Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – Thursday June 18, 2015 – Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (TSX Venture Exchange: CZX) is pleased to announce that drilling has commenced on the Akie Project. The Company plans 5,000 metres of large-diameter HQ diamond drilling on the property focusing on resource expansion and new target development, building on the success of earlier drill programs that have outlined a robust and high-grade zinc-lead-silver system in the central core of the Cardiac Creek deposit. There is significant potential to expand the resource down-dip of the current indicated resource and along strike of the deposit.

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. 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.

Priority 2015 Drill Targets

• The first hole of the program will target an open area down-dip of drill hole A-07-53 and bounded along strike by drill hole A-05-32 and A-07-50. The planned hole will seek to expand the known limits of the high grade core and the extent of the indicated resource. Drill hole A-07-53 returned 27.85 metres of 11.54% combined Zn+Pb including 16.23 metres of 15.15% combined Zn+Pb. Hole A-07-50 returned 29.40 metres of 15.78% combined Zn+Pb including 20.98 metres of 20.08% combined Zn+Pb and hole A-05-32 returned 26.70 metres of 14.69% combined Zn+Pb including 11.50 metres of 20.11% combined Zn+Pb (see previous Company press releases; December 21, 2005, January 21, 2008, February 21, 2008; all intervals are reported as core length with % estimates provided of true width; as per the original press release).
• Pending successful results; four additional holes will continue to test this large open area down-dip of the current indicated resource model
• Each target has the potential to significantly add to and also extend down-dip the known mineralization associated with the Cardiac Creek deposit. 

The drill program is expected to be completed by early fall (3rd quarter 2015). Drilling services are provided by Western Exploration Drilling of Kamloops, BC using a Zinex A5 hydraulic drill rig.

The recently acquired airborne gravity data, in conjunction with airborne VTEM data and a revised regional geological base map, will be used to prioritize other property-scale targets such as the North Lead Zone and the Sitka Showing.

Peeyush Varshney, President and CEO, of the Company states: "We are pleased to have the drill turning so early in the season giving us ample time to complete the targeted drilling on the Cardiac Creek deposit; and allowing us to evaluate new airborne geophysical targets that we can prioritize for drill testing.”

“Drilling will focus on expanding the indicated resource down-dip of the current model and infill some open zones within the high grade core of the deposit. Ongoing modelling and interpretation of drilling in conjunction with new airborne gravity data will be used to generate multiple new targets that offer near term potential to develop into a new zinc-lead-silver deposits which can provide significant value creation for our shareholders.”

“The Company is well funded to carry out exploration on a number of its wholly owned properties, and we expect a very busy and exciting year.”

QA/QC

Canada Zinc Metals has implemented a rigorous quality assurance/quality control program at the Akie property using best industry practices. All drill core is logged for geology, structure, veining, mineralization, and RQD. Sections of sulphide mineralization are marked for sampling by a geologist and a series of standards, duplicates and blanks are inserted into the sample stream for QA/QC purposes. Prior to the cutting of samples, all core boxes are photographed for due diligence and record keeping purposes. The samples are split by a diamond saw, tagged and bagged and forwarded to Acme Labs (a Bureau Veritas Group Company) of Vancouver, BC, for analysis. Documentation recording the chain of custody is kept for each shipment.

Assays for zinc, lead and silver are obtained using Acme Labs AQ270 analytical package with sample digestion using aqua regia solution followed by ICP-ES and ICP-MS analyses. Barium content is determined by Acme Labs LF300 analytical package using LiBO2/LiB4O7 fusion and ACS grade nitric acid followed by ICP-ES analysis. Check assays on drill pulps are routinely conducted by ALS Minerals of North Vancouver, BC with their OG46 analytical package using aqua regia digestion and ICP-ES analysis. All remaining drill core is stored at the Akie exploration camp.

Separately, the Company also announces that Mr. Henry Giegerich will be resigning from the Board of Directors effective June 30, 2015. The Company thanks Henry for his 9 years of service and wishes him well in his future endeavors.  

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 mineralization 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 12.7 million tonnes grading 8.4% zinc, 1.7% lead and 13.7 g/t silver (at a 5% zinc cut-off grade) and an inferred resource of 16.3 million tonnes grading 7.4% zinc, 1.3% lead and 11.6 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