Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada – Wednesday, August 16, 2017 – Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (TSX Venture Exchange: CZX) is pleased to announce that an additional two holes have been completed on the Akie property bringing the total number of completed holes drilled in 2017 to six. Work continues on two additional holes with the program expected to be completed by the end of August. All holes drilled to date have targeted specific areas within and around the Cardiac Creek deposit.

The 2017 exploration program commenced in June with two diamond drill rigs and is focused 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.

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 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.

2017 Drill Exploration Update

Approximately 3,580 metres of HQ diamond drill core has been completed on six holes. The first four holes targeted both the central core and the up-dip strike extents of the high-grade core. The following two holes targeted the lower central core area but at its known extents to the NW and the SE. The two holes currently being drilled are focused on expansion of the known limits of the indicated resource. 

Both drill rigs are operating and the Company anticipates having two additional holes completed within the next week. Approximately 400 meters of drilling was abandoned due to excessive deviation. The holes were restarted with slightly different head orientations and then carried through to successful completion intersecting the intended target areas.  

Drillhole A-17-140 encountered thickly bedded pyrite mineralization in the hangingwall at a depth of 695.82 to 719.82 metres downhole. The massive sulphide beds consist predominantly of pyrite, interlaminated with nodular barite and occasional rare bands of light grey, very fine-grained sphalerite. The Cardiac Creek Zone was intersected at a depth of 719.82 metres and extended to a depth of 758.23 metres. The Footwall Zone was present from 766.46 to 775.16 metres. Both the Cardiac Creek and Footwall Zones are characterized by thick beds of dull brown pyrite, light grey sphalerite rich bands, and mottled textured bands enriched in sphalerite, galena, quartz and carbonate. Various footwall lithologies were intersected down to the bottom of the hole and the hole was stopped at 847.96 metres in dolomitic siltstone of the Silurian Road River Group.

Drillhole A-17-141 intersected the hangingwall mineralization at a depth of 551.80 metres, characterized by thick beds of laminated pyrite, nodular barite and occasional bands of sphalerite. The hole transitioned into the Cardiac Creek Zone at a depth of 562.62 metres which continued downhole to 587.67 metres. The mineralisation consists of thick beds of steel grey sphalerite rich bands and sphalerite, galena, quartz, carbonate enriched mottled textured bands are readily apparent. The central section of the zone is faulted by a localized brittle structure which is atypical and is not apparent in the neighboring drill holes. Below a depth of 580.27 metres the sulphide beds contain abundant steel grey sphalerite rich bands, massive barite and laminar pyrite. Locally these sulphide beds appear to be overprinted and enhanced by coarse grained red-brown sphalerite. Similar to hole A-17-137, a 2-metre thick massive sulphide lens was intersected at a depth of 594.94 metres. The hole ended in the Silurian Siltstones with localized areas of alteration at a depth of 651.36 metres.

Geological logging and sampling is now complete on six holes. A total of 900 samples including standard QA/QC samples have been taken through the Cardiac Creek Zone. Samples from the first four holes have reached the Acme Analytical Laboratories (a Bureau Veritas company) in Vancouver, BC; and 2 holes will soon be in transit from site to lab. The true width estimates of each Cardiac Creek intercept are not yet available but are being modeled and will be calculated upon release of pending assay results. Assays results from the first two holes are expected in approximately 2 weeks.

Peeyush Varshney, CEO, commented: “We are very pleased with the rapid progress of the drill program this season. We have intersected the Cardiac Creek Zone in all 6 holes so far and fully anticipate the next 2 holes to be similarly successful. The highlight of the program has been hole A-17-137 with a massive Cardiac Creek Zone intercept. The presence of strongly mottled mineralization throughout has been demonstrated in many holes to be indicative of very strong sphalerite mineralization and thus significant zinc content.”

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, alteration, mineralisation, and geotechnical parameters. Sections of sulphide mineralisation 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 by bonded carrier 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. Overlimit values of lead and zinc are rerun using Bureau Veritas AQ371 analytical package using a hot aqua regia solution followed by ICP-ES analyses. 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.

The Akie Zn-Pb-Ag Project

The Company’s flagship 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