Amid posting a favourable fourth quarter 2011 net profit that soared more than triple from a year ago, Aurizon Mines Ltd. said it is very much amenable to merger talks with other companies.

"Some people have talked to us about getting together...but we're very conscious of not destroying quality," said George Paspalas, chief executive officer, told Mining Weekly Online. The Aurizon Mines Ltd. executive did not mention the identities of the interested corporate buyers.

"We keep a pretty well-oiled valuation model of ourselves in our back pocket all the time so we are aware of what our value is."

On Thursday, the British Columbia-based gold miner reported a 211 per cent jump on its net profit during the fourth quarter of 2011 to $21.8 million. This represented an uptick of $0.13 per share. Fourth quarter revenue reached $85.7 million, while cash flow was $49 million. Total gold yield for the quarter reached 45,995 ounces with a cash cost of $498 per ounce.

However, Aurizon Mines Ltd. said it expects a reduction in gold output this year.

"Mine sequencing in 2012 will result in ore grades that are expected to be approximately 6 percent lower than those achieved in 2011," the company said in a statement, adding gold yield from the Casa Berardi Gold Mine, its only producing project, will likely only hit between 155,000 ounces and 160,000 ounces of gold compared from last year's 163,845 ounces.

Mr Paspalas said the company has been on the lookout since for possible acquisitions, but failed to close any deal because of its picky criteria.

For one, an acquisition target must be producing around 120,000 ounces of gold annually, and should have similar profit margins to the Casa Berardi Gold Mine in Quebec.

"We've looked hard, I can tell you that," Mr Paspalas said.

"In five years it would be nice to have two or three operating mines. By achieving that we would have de-risked from having just the one facility. We love Casa. We're totally relying on it for cash flow. But if we could de-risk by building one or two more operating mines, that would be even better," Mr Paspalas said in www.resourceclips.com.

The Aurizon Mines Ltd. executive said at least five or six companies have been placed on the drawing table for possible acquisition, and if due diligence and valuation negotiations prove successful, the miner could be signing a deal in the near short-term.

Year on year, Aurizon Mines Ltd., which operates a total of 11 properties, all located in Quebec, including the Casa Berardi Gold Mine and the advanced-stage Joanna Gold Project, reported overall net profit in 2011 reached $43.9 million or $0.27 per share, up 155 per cent from 2010. Revenue grew 45 per cent to $260 million, while cash flow jumped by 138 per cent to $121.3 million. Overall cash balance in 2011 registered at $213 million, gold production at 163,845 ounces versus a cash cost of US$537 per ounce.