Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – Thursday, May 16, 2013 – Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (TSX Venture Exchange: CZX) is pleased to provide an update on permitting activities for the Akie, Pie, Mt. Alcock, Yuen and the North Kechika regional properties.

The Akie property is the Company’s flagship exploration project and is host to the Cardiac Creek SEDEX Zn-Pb-Ag deposit with a 43-101 compliant measured and indicated resource recently updated in April of 2012. The Kechika Regional Project, represented by a series of contiguous property blocks including Pie and Mt. Alcock, extends northwest from the Akie property for approximately 140 kilometres, covering the prospective Devonian Gunsteel Formation shale. The Gunsteel shale is the known host to the Cardiac Creek deposit, the Cirque deposit (Teck/Korea Zinc), and numerous Zn-Pb-Ag mineral prospects and occurrences along its mapped extent. The southernmost boundary of the Kechika Regional project is located approximately 260 kilometers north-northwest of the town of Mackenzie, in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. 

The Yuen and North Kechika Properties - Permitted

The Company is pleased to report it has recently received multi-year exploration permits from the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines and Natural Gas for the Yuen property and the North Kechika regional properties. These permits will allow the Company to execute its exploration plans on these properties and evaluate targets generated from the recently completed digital compilation program.

The Yuen property is located between the Mt. Alcock property to the northwest and the Cirque (Teck/Korea Zinc) property to the southeast. The Yuen property, with a similar setting as the Mt. Alcock property, is sub-divided into a western and eastern panel of the prospective Earn Group rocks which is the host assemblage of the Devonian Gunsteel Formation shale. There has been limited historical drilling on the Yuen property, representing over 1,400 metres, scattered across the property testing isolated soil anomalies and known mineralised showings located on the two panels. The Yuen property has seen little exploration activity over the past 30 years with the last period of focused exploration occurring from 1979 to 1981.

The North Kechika group of properties is situated approximately 37 kilometres northwest of the Mt. Alcock property. The group of properties, from south to north, include; Bear/Spa, Driftpile South, Saint and Thro. To service exploration in this region, an exploration camp, to be built in the vicinity of the Driftpile airstrip, has been approved by the government. Similar to the Yuen property, the majority of exploration work took place in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Limited drilling has taken place on the Bear/Spa and Driftpile South properties testing defined soil anomalies. To date there has been no drilling on either the Saint or Thro properties.

Preliminary historical drilling in 1980* at Bear/Spa encountered Pb-Zn-Ag mineralization of variable width and grade in several holes. Drill hole 80-B-01 intersected a large interval of bedded barite with sphalerite and galena underlain by massive bedded pyrite from a downhole depth of 70 metres and returned 28.7m (true width) of 1.9% Zn + Pb and 15.1g/t Ag, including 6.9m (true width) of 2.32% Zn + Pb and 34.3 g/t Ag. Individual assays returned up to 10.70% Zn and 5.73% Pb. Drill hole 80-B-02 intersected 21.4m (true width) of 2.75% Zn + Pb and 16.8 g/t Ag from a downhole depth of 105 meters. Other encouraging results include 2.96% Zn + Pb and 20.6 g/t Ag over 11 meters (true width) from surface in hole B-80-03, with indications the zone is open to the NW. There has been limited follow-up drilling on the Bear/Spa mineralisation and the zone appears to be open at depth and along strike.

Akie, Pie and Mt. Alcock Properties - Permitted

In addition to the multi-year permits for Yuen and the North Kechika properties, the Company is pleased to report that it has received date extensions for its existing multi-year permits for the Akie, Pie and Mt. Alcock properties. The Company has also received approval for the construction of a temporary exploration camp on the Mt. Alcock property. The camp will increase logistical efficiencies and service exploration efforts to the northwest between Mt. Alcock and North Kechika.

With these permits in hand, the Company will now be able to establish long term exploration goals and carry them out in a time effective manner without having to re-apply or renew existing permits on an annual basis. Collectively, the permits and amendments provide multi-year approval for drill programs on 5 properties and logistical support to follow-up geological and geochemical surveys on intervening properties not yet slated for drilling.  

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.

*R. Carne, 1980: Report on Diamond Drilling on the Bear and SI Claim Group, BC Ministry of Energy and Mines and Petroleum Resources, Assessment Report #08626, p51.

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