Rathdowney advancing Phase II work at Project Olza

VANCOUVER, April 22, 2014 /CNW/ - Rathdowney Resources Ltd. ("Rathdowney" or the "Company") (TSX-V: RTH) is pleased to provide a report on the progress of its Phase II activities at the Olza Zinc-Lead-Silver Project in southwest Poland. Phase II involves engineering, environmental and community segments, designed to advance project evaluation and permitting as outlined for projects in Poland.

Rathdowney's consultants and in-country specialists have undertaken a thorough assessment of the requirements under Polish law for permitting. The Rathdowney team has engaged with local and regional authorities to inform them of its plans. The permitting process in Poland has several aspects which include an assessment of geological documentation, consideration of local land use plans and collection of data for completion of studies necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment report. This work is carried out in parallel with deposit development planning.

A comprehensive appraisal of the historical data, including that compiled by the Polish government surveys and that collected during Rathdowney's resource confirmation drilling in Phase I has been completed in order to determine what data will best support development of the project. A report documenting the compilation of both the historical and modern data sets has been submitted to the Chief Geologist for Poland. Approval of Rathdowney's bid for the documentation has been received from the Polish government, securing the Project Olza tenure. The approval also marks completion of an initial step of the permitting process in Poland.

Rathdowney has also planned for comprehensive data collection programs to support engineering studies and the environmental assessment process. Baseline investigations (flora, fauna, air, ground and surface water, soil and rock, climate, land use, protected areas and monuments) have been designed to characterize existing environmental and social conditions of the project-area, which will help to establish pre-project monitoring sites for long term assessment of project activities, provide critical environmental input to project engineering and design, and allow for a detailed assessment of the project effects and mitigation measures.

Key programs have been initiated. One of the largest is the hydrological study. Specialists from the AGH Krakow University of Science and Technology ("AGH") in Poland were engaged to conduct the hydrological assessment of the Olza resource-area. The program involves desk top studies as well as a survey of hundreds of existing hand-dug and drilled wells in the area. To facilitate the program, Rathdowney's site team and AGH have met with each of the local landowners to arrange access to the existing wells from which data on flow rates and chemistry will be collected. Data will also be collected from surface water bodies. Once an initial assessment of the regional hydrology has been made, AGH will propose locations for additional groundwater monitoring stations, as required. Concurrently, a regional hydrogeological model‎ will be developed from over 1000 historical drill holes. This compilation of historical data and new data for Olza is expected to create one of the most comprehensive hydrological models in Poland.

More recently, the Company engaged the Polish NGO Fundacja Przyroda i Człowiek (Nature and Human Foundation) to carry out flora and fauna studies. These detailed baseline studies will cover an area of over 100 square kilometres.

Rathdowney began community engagement activities at Project Olza in 2010. The initial work mainly involved engagement with government and local landowners in the area of some 225 holes completed by the Company during the initial drilling phase. An expanded community program began in 2013, encompassing over 30 meetings with surrounding communities and direct engagement with local landowners. Some 708 households were contacted in 2013 in order to access sampling sites for the hydrological program. This ongoing program will also assist with access for the flora and fauna studies.

President and CEO David Copeland said "Our Phase II activities are progressing well, building on the positive results of the resource assessment in Phase I. With the acceptance of our comprehensive report on geological documentation, we have secured our project tenure for the evaluation and permitting phase. Our current focus is on data collection to support engineering studies and an environmental assessment report, as well as continued stakeholder engagement."

About Project Olza

Project Olza is located in the Upper Silesian Mining District of southwestern Poland, a world-class region of Mississippi Valley-type deposits with well-developed mining infrastructure. Easily accessible by road, the Olza project site is a one-hour drive from Krakow, a major city with full services, including an international airport. The deposits at Olza are along strike from the long-life Pomorzany zinc-lead mine and 30 km from the ZGH zinc smelter at Boleslaw. A railway line to the smelter runs through the Olza project-area.

Since 2010, Rathdowney has invested some $16.8 million at Olza. The Company's Phase I confirmatory drilling program built on the extensive historical drill database assembled by the Polish State Survey to delimit 21.2 million tonnes of inferred mineral resources, grading 7.42% combined zinc and lead¹, with excellent potential for resource expansion. Work by Rathdowney also indicates significant silver concentrations in the Olza mineralization. These mineral resources provide the foundation for engineering, environmental baseline and other technical studies necessary for project planning and permitting.

About Rathdowney

Rathdowney Resources Ltd. is an exploration and development company focused on advancing the Olza zinc-lead-silver project in Poland through permitting and into production. Rathdowney is associated with Hunter Dickinson Inc. ("HDI") a diversified, global mine development company with a 25-year history of mineral development success.

For further details on Rathdowney and Project Olza, please visit the company website:
www.rathdowneyresources.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors
David J. Copeland
President and CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Assumptions used by the Company to develop forward-looking statements include the following: the Olza project will obtain all required environmental and other permits and all land use and other licenses, studies and development of the Olza project will continue to be positive, and no geological or technical problems will occur. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, potential environmental issues or liabilities associated with exploration, development and mining activities, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

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1} Estimated at a 2.0% zinc cutoff; individual grades are 5.88% zinc and 1.54% lead (see Rathdowney News Release dated September 11, 2012). Silver was not analysed during historical drilling so was not included in the estimate.

SOURCE Rathdowney Resources Ltd.