CANADA ZINC METALS
CORP.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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2009
Akie and Kechika Regional Exploration Program Commences
Vancouver, B.C. � July
15, 2009 � Canada Zinc Metals Corp. (TSX Venture:CZX)
(�Canada
Zinc Metals � or the �Company�) is pleased to report that the 2009 exploration program on the Akie
Property and Kechika Regional tenures (collectively the� Properties�) has
commenced.� This year�s exploration
program, which is helicopter supported, will be staged from the Akie base camp
and will consist primarily of geologic mapping, geochemical sampling and
detailed prospecting, with particular emphasis on the latter..
The Properties, all owned 100% by the Company, are centered approximately 260
kilometers north-northwest of the town of Mackenzie
in northeastern British
Columbia.
Akie Property Program
Work
will focus on three high priority soil +/- silt geochemical targets, all underlain
by permissive Gunsteel shale, that have been identified as a result of previous
work by the Company and others. Of these, the North Lead Anomaly, located some
2.3 km northwest of the nearest drill hole to penetrate the Cardiac Creek
deposit, is considered to be the most prospective due to the presence of coarse
grained, heterogeneous, mineralization encountered in a 1996 drill hole (11.60%
zinc and 9.05% lead over an interval of 0.80 m) within a geologic environment
identical to that at Cardiac Creek.� In
addition, this mineralization is accompanied by sulphide (pyrite, sphalerite
and galena) replacement of the fragments and the matrix of an underlying debris
flow, quartz-carbonate alteration in footwall rocks beneath the debris flow,
and widespread high lead/zinc ratios in the soil samples collected from the
surrounding area, all characteristics of a typical vent complex/feeder zone
associated with a SEDEX deposit. Hydrothermal centres such as these are often
associated with higher grade mineralization at the transition between the vent
complex and the laterally extensive bedded ore facies.
Kechika Regional Program
The
Kechika regional program will focus on the Pie, Yuen Extension and Yuen claims
that extend northwestward from the Akie Property for a distance of some 30 km
and encompass the key geological package of Middle to Late Devonian fine
grained sediments and associated carbonate rocks that host the Company�s
Cardiac Creek deposit and the nearby Cirque deposits owned by Teck Resources
and Korea Zinc.
The
2009 regional exploration program will have two primary components:
I.
To conduct a detailed
investigation of the favourable Gunsteel stratigraphy along strike from the
Cardiac Creek deposit. These rocks exhibit widespread anomalous lead-zinc soil
and silt geochemistry and numerous lead-zinc-barite showings over almost� the entire
extent of the three tenures, and;
II.
To evaluate the continuation to
the northwest onto the Yuen tenure and southeast onto the Pie tenure of the
prospective package of Gunsteel rocks that host the two Cirque deposits. The
favourable strike length covers a total distance of 15 kilometres.
�With the commencement of our 2009 exploration
program, we anticipate field work leading to even better and more refined
understanding of the geologic setting and to a more concentrated focus that will
result in a drill program on new targets. Given our successful first phase of
regional exploration last year in combination with historical work, I am
certain new discoveries can be made in the months to come,� commented Jim
Mustard, President of Canada Zinc Metals. �Although there is
continued uncertainty in the capital markets, we are pleased that the Board of
Directors has approved an exploration budget this year of approximately $1.5
million.� The work that we will be
conducting at the Akie property, including further environmental baseline
studies, will continue to advance the project towards a potential underground
program next year.�
About the Akie and Kechika Regional Properties
The Akie zinc-lead property is situated within the
southern-most part (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 variably siliceous, 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% Zn, 1.5% Pb and 13.0 g/t Ag (at a 5% Zn 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 (non 43-101 compliant).
In
addition to the Akie property, Canada Zinc Metals controls a large contiguous
group of claims called Kechika Regional
hosting identical geology as occurs at Cirque and Akie. Kechika Regional
includes Mt Alcock (best historic drill intercept 8.8 metres grading 9.3%
Zn+Pb) and several regional base metal anomalies.
Qualified Person
John
R. Fraser, P.Geo. (B.C.), Vice President of Exploration and a Director of
Canada Zinc Metals is the Qualified Person for the Company, as defined by NI
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�
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pEEYUSH vARSHNEY, LL.B
CEO & CHAIRMAN