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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/08/13 -- Canadian Zinc Corporation (TSX: CZN)(OTCQB: CZICF) ("the Company", "Canadian Zinc" or "CZN") is pleased to report good progress on the applications for a Type "A" Water Licence and Land Use Permits for the operation of the Company's 100% owned Prairie Creek Mine in the Northwest Territories.

The permitting process is being conducted by the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board (the "MVLWB" or the "Water Board").

Technical Sessions Completed

The Water Board held Technical Sessions in Yellowknife during November 21-23, 2012 at which CZN's submissions to the Water Board, filed on September 29 and October 12, 2012, were reviewed and discussed.

The Technical Sessions were attended by government departments and registered parties, including Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada ("AANDC"), Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment Canada, Parks Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories, along with representatives for Nahanni Butte, Fort Simpson and the Dehcho First Nations. Water Board officers and consultants presided over and participated in the Technical Sessions.

Over the course of the three-days, the Technical Sessions focused on water quality and effluent management, including water treatment, water storage, site specific water quality objectives and effluent quality criteria, but also included waste management, closure and reclamation and construction scheduling.

Following the Technical Sessions, Information Requests ("IRs") were issued by the Water Board on November 28, 2012 to CZN and to AANDC. CZN's responses to these IRs were filed on December 10, 2012 and a number of follow-up meetings were held during the week of December 20, 2012 to further discuss the mostly water related details with a focus on real-time water flow monitoring of the Prairie Creek stream.

Public Hearings to be Held This Month

The Water Board has issued a Notice of Public Hearings (the "Hearings") to be held in Fort Simpson on January 29-31, 2013 and in Nahanni Butte on February 1, 2013. The Hearings, conducted by the Water Board, are prescribed under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, and provide an opportunity for local communities and members of the public to participate and have a say in the permitting process.

The Water Board has requested all government agencies and departments, and other registered parties, to submit their final written interventions in advance of the Hearings by Friday, January 11, 2013. The purpose of the written interventions is for parties to provide any comments and recommendations, relative to their respective areas of expertise and responsibility, for the Water Board to consider in their deliberations on the Water Licence.

CZN will have until January 18, 2013 to respond to the interventions. The interventions and responses will also be discussed in the Hearings.

Draft Licence and Draft Permits Anticipated in February

In September 2012, the Water Board issued a revised Work Plan and Schedule indicating that, following the Public Hearings, a draft Water Licence and draft Land Use Permits will be issued by late-February 2013 for comment. Following receipt of comments and any permit revisions, the draft licence and permits, with conditions, will be formally considered by the Water Board. Following approval, the licence will be forwarded to the Federal Minister of AANDC for final authorization, which is anticipated in June 2013.