This press release contains forward-looking statements under Canadian
securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, statements with respect to the development potential and
timetable of the Mali projects; the future price of gold; the estimation
of mineral resources; conclusions of economic evaluation (including
scoping studies); the realization of mineral resource estimates; the
timing and amount of estimated future production, development and
exploration; costs of future activities; capital and operating
expenditures; success of exploration activities; mining or processing
issues; currency exchange rates; government regulation of mining
operations; and environmental risks. Generally, forward-looking
statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology
such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget",
"scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does
not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases
or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could",
"would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved".
Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of
management as of the date such statements are made. Estimates regarding
the anticipated timing, amount and cost of mining at the Mali projects
are based on assumptions underlying mineral resource estimates and the
realization of such estimates; results of previous mining activities at
the projects, and detailed research and analysis completed by independent
consultants and management of the Company; research and estimates
regarding the timing of delivery for long-lead items; knowledge regarding
the factors involved in building a mine and other factors that will be
described in the technical report summarizing the scoping study that will
be filed under the profile of the Company on SEDAR. Capital and operating
cost estimates are based on results of previous mining activities,
research of the Company and independent consultants, recent estimates of
construction and mining costs and other factors that are set out in the
scoping study.

Production estimates are based on mine plans and production schedules,
which have been developed by the Company's personnel and independent
consultants. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results,
level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements, including but not limited to risks related
to: timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms;
unexpected events and delays during construction, expansion and start-up;
variations in ore grade and recovery rates; receipt and revocation of
government approvals; actual results of exploration and mining
activities; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be
refined; future prices of gold; failure of plant, equipment or processes
to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of
the mining industry. Although management of the Company has attempted to
identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may
be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated
or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to
be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially
from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should
not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does
not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in
accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the Tabakoto Pit Area Mineralized Zone map, please visit the
following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/tabakotopitarea.pdf.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS
THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE

Contacts:
Avion Resources Corp.
Rene Bharti
Vice President Business Development
(416) 861-5913
Email: info@avionresources.com

Copyright 2009, Market Wire, All rights reserved.

-0-