UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 40-F
[ ] REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT
TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
or
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[X]
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ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13(a) OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
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FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31,
2012
Commission File Number 001-31893
AURIZON
MINES LTD.
(Exact Name of the Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
Not applicable
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British Columbia, Canada
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Not Applicable
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(Translation of Registrant’s name into English (if applicable))
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(Province or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)
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(I.R.S. employer Identification Number (if applicable))
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1040
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification
Code Number (if applicable))
Suite
1120, Cathedral Place, 925 West Georgia Street,
Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 3L2
Telephone: (604) 687-6600
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
CT Corporation System
111 Eighth Avenue, 13th Floor
New York, New York 10011
Telephone: (212) 590-9331
Name,
address (including zip code) and telephone number
(including area code) of agent for service in the United States
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section
12(b) of the Act:
Name of Each
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Title of Each Class
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Exchange on Which Registered
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Common Shares
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NYSE MKT
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Securities registered or to
be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
NONE
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant
to Section 15(d) of the Act:
NONE
For annual reports, indicate by check mark the information
filed with this Form:
[ X ] Annual information form [ X ] Audited
annual financial statements
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the
issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.
As at December 31,
2012, 164,562,827
Common Shares without par value were issued and outstanding.
Indicate by check mark whether the
Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the preceding 12 months
(or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements
for the past 90 days.
[ X ]Yes [ ] No
Indicate by check mark whether the
Registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be
submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the
Registrant was required to submit and post such files).
[ ] Yes [ ] No
DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Aurizon Mines Ltd. (the “Company”)
has carried out an evaluation, under the supervision of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer,
of the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Disclosure controls and procedures are designed
to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is
recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s
(the “SEC”) rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including the
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
Based on this evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of the
end of the fiscal year covered by this Form 40-F, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL
CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
Management is responsible for establishing
and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rules 13a–15(f) and 15d–15(f) under
the Exchange Act and for assessing the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Because of its inherent limitations,
internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness
to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree
of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Management, including the Chief Executive Officer
and the Chief Financial Officer, has used the criteria established in “Internal Control – Integrated Framework”
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) to evaluate the effectiveness of the Company’s
internal control over financial reporting. The assessment included an evaluation of the design of the Company’s internal
controls over financial reporting and testing of the operational effectiveness of those controls. Based on this assessment, management
has concluded that as at December 31, 2012, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective.
The effectiveness of the Company’s
internal control over financial reporting as at December 31, 2012 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent
registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is included with the Company’s audited financial statements,
which is an exhibit to this Annual Report on Form 40-F.
CHANGES IN INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER FINANCIAL
REPORTING
During the period covered by this
Annual Report on Form 40-F, an evaluation conducted pursuant to Rule 13a–15(d) under the Exchange Act identified no change
in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially
affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
The Company’s management, including
the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, does not expect that its disclosure controls and procedures or internal
controls and procedures will prevent all error and all fraud. A control system can provide only reasonable, not absolute,
assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation
of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been
detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns
can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons,
by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the control. The design of any system of controls also is
based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will
succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective
control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Company has adopted a Code of
Ethics for Financial Reporting Officers that applies to the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
The Company has also adopted a Code of Business Ethics that applies to all directors, officers and employees of the Company. Both
the Company’s Code of Ethics for Financial Reporting Officers and its Code of Business Ethics are available on its website,
www.aurizon.com.
AUDIT
COMMITTEE
The Company’s Board of Directors
has a separately-designated standing Audit Committee for the purpose of overseeing the accounting and financial reporting processes
of the Company and audits of the Company’s annual financial statements. The following individuals comprise the entire
membership of the Company’s Audit Committee: Andre Falzon, Richard Faucher and Diane Francis.
AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT
The Company’s Board of Directors
has determined that it has at least one audit committee financial expert (as such term is defined in the rules and regulations
of the SEC) serving on its Audit Committee. Andre Falzon has been determined to be such audit committee financial expert and is
independent (as such term is defined by the corporate governance standards of the NYSE MKT applicable to the Company).
The SEC has indicated that the designation
of Andre Falzon as an audit committee financial expert does not make him an “expert” for any purpose, impose on him
any duties, obligations or liability that are greater than the duties, obligations or liability imposed on him as a member of the
Audit Committee and the Board of Directors in the absence of such designation or identification, or affect the duties, obligations
or liability of any other member of the Audit Committee or Board of Directors.
