Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCwire) - Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (“Canada Zinc Metals” or “the Company”, TSX Venture Exchange: CZX) is pleased to announce the Company has been advised by Teck Resources Limited (“Teck” TSX:TCK.B) that it has concluded the 2015 exploration program on the optioned Pie-Yuen-Cirque East 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 believes the generative portfolio of Kechika Regional properties offer shareholders and investment partners significant opportunities for exposure to new discoveries in the Kechika Trough.

Pie Option Properties

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 approximately $1.3 million in exploration expenditures over two field seasons on the Pie Option properties utilizing an integrated approach to exploration to maximize the potential for discovery. There is a commitment to spend an additional $2.2 million by the end of 2017. This would conclude the “First Option” and earn Teck/Korea Zinc an undivided 51% interest in the Pie Option properties. Upon exercising the First Option, Teck/Korea Zinc 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 by the end of 2019.

2015 Exploration Program

The 2015 field program was conducted by Teck from their Cirque exploration camp located approximately 22 km northwest of the Company’s flagship Akie property. The work commenced in early March and was completed in late September. Work focused on drill targeting with a multi-dimensional program of airborne geophysics, rock and soil geochemistry, re-logging historical drill holes, and geological mapping.

Target development work in 2015 included collection of 423 soil samples, 227 rock samples and 22 geological mapping traverses totaling 23 km focused on the Pie and Yuen properties. A total of 522 portable XRF (“pXRF”) analyses were collected from rock samples and rock chips to confirm geology and define geochemical vectors. A total of 3 historic drill holes from the Yuen property were also re-logged and analyzed with the pXRF with a total of 1,064 core analyses collected. 

An airborne gravity gradiometry (“AGG”) survey totaling 874 line kilometres was completed by CGG in early March at a line spacing of 200 meters over the entire prospective area of the Pie Option properties. Reprocessed data was received in late August. Follow-up ground gravity data was collected by SJ Geophysics between late-August and mid-September. Ground gravity data totaling 91 stations was collected along 5 single lines totaling 5.7 kilometres across 5 targets (2 on Pie; Pie West and Del Creek and 3 on Yuen; 2 at Noel Creek and 1 at Yuen South) with station spacing of 100 and 50 meters. Further data processing and interpretation of both airborne and ground gravity datasets is ongoing.

Review of preliminary processed data by Teck reveals a set of geophysical anomalies which are either spatially coincident with priority prospects defined by Canada Zinc Metals in earlier work, or outline new potential targets. Significant results include the identification of coincident soil geochemistry and AGG anomalies within an untested strike extension of interpreted Gunsteel and Akie stratigraphy at the Yuen South target area located approximately 8 km 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) +Ag anomaly containing two AGG anomalies in areas of no outcrop exposure. One ground gravity line was completed over the stronger AGG anomaly; data processing and interpretation is in progress. The AGG data will be integrated by Teck with Canada Zinc Metals’ existing exploration data to plan the next phase of exploration. 

Mr. Ken MacDonald, VP Exploration for the Company, commented, "We’re pleased with the sound and aggressive exploration progress that Teck has made on the Pie Option properties. We look forward to the next key exploration milestone which will include drill targeting on the highest priority targets.” 

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 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

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