Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA, December 05, 2011 /FSC/ - Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (CZX - TSX Venture), is pleased to provide an update on exploration programs conducted on its 100% owned Akie Project and Kechika regional project. The Akie property, host to the Cardiac Creek SEDEX Zn-Pb-Ag deposit, is located approximately 260 kilometers north-northwest of the town of Mackenzie, in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The Kechika group of regional properties extends northwest from the Akie property for 140 kilometers, centered along the prospective stratigraphy of the Gunsteel Formation of Northeastern B.C.
Akie Property
The 2011 exploration program has recently been concluded. The work carried out included HQ diamond drilling on several targets across the flagship Akie property including the SE Extension, Cardiac Creek Zone, the NW Extension and the GPS bedded barite showing. The drilling program consisted of 12 holes totaling 5,667.81 metres that were drilled to their planned depths. Three other holes totaling 360.58 metres were abandoned due to poor ground conditions or excessive deviation. The results from the drilling program are summarized below.
Cardiac Creek Deposit
A total of 6 drill holes (A-11-92, A-11-93, A-11-95, A-11-96, A-11-98 and A-11-99) were completed on the Cardiac Creek deposit. These holes provided infill information both up and down-dip as well as testing the strike extent of the high grade trend along the southeastern edges of the deposit. Step-out drilling was also conducted to the southeast designed to expand the known limits of the deposit. At this time, Canada Zinc Metals has received partial assay results from 2 of the 6 Cardiac Creek Zone (CCZ) drill holes, A-11-92 and A-11-93. The pierce point for hole A-11-92 represents an approximate 125 metre step-out along strike from A-95-16, situated 210 metres down-dip from A-94-04. The high grade mineralization intercepted by hole A-11-93, which included 10.31 metres assaying 10.62% Zn+Pb (within which 3.37 metres assayed 17.66% Zn+Pb) is located 100 metres up-dip from A-95-16 and along strike from drill holes A-08-64 and A-08-66. The results from these two drill holes are outlined in the table below.
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Drill Hole From To Interval Width* Zn Pb Ag Zn+Pb
(m) (m) (m) (%) (%) (g/t) (%)
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A-11-92 599.24 607.50 8.26 1.83 0.30 5.43 2.13
including 599.24 602.46 3.22 3.41 0.58 7.72 3.99
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A-11-93 533.61 552.02 18.41 6.61 1.45 9.84 8.06
including 538.13 548.44 10.31 8.60 2.02 11.82 10.62
including 538.13 541.50 3.37 13.99 3.67 16.53 17.66
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The true width of the mineralization is estimated to be approximately 73% of the core interval for A-11-92 and 83% of the core interval for A-11-93, but this is subject to revision.
Lab results are expected for the remaining four drill holes within the next several weeks. These holes all intersected the CCZ over variable widths, from 15 meters to 40 meters.
SE Extension
A total of 3 holes (A-11-84 to A-11-86) were completed on the SE Extension target totaling 723.89 metres. Drill holes A-11-84 and A-11-85 were completed as part of the spring 2011 geotechnical program drilled to obtain geotechnical and hydrogeological information relating to the underground exploration design. Both drill holes were collared along the newly constructed portal access trail and located approximately 850 metres along strike to the southeast of the known boundary of the Cardiac Creek deposit. As a pleasant surprise, trail construction exposed outcrops of laminated to bedded pyrite and nodular barite at surface in this area. Both drill holes intersected similar mineralization with minor sphalerite enrichment over variable widths. These intersects are similar to the distal and proximal facies associated with the Cardiac Creek deposit. Mineralization results from A-11-84 and A-11-85 were highly variable, with anomalous zinc in the 100 to 1,000 ppm range.
A-11-86 was the first drill hole of the 2011 summer exploration program and was collared on the portal access trail in order to test the down-dip potential of the newly discovered mineralization. Laminated pyrite and nodular barite mineralization, typical of the distal facies of the Cardiac Creek deposit, was intersected over 54.86 metres, returning nominal values of zinc consistently running above 1,000 ppm and ranging up to 0.64% Zn.
The results indicate that there is an enrichment of zinc progressing down-dip from surface. Additional geological analysis is required in order to assess the viability of future drill targets on the SE Extension.
GPS Showing and North Lead Anomaly
The final drill hole of the 2011 exploration program (A-11-100) was designed to test the potential for economic mineralization down-dip of the GPS bedded barite showing which is situated on the western edge of the Akie property. The hole was abandoned at a depth of 99.06 metres due to unexpected poor ground conditions within the hanging wall Road River stratigraphy. This target remains a high priority for future drilling programs. The North Lead Anomaly remains a high priority target for future drilling programs. The Company plans to target a new series of drill holes to follow-up on significant mineralized intervals intersected in the 2010 drill program.
Akie Underground Development
The surface construction work began in September in preparation of the planned underground exploration decline for the Cardiac Creek deposit. Work included construction of a waste rock dump site, upgrade of the exploration trail to a proper haul road, and installation of a bridge crossing on Cardiac Creek. Work crews have demobilized from the Akie property and camp has been closed for the season. The Company anticipates work to resume in the spring of 2012 to complete preparation of the portal site. Planning and engineering/environmental studies will continue over the winter months with a goal to commence underground development work in the summer of 2012.
About the Akie Property
The Akie zinc-lead property is situated within the southernmost area (Kechika Trough) 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 Inmet Mining Corporation during the period 1994 to 1996 and by Canada Zinc Metals since 2005 has identified a significant body of baritic-zinc-lead SEDEX mineralization (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 inferred resource of 23.6 million tonnes grading 7.6% zinc, 1.5% lead and 13.0 g/t silver (at a 5% zinc cut off grade).
Two similar deposits, Cirque and Cirque South Cirque, located some 20 km northwest of Akie and owned under a joint venture by Teck Resources and Korea Zinc, are also hosted by Gunsteel rocks and have a combined geologic inventory in excess of 50 million tonnes (not 43-101 compliant) grading approximately 10% combined zinc + lead.
In addition to the Akie property, Canada Zinc Metals Corp. controls a large contiguous group of claims which comprise the Kechika Regional project. These claims are underlain by geology identical to that on the Akie property (Cardiac Creek deposit) and Cirque. This project includes the 100% owned Mt. Alcock property, which has yielded a historic drill intercept of 8.8 metres grading 9.3% zinc+lead, numerous zinc-lead-barite occurrences, and several regional base metal anomalies.
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
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