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
The following table sets forth the Company’s
fees paid to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (“PWC”), Chartered Accountants, of Vancouver, British Columbia, its independent
auditors for the years ended December 31, 2012 and 2011 for professional
services, based on fees billed during the calendar year in each category:
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Fiscal Year Ended
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Dec. 31, 2012
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Dec. 31, 2011
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$275,500
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$273,485
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Audit Fees
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Tax Fees
(1)
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19,530
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10,000
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Audit-Related Fees
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Disbursements, IFRS, SEC comment letters and consulting
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52,157
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18,600
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Total Audit, Tax and Audit-Related fees:
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347,187
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302,085
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All Other Fees
(2)
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26,250
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7,607
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Total fees
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$373,437
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$309,692
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Note:
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(1)
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The Company uses PWC for tax compliance, advice, and return preparation. The Company chooses to
use PWC for these services due to their extensive knowledge of the Company’s activities and familiarity with its business
and the associated cost savings resulting from that knowledge base.
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(2)
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The Company uses PWC for translation of its annual financial reports.
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AUDIT COMMITTEE PRE-APPROVAL POLICIES
AND PROCEDURES
The Company’s Audit Committee
has adopted a pre-approval policy with respect to audit services, audit-related services and permitted non-audit services. Pursuant
to the Audit Committee Charter, the Audit Committee shall review and pre-approve all audit and audit-related services. In addition,
the Audit Committee shall review and pre-approve all permitted non-audit services provided by the Company’s auditors. Prior
to the granting of any pre-approval, the Audit Committee must be satisfied that the performance of the services in question will
not compromise the independence of the auditors.
During the years ended December 31,
2012 and 2011, none of the services described above under “Principal Accountant Fees and Services” under the captions
“Audit-Related Fees”, “Tax Fees”, and “All Other Fees” were approved after the fact by the
Audit Committee pursuant to paragraph (c)(7)(i)(C) of Rule 2-01 of Regulation S-X.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
The Company does not have any off-balance
sheet arrangements.
TABULAR DISCLOSURE OF CONTRACTUAL
OBLIGATIONS
The following table lists as of December
31, 2012 information with respect to the Company’s known contractual obligations.
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Payment Due By Period
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(in $ thousands)
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Total
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Less than 1 year
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1 - 3
years
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4 – 5
years
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More than 5 years
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Current Liabilities
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$31,795
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$31,795
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$ -
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$ -
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$ -
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Asset retirement obligations
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19,505
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-
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-
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1,238
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18,267
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Equipment supply and contracts
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6,263
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1,566
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3,131
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1,566
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-
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Reclamation deposits
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4,981
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2,079
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2,902
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-
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-
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Employee incentives
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1,505
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522
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983
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-
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-
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Head office operating lease
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569
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253
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316
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-
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-
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Mineral properties firm commitments
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267
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267
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-
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-
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-
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$64,885
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$36,482
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$7,332
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$2,804
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$18,267
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For additional information related
to the Company’s obligations and commitments see note 14(a) in the Company’s audited financial statements, which are
filed as an exhibit to this Annual Report on Form 40-F.
RESOURCE AND RESERVE ESTIMATES
The Company’s Annual Information
Form, which is attached hereto as Exhibit 1, has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect
in Canada as of December 31, 2012, which differ in certain material respects from the disclosure requirements of United States
securities laws. The terms “mineral reserve”, “proven mineral reserve” and “probable mineral reserve”
are Canadian mining terms as defined in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects (“NI 43-101”) and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the “CIM”) - CIM
Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council, as amended. These definitions differ
from the definitions in the disclosure requirements promulgated by the SEC.
In addition, the terms “mineral
resource”, “measured mineral resource”, “indicated mineral resource” and “inferred mineral
resource” are defined in and required to be disclosed by NI 43-101. However, these terms are not defined terms under the
standards of the SEC and are not permitted to be used in reports and registration statements of United States companies filed with
the SEC. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted
into reserves. “Inferred mineral resources” have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty
as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever
be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility
or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral
resource exists or is economically or legally mineable.
Accordingly, information contained
in this annual report on Form 40-F, the documents attached hereto and the documents incorporated by reference herein containing
descriptions of our mineral deposits may not be comparable to similar information
made public by U.S. companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements under the United States federal securities laws
and the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder.
UNDERTAKING AND CONSENT TO SERVICE
OF PROCESS
Undertaking
The Registrant undertakes to make
available, in person or by telephone, representatives to respond to inquiries made by the SEC staff, and to furnish promptly, when
requested to do so by the SEC staff, information relating to: the securities in relation to which the obligation to file this annual
report on Form 40-F arises; or transactions in said securities.
Consent to Service of Process
The Company filed an Appointment of
Agent for Service of Process and Undertaking on Form F-X signed by the Company and its agent for service of process on March 29,
2006 with respect to the class of securities in relation to which the obligation to file this annual report arises.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Exchange
Act, the registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form 40-F and has duly caused this annual report
to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereto duly authorized.
AURIZON MINES LTD.
By:
Date:
April 1, 2013
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/s/ Ian S. Walton
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Ian S. Walton,
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Executive Vice President and
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Chief Financial Officer
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Exhibit Index
______________________________________
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