Mr. John Kearney reports

CANADIAN ZINC INITIATES DEFINITIVE FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR PRAIRIE CREEK MINE

Canadian Zinc Corp. has engaged AMC Mining Consultants (Canada) Ltd. and Ausenco Engineering Canada Inc. to complete a definitive feasibility study (DFS) to support the project debt financing of the Prairie Creek Zn-Pb-Ag (zinc-lead-silver) mine in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Discussions to date with financial institutions have confirmed that the opportunity of raising project debt financing for the Prairie Creek mine would be enhanced by completing a definitive or bankable feasibility study which would address all the contingences in the required detail and help to manage or reduce the various risk factors.

In addition, the Prairie Creek prefeasibility study (PFS), completed in 2016 by AMC and Tetra Tech Inc., recommended certain aspects for further detailed study and identified a number of opportunities for optimizing and potentially enhancing the project economics, including a front-end engineering and design phase that would complete engineering to the stage where the design can be used to obtain fixed pricing from construction contractors.

The company expects that the definitive feasibility study will be completed by mid-2017.

Project development planning

Canadian Zinc has also engaged Ausenco to undertake project development planning services for the Prairie Creek mine and deliver a robust optimized project development plan that can be used to advance the project to production and, at the same time, provide a critical link to the project financing plan by providing potential providers of debt or equity with a clear path to profitable production.

Ausenco will complete required engineering utilizing a cost-effective project design methodology to support the development of a high-level execution plan which will be focused on making the best possible use of existing infrastructure and construction materials on-site so as to provide a lower cost or faster time frame to production for the project.

Ausenco has been selected as this company, with complete engineering services based in the Vancouver area, has the relevant experience and expertise, including northern design and project execution at brownfield sites, to prepare a project execution plan that will define the approach to constructing the Prairie Creek project. This will include the development of a contracting and procurement strategy for further stages of work, which will align with the project execution schedule and will serve to support the capital cost estimate and make provision for the identified execution risks and opportunities. The plan will be developed with the objective of converting it to an engineering procurement and construction management (EPCM) contract at the appropriate time.

About the Prairie Creek mine

The Prairie Creek project was the subject of a preliminary feasibility study and technical report completed by AMC Mining Consultants (Canada) Ltd. and Tetra Tech Inc. with input from Canadian Zinc personnel and consultants. The PFS was completed in March, 2016, and the amended technical report was filed under the company's profile on SEDAR in September, 2016.

The Prairie Creek mine hosts proven and probable mineral reserves of 7.6 million tonnes averaging 8.93 per cent zinc, 8.33 per cent lead and 127.58 grams per tonne silver within measured and indicated mineral resources of 8.7 million tonnes grading 9.5 per cent zinc, 8.9 per cent lead and 136 g/t silver. In addition, the technical report confirms a large inferred mineral resource of 7.05 million tonnes grading 11.3 per cent zinc, 7.7 per cent lead and 166 g/t silver and additional exploration potential.

Over the 17-year mine life, Prairie Creek's projected average annual mine production is expected to be approximately 60,000 tonnes of zinc concentrate and 55,000 tonnes of lead concentrate containing approximately 86 million pounds of zinc, 82 million pounds of lead and 1.7 million ounces of silver.

There remains good potential for additional project optimization, enhanced economics and further extending the life of the Prairie Creek mine.

About Canadian Zinc

The company's key project is the 100-per-cent-owned Prairie Creek project, a fully permitted, advanced-staged zinc-lead-silver property, located in the Northwest Territories. Canadian Zinc also owns an extensive land package in central Newfoundland that it is exploring for copper-lead-zinc-silver-gold deposits.

Qualified person

Alan Taylor, PGeo, vice-president of exploration, chief operating officer and director of the company, who is a non-independent qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 -- standards of disclosure for mineral projects, has prepared, supervised the preparation of or reviewed, the parts of this news release that are of a scientific or technical nature.

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