News

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – Tuesday, June 28, 2016 – Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (TSX Venture Exchange: CZX) is pleased to announce it has filed a new NI 43-101 Technical Summary report for the recently announced updated mineral resource estimate for the Cardiac Creek Zn-Pb-Ag deposit on the Company’s 100% owned Akie property located in northeastern British Columbia, Canada.

The technical report entitled “NI 43-101 Technical Report, Mineral Resource Estimate for the Akie Zinc-Lead-Silver Project, British Columbia, Canada” dated June 28, 2016, with an effective date of May 16, 2016, is now available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) and the Company website at the following link:

http://canadazincmetals.com/investors/43-101_report/

The report is authored by Robert Sim, P.Geo., an independent qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101, and documents the newly reconfigured mineral resource estimate for the Cardiac Creek deposit. The report updates the work done by the Company since 2012, the date of the previous mineral resource estimate and NI 43-101 technical report.

The new resource estimate builds on an additional 10,000 metres of surface diamond drilling completed by the Company during the period from 2013 to 2015. There are now 139 drill holes on the Akie property with a total core length of 59,260 metres. Of these, 104 drill holes totaling 46,886 metres, are within close enough proximity of the block model to contribute to the estimation of the mineral resource. The remaining 35 drill holes test the Cardiac Creek mineralized horizon over a total strike length of almost 7 kilometres, or other exploration targets on the property.

The Cardiac Creek mineralized horizon occurs as a planar, sheet-like zone of semi-massive to massive sulphides comprised of varying amounts of pyrite, sphalerite and galena (+/- barite) hosted in a black shale sequence which has been traced over a strike length of 7 kilometres and to a depth of 1,300 metres below surface. The mineralized zone ranges in thickness from less than 1 metre (where the deposit outcrops at surface) to as much as 40 metres, with an average true thickness of about 20 metres in the area of potential economic interest. The deposit is open along-strike and at depth.

The drilling completed since the previous resource estimate in April 2012 provides consistent coverage of holes spaced at 100-metre intervals throughout the majority of the deposit area. The current distribution of resources has about 70% in the Indicated category and 30% in the Inferred category, whereas the previous 2012 estimate had roughly an even split between these two categories.

Highlights of the updated resource, as previously announced, include:

• Indicated resources have increased by almost 7 million tonnes to 19.6 million tonnes; a 55% increase when compared to the previous 2012 indicated resource estimate, with little change in average grades (at 5% Zn base case cut-off).
• Current resource distribution consists of 71% in the Indicated and 29% in the Inferred categories. The previous, 2012 estimate had 44% in Indicated and 56% in Inferred categories (at 5% Zn cut-off).
• Drilling completed since 2012 has increased the confidence in the estimate, extending the limits of resources in the Indicated category in all directions (up and down-dip and along strike)  
• Additional drilling in 2015 provides a continuous zone of 100 metre-spaced drill holes over the central part of the deposit allowing for the estimation of the majority of resources in the Indicated category.
• The 2015 drill holes focused primarily on the delineation of resources in the central and upper parts of the deposit. Results were similar to the surrounding drill holes demonstrating the continuous nature of the thickness and grade of the mineralization.

Table 1: Estimate of Mineral Resources (5% Zinc cut-off)

Note: Mineral resources are not mineral reserves because the economic viability has not been demonstrated.

Table 2 shows the sensitivity of mineral resources at a variety of zinc cut-off grades.

Table 2: Sensitivity of Mineral Resources to Cut-off Grade

 Note: Mineral resources are not mineral reserves as the economic viability has not been demonstrated.

The distribution of Indicated and Inferred mineral resources, above a cut-off grade of 5% Zn, occurs as a continuous zone that extends to a maximum depth of 800 m below surface and has a true thickness that ranges between 8 m and 30 m with an average of 15 m. These characteristics appear to be favourable with respect to selectivity and other factors when considering possible mining options. The shape and location of the deposit indicates that it is potentially amenable to underground mining methods, or a combination of surface and underground methods, and, as a result, the stated resource is considered to exhibit reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction.

Recommendations from the technical report include additional surface drilling designed to continue the expansion and delineation of the mineral resource at the Cardiac Creek deposit. Select infill targets are proposed on approximate 100-metre spaced centres to continue to provide information within the base case resource. These holes will provide additional data to guide the planned underground exploration and determine the deposit’s characteristics, future development, and underground exploration targets. Select target areas are displayed on the vertical long section below and include:

• Northwest strike extent of the deposit along strike of the intercepts in holes A-07-46 and A-10-75. 
• Down-dip extents of the deposit in two distinct areas: down-dip of holes A-07-42, A-08-60A and A-10-75 to test the high-grade mineralization encountered in the footwall zone of these holes, and the down-dip extent of the high-grade mineralization encountered in holes A-15-121, A-15-124, and A-95-18 and A-15-126.
• Southeast strike extent of the deposit along strike of the intercepts in holes A-11-92 and A-11-95.

VERTICAL LONG-SECTION ACROSS THE CARDIAC CREEK DEPOSIT WITH TARGET AREAS FOR FUTURE DRILLING

Engineering assessments and designs were completed in the past to permit underground access to the deposit via a ramp decline developed in the footwall of the deposit. The Company has received the required permits from the BC Government allowing for the construction of a decline at a depth of approximately 500 m below surface. The decline would allow detailed delineation drilling of the mineral resource and would provide a viable platform to test deeper exploration targets located below the current resource. The permits and required reclamation bond remain in good standing. The Company continues to review its plans to potentially move forward with an underground exploration program. 

Peeyush Varshney, President and CEO of the Company, commented: “We are pleased to announce the completion of the new technical summary report which details considerable exploration and investment on the Akie property and specifically the Cardiac Creek deposit. The new NI 43-101 report clearly demonstrates that the Cardiac Creek deposit is robust and remains one of the premier undeveloped zinc-rich base metal projects in the world.”

The Akie Zn-Pb-Ag Project

The Akie property is located approximately 260 kilometers north-northwest of the town of Mackenzie, in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, and is road accessible. The Akie property is situated within the Kechika Trough, the southernmost area of the regionally extensive Paleozoic Selwyn Basin, one of the most prolific sedimentary basins in the world for the occurrence of SEDEX zinc-lead-silver and stratiform barite deposits.

Drilling on the Akie property by Canada Zinc Metals since 2005 has identified a significant body of baritic-zinc-lead-silver SEDEX mineralisation known as the Cardiac Creek deposit. The deposit is hosted by siliceous, carbonaceous, fine-grained clastic rocks of the Middle to Late Devonian Gunsteel Formation.

The Company has outlined a NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate at Cardiac Creek including an indicated resource of 19.6 million tonnes grading 8.2% zinc, 1.6% lead and 13.6 g/t silver (at a 5% zinc cut-off grade) and an inferred resource of 8.1 million tonnes grading 6.8% zinc, 1.1% lead and 11.2 g/t silver (at a 5% zinc cut-off grade).

Ken MacDonald P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration, is the designated Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the technical information contained in this release. Robert Sim, P.Geo., of SIM Geological Inc., independent consultant to Canada Zinc Metals Corp. and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, is responsible for the information related to the mineral resource estimate presented in this news release.

The TSX Venture Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

CANADA ZINC METALS CORP.

“PEEYUSH VARSHNEY”
                                                           
PEEYUSH VARSHNEY, LL.B
CEO & CHAIRMAN