News

Canada Zinc Metals Reports on Activities at the Akie Project

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (TSX Venture Exchange: CZX) is pleased to provide an update on exploration activities on its 100% owned Akie property, which hosts the Cardiac Creek SEDEX Zn-Pb-Ag deposit. The property is located approximately 260 kilometers north-northwest of the town of Mackenzie, in northeastern British Columbia, Canada.

Akie Property:

The 2011 exploration program commenced in early June with diamond drilling targeting several key zones along strike from the Cardiac Creek deposit, including: the North Lead Anomaly; the NW Extension and the SE Extension. Drilling will also test the SE edge of the deposit with the intent to expand the deposit in this direction. To date, 6 drill holes have been completed in the first month of the program, totaling 2,213.78 metres, with drill production and recovery exceeding expectations.

The bulk of the drilling to date has focused on the NW Extension. A total of 5 holes have been completed totaling 1,708.72 metres. Holes A-11-87, A-11-88 and A-11-89 tested the strike extent and up-dip potential of proximal style mineralization encountered in A-10-69. Hole A-11-90 tested the possible up-dip extent of the Nick Style (Ni-Zn) horizon discovered in A-10-72. Hole A-11-91 tested the down-dip extent of the mineralization encountered in A-10-69.

Variable widths of proximal style mineralization were encountered in all drill holes except A-11-91. Hole A-11-88, located closest to the Cardiac Creek deposit, contains the most promising mineralization to date with a well-developed section of proximal style mineralization and approximately 2.0 metres of massive sulphide lens situated at the base of the Gunsteel formation.
The Nick Horizon was not encountered in drill hole A-11-90 and A-11-91 did not intersect any significant mineralization down-dip of A-10-69. Folding and faulting at the NW Extension has produced a structurally complex geological setting that requires further analysis.

The first drill hole of the 2011 exploration program tested the SE Extension. Drill hole A-11-86 was completed to a depth of 505.06 metres, testing the strike and down-dip potential of the mineralization encountered in the spring geotechnical drill holes A-11-84 and A-11-85. The mineralization encountered in A-11-86 appeared to be distal in nature and of different character to that observed in A-11-84 and A-11-85. Analytical results from all sampled drill holes are pending.

Currently, the drill is testing the SE edge of the Cardiac Creek deposit with the intent of expanding the known limits of the deposit. The intended target of the current drill hole A-11-92 represents a 100 metre step-out to the SE from the closest resource hole, A-95-16. If successful, a series of holes are planned further along strike from the deposit. Future drill targets include two deep (900 metre) drill holes on the North Lead Anomaly designed to test the down-dip extent of extensive mineralization encountered in A-10-68 and A-10-76. It is anticipated that mineralization will continue to develop down-dip.

Regional Exploration:

The regional exploration program has focused on targets situated on the Pie and Akie properties. These efforts include mapping of the West Pie property, delineating the extent of prospective black shales of the Gunsteel Formation and further examination and analysis of the GPS bedded barite and Pie Breccia showings.

Mapping on the West Pie property has defined a significant panel of interpreted prospective Gunsteel Formation shales. Nodular barite occurrences have been discovered within this panel indicating the occurrence of exhalative activity in the area. Further mapping and an extensive soil sampling program are planned.

The GPS bedded barite occurrence is located on the western most edge of the Akie property. It is situated along strike from and is hosted in the same panel of interpreted Gunsteel shales identified at the West Pie property. The showing was inspected early in the program and a series of soil samples were collected to close off an existing anomaly. It is important to note that the interpreted Gunsteel shales present at the West Pie property, which also host the GPS bedded barite showing, are situated directly along strike from Teck’s Cirque deposit.

At this time a single drill hole is proposed that will test the down dip extent of the bedded barite. The proposed drill hole is expected to be less than 250m. The surface outcropping of the Cirque deposit is identified as the “Baritic facies” and is known to contain massive barite and minor sulphides. The GPS showing could represent a similar barite horizon proximal to another center of exhalative sulphide mineralization.

Other exploration efforts on the Pie property have focused on Pie Breccia Showing, a black silica vein host to significant sphalerite and minor galena mineralization. Work along the eastern edge of the Pie property has included follow up on areas with coincident soil and silt anomalies containing elevated values of nickel and zinc. Analytical results from the regional exploration program are pending.

About the Akie Property

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 since 2005 has identified a significant body of baritic-zinc-lead SEDEX mineralization (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 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.

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.

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