News

Encouraging Results - 2009 Akie Property and Kechika Regional Exploration Programs

Vancouver, B.C. – August 13, 2009 – Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (TSX Venture:CZX) (“Canada Zinc Metals” or the Company) is pleased to provide the following encouraging progress report on the 2009 exploration programs currently underway on the Akie Property and Kechika Regional tenures (collectively the” Properties”).

Kechika Regional Program

The 2009 Kechika regional program has been largely directed towards the Pie, Yuen Extension and Yuen claims that extend northwestward from the Akie Property for a distance of some 30 km. These properties encompass the highly prospective geological package(s) of Middle to Late Devonian fine grained sediments and associated carbonate rocks that host both the Company’s Cardiac Creek deposit and the nearby Cirque deposits owned by Teck Resources and Korea Zinc. The Pie claims have yielded initial exploration encouragement consisting of the following:

• Discovery of a 70 metre long by 1.5 metre thick occurrence of bedded barite (“GPS Showing”), and associated iron seeps, and a nearby showing of laminar pyrite showing, all within black shales believed to represent the  possible strike extension of the Cirque stratigraphy.
   
• Prospecting and hand trenching in the vicinity of the main Pie showing has resulted in discovery of a float fragment of laminated sphalerite (zinc) , galena (lead) and pyrite mineralization identical to that present in the Cardiac Creek deposit and several occurrences of breccia within limestone, or in contact with the limestone, containing coarse grained galena, brown sphalerite and, in at least one instance, large (to > 2 cm), lath-like crystals of minerals interpreted to be white barite. At the present time, the breccia zones are being investigated further by additional hand trenching and channel sampling with a diamond saw.

A large number of rock, soil and silt samples have also been collected during the regional program and results are awaited.

Akie Property Program

Work to date on Akie has been focused on detailed geologic mapping in the general vicinity of the North Lead Anomaly located at the northern end of the property. This additional mapping has provided important information on the distribution of geological units in this highly prospective area, including identification of carbonate outcrops which, along with a nearby iron seep, indicate proximity to a shale (Gunsteel)-carbonate contact, a key stratigraphic marker horizon. The zinc-lead mineralization in both the Cardiac Creek deposit and the North Lead Anomaly occurs in Gunsteel shale at, or close to, the contact with carbonate rocks.  Follow-up investigations in the form of prospecting and hand trenching are currently underway.

The North Lead Anomaly, located some 2.3 km northwest of the nearest drill hole to penetrate the Cardiac Creek deposit, is considered to be the highest priority target on the Akie property due to the mineralization encountered in a 1996 drill hole (Inmet; 11.60% zinc and 9.05% lead over an interval of 0.80 metre) within a geologic environment identical to that at Cardiac Creek.  The mineralization, hosted by Gunsteel shale, is stratigraphically immediately above a debris flow in which the fragments and matrix have been replaced by pyrite, sphalerite and galena. This feature, combined with the presence of quartz-carbonate alteration in footwall rocks beneath the debris flow and widespread high lead/zinc ratios in samples of the overlying soil, are supportive of the presence of a hydrothermal feeder zone/vent complex in the area. Worldwide, SEDEX mineralizing centers such as this exhibit higher grade mineralization at the transition between the vent complex and the laterally extensive bedded ore facies.

“We are very excited by what our exploration team has uncovered thus far during this year’s exploration program,” commented Jim Mustard, president of Canada Zinc Metals.  “We have always believed that additional discoveries on trend from the Cardiac Creek deposit would be made and these very encouraging results further confirm this potential.”

About the Akie and Kechika Regional Properties

The Akie zinc-lead property is situated within the southern-most part (Kechika Trough) 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 Inmet Mining Corporation during the period 1994 to 1996 and by Canada Zinc Metals Corp. since 2005 has identified a significant body of baritic-zinc-lead SEDEX mineralization (Cardiac Creek deposit).  The deposit is hosted by variably siliceous, fine grained clastic rocks of the Middle to Late Devonian ‘Gunsteel’ formation.  The Company has outlined a NI 43-101 compliant inferred resource of 23.6 million tonnes grading 7.6% zinc, 1.5% lead and 13.0 g/t silver (at a 5% zinc cut off grade). 

Two similar deposits, Cirque and Cirque South Cirque, located some 20 km northwest of Akie and owned under a joint venture by Teck Resources and Korea Zinc, are also hosted by Gunsteel rocks and have a combined geologic inventory in excess of 50 million tonnes (not 43-101 compliant) grading  approximately 10% combined zinc + lead.

In addition to the Akie property, Canada Zinc Metals Corp. controls a large contiguous group of claims which comprise the Kechika Regional project. These claims are underlain by geology identical to that on the Akie property (Cardiac Creek deposit) and Cirque. This project includes the  100% owned Mt. Alcock property, which has yielded a historic drill intercept of 8.8 metres grading 9.3% zinc+lead, numerous zinc-lead-barite occurrences,  and several regional base metal anomalies.

All of the claims (77,889 hectares) comprising the Akie Property and the Kechika Regional Project are 100% owned by the Company and encompass prospective Gunsteel stratigraphy over a distance of some 140 km.. This large land holding is located in northeastern British Columbia, approximately 280 km north-northwest of Mackenzie.

Qualified Person

John R. Fraser, P.Geo. (B.C.), Vice President of Exploration and a Director of Canada Zinc Metals Corp. is the Qualified Person for the Company, as defined by NI 43-101, and is responsible for the technical information contained in this 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