Encouraging Results From Underground Exploration Program Confirm Potential of Stockwork at Prairie Creek Mine

Press Releases

Vancouver, British Columbia, June 9, 2015 – Canadian Zinc Corporation (TSX: CZN; OTCQB: CZICF) (“the Company” or “Canadian Zinc”) is pleased to provide an update on the continuing underground exploration program at the Prairie Creek Mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada last reported on May 5, 2015.

Assays have now been received from five additional diamond drill holes and from an underground chip sampling program.

Highlights of Underground Exploration:

• Detailed chip sampling of Stockwork Zone (“STK”) on the 930m Level, has returned composite grades of 5.6% Pb, 14.2% Zn and 119 g/t Ag across a true width of 4.4m along a strike length of 71.8m within an area named “the Northwest Drift”.

• Diamond drilling of the lower portion of the Main Quartz Vein (“MQV”) structure has intersected significant grades in three holes, PCU-15-56, 58 and 59. Hole PCU-15-59 returned an intercept of 14.82% Pb, 3.95% Zn, 377 g/t Ag over an estimated true width of 2.6m, approximately 300m vertically below the existing workings.

• Multiple intercepts of STK mineralization were also returned in PCU-015-60 including a 4m assay interval grading 4.8% Pb, 11.7% Zn and 66 g/t Ag.

In this particular area of the property, base metal mineralization occurs both in the Main Quartz Vein, which is a high-grade, steeply dipping, fault structure that hosts the majority of the defined reserves and resources, and in the Stockwork Zone, which is a series of narrow high-grade veins occurring at an oblique angle to the Main Quartz Vein.

Most of the previous exploration at Prairie Creek has been on the MQV since the STK mineralization was previously estimated to be somewhat lower grade; however, this recent detailed underground chip sampling of the STK has demonstrated there are areas within the Stockwork zone that exhibit high grades of lead, zinc and silver mineralization and which are accessible from the existing workings.

This data will be further interpreted, modelled and incorporated into the future resource and reserve calculations and mineplan.

930m Level Underground Chip Sampling

The 930m Level underground workings were developed primarily to access the Main Quartz Vein which is now well exposed and partially developed in numerous headings. Towards the end of the existing 930m Level workings, mineralization occurs both within the MQV and STK structures. The Northwest Drift (“NWD”) which was developed in this STK zone; was never previously sampled.

Results of Underground Chip Sampling of STK on the 930m Level

			True	Strike
			Width	Length
Chip Sample Location			(m)	(m)	Pb (%)	Zn (%)	Ag (g/t)
COMPOSITE SECTIONS IN NORTHWEST DRIFT (NWD)
and CROSSCUT (XC) 29
XC-29-15m			10.00	4.25	8.39	12.27	143
XC-29-10m			4.00	5.00	4.55	7.45	73
XC-29.5-5m section			3.00	10.00	7.41	21.50	123
NWD-10m section			4.00	10.00	3.53	10.52	126
NWD-15m section			3.40	5.00	2.13	12.41	92
NWD-20m section			3.00	5.00	5.23	18.33	116
NWD-25m section			3.20	5.00	8.40	19.83	167
NWD-30m section			3.40	5.00	5.96	13.21	111
NWD-35m section			3.40	5.00	9.25	21.02	128
NWD-40m section			3.30	5.00	3.90	5.92	62
NWD-45m section			4.10	5.00	3.41	8.56	77
NWD-50m section			5.40	4.50	4.89	11.66	70
NWD-54m section			6.00	3.00	7.95	19.23	326
Weighted Composites from 13 Sections			4.40	71.75	5.64	14.16	118.87
INDIVIDUAL STK SAMPLES		PROXIMITY TO NWD
XC-32		70m north	0.50	–	8.25	26.60	107
XC-31		50m north	0.50	–	9.86	19.90	189
XC-30/31		45m north	1.40	–	8.41	23.80	121
XC-30		10m north	0.50	–	14.80	20.20	198
XC-29		2m north	1.00	–	5.78	11.00	143
XC-28		50m north	0.50	–	5.83	22.20	127
XC-28		55m north	0.50	–	3.75	13.20	50
XC-27		70m north	1.00	–	17.60	27.10	360
XC-27		85m north	1.00	–	2.23	15.90	95

Chip Sampling Methodology

The rehabilitation of the 930m Level underground workings has allowed further access into this mid- level and provided an opportunity to sample the STK mineralization. The 930m Northwest Drift and Crosscut 29 provided over 70m exposure of strike length within the STK zone.

Chip sampling, by air hammer, of 50 back samples was completed across 13 cross sections within the drift at 5m intervals. All individual sectional samples were width weighted according to each section. Resulting sectional composites were then strike length weighted half way to the adjacent sections or, at the end of the workings, half way from the previous strike interval. Additional wall and back sampling was completed on Stockwork mineralization in proximity to the Northwest Drift using a minimum sample width of 0.5m.

Stockwork Mineral Resource

The March 26, 2015 Resource Estimate included, for the first time, both an Indicated and Inferred STK Resources summarized below. (See Press Release March 26, 2015):

Stockwork	Tonnes	Pb %	Zn %	Ag g/t
Indicated Resource	1,400,000	4.0	7.1	63
Inferred Resource	790,000	4.0	4.7	61

While the Northwest Drift area is still subject to geological interpretation and modelling the recent chip sampling program shows evidence that it contains higher grades than previously estimated in the overall STK mineral resource.

870m Decline Diamond Drilling Results

Exploration drilling continued from underground drill stations #8 and #9, in the 870m decline testing for new areas of mineralization near the mine workings and to further detail Inferred resources, with the objective of converting part of the large Inferred Mineral Resource to the Indicated category. Three holes, PCU-15-56, 58 and 59, intersected significant grades in the MQV and hole PCU-015-60 returned multiple intercepts of STK mineralization. Recent received assay results from the diamond drill program are as follows:

IBF2