Canada Zinc Metals Announces Mobilization of Crew and Commencement of Exploration Program on the Pie Option Properties

Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (“Canada Zinc” or “the Company”, TSX Venture Exchange: CZX) is pleased to announce that Teck Resources Ltd. (“Teck” TSX: TCK.B) has mobilized to the project site and exploration activities have commenced on the optioned Pie-Yuen-Cirque East properties (collectively the “Pie Option Properties”).

The Company owns 100% of eleven, large, contiguous property blocks that comprise the Akie and Kechika Regional projects. The Company’s flagship Akie Project is host to the Cardiac Creek deposit and remains the primary corporate focus. The Kechika Regional Project includes the Pie, Yuen, Cirque East and Mt. Alcock properties extending northwest from the Akie property for approximately 140 kilometres along the strike of the highly prospective Gunsteel Formation shale; the main host rock for known SEDEX zinc-lead-silver deposits in the Kechika Trough of northeastern British Columbia. These projects are located approximately 260 kilometres north northwest of the town of Mackenzie, British Columbia, Canada.

The Company’s generative portfolio of Kechika Regional properties offer shareholders and interested exploration companies high potential opportunities for new discoveries in the Kechika Trough.

2016 Pie Option Exploration Program

The 2016 field program is being conducted by Teck from their Cirque exploration camp located approximately 22 kilometres northwest of the Company’s flagship Akie property. Exploration activities have commenced and the program is expected to be completed by early fall.

The planned program will include:

• A total 18.5 line-km of geological mapping, prospecting and rock sampling (~400 samples) over the highest ranked targets.

• Soil sampling over targets developed in 2016 as well as in-fill sampling in areas of previously un-sampled Earn Group stratigraphy (approximately 800 samples)

• A 7.3 line-km ground gravity survey over the Pie Main, West Yuen and Cirque East targets to be completed prior to drill testing. A geophysical crew and Teck’s in-house geophysicist have arrived on site and will begin surveying in the next several days

• An initial diamond drill test of one or two of the defined targets at Pie Main and/or West Yuen. Approximately 1,000 metres is planned but total meterage will be results-dependant including analysis of the ground geophysics. The drilling is scheduled to commence during the second week of August

Geological mapping, prospecting and geochemical sampling will be conducted with an overall aim to improve definition of key targets. An airborne gravity gradiometry (AGG) survey totaling 874 line kilometres was completed by Teck in 2015 over the entire prospective area of the Pie Option properties. Teck subsequently generated a series of inversion models of key targets and anomalies which were evaluated in conjunction with a hierarchical target rank based on a number of different characteristics including VTEM geophysics, rock and soil geochemistry, historical drilling and geological mapping. The ground gravity lines will be completed over these target areas to confirm the airborne gravity response and inversion models. The primary focus of this work will be to finalize a number of preliminary drill targets across the three option properties.

One such target area, on the Yuen property, generated significant results during the 2015 exploration program including coincident soil geochemistry and airborne gradient gravity (AGG) anomalies. The target area is within an untested strike extension of interpreted host stratigraphy and located approximately 8 kilometres northwest of the North Cirque deposit. Soil sampling defined a 2.2 x 0.5 km Zn (627 ppm average; peak 6,268 ppm), Pb (76 ppm average; peak 270 ppm) and Ag anomaly containing two AGG anomalies in areas of no outcrop exposure.  

Peeyush Varshney, President and CEO, of the Company commented, "We are pleased with the progress Teck and their JV partner, Korea Zinc, has made thus far on the Pie Option properties. We look forward to diamond drilling of key targets this summer after two seasons of methodical exploration. In a strengthening zinc market we expect positive results from Pie Option drilling will showcase the tremendous prospectivity of the Kechika Trough and the potential for new discoveries within the Kechika Regional Project.”

The Company will provide further details of the exploration program and the commencement of drilling once confirmation is received by Teck. Drilling will be conducted under the authority of the Company’s drill permits which were previously issued. Teck has also completed baseline environmental work including a Wildlife Mitigation Plan and an archaeological assessment.

Pie Option Agreement

The Pie, Yuen and Cirque East properties are the subject of an option agreement concluded on September 9, 2013 with Teck and its JV partner, Korea Zinc Co., Ltd. ("Korea Zinc" KRX:KorZinc 010130). The option agreement would see Teck and Korea Zinc spend up to $8.5 million to acquire up to 70% interest in the Pie, Yuen and Cirque East properties.

Teck has spent in excess of $1.3 million in exploration expenditures over two field seasons on the Pie Option properties using an integrated approach to exploration to decrease risk and maximize the potential for discovery. In accordance with the Option Agreement Teck must spend an additional $2.2 million by the end of 2017 to exercise the “First Option” and earn Teck/Korea Zinc an undivided 51% interest in the Pie Option properties. Upon exercising the First Option Teck would have an additional option (the "Second Option") to acquire a further 19% interest in the properties for a total of 70%, by incurring an additional $5.0 million in exploration expenditures on or before December 31, 2019.

Expenditures for the 2016 exploration program on the Pie option properties are anticipated to be on the order of $1.5 to $1.7 million.

The Akie Zn-Pb-Ag Project

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 compliant mineral resource 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.

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

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