Mediaboss Marketing

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire -03/14/12)- Imperial Metals Corporation (TSX: III.TO - News) reports the resource at Ruddock Creek has increased to an Indicated Resource of 4.654 million tonnes and an Inferred Resource of 5.382 million tonnes at a 4.0% Pb+Zn cutoff. This represents an Indicated Resource tonnage increase of 99% and an Inferred Resource increase of 261% from the 43-101 compliant resource released in the July 2009 report. The combined Indicated Resource contains 695.0 million pounds zinc and 142.0 million pounds lead. An additional 794.0 million pounds zinc and 155.0 million pounds lead are contained in the combined Inferred Resource category at a 4.0% Pb+Zn cut-off.

The new mineral resource is documented in the Technical Report Ruddock Creek Lead-Zinc Project - Kamloops Mining Division, British Columbia(1) dated March 1, 2012 ("2012 Technical Report"). The 2012 Technical Report was prepared by Ronald G. Simpson, P.Geo., GeoSim Services Inc. and Jim Miller-Tait, P.Geo., Imperial Metals Corporation, both Qualified Persons for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Messrs. Simpson and Miller-Tait have reviewed the contents of this release.

The Company is pleased to announce it has received confirmation from joint venture partners Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. and Itochu Corporation that they will proceed with their Year 3 option to earn an additional 15% interest in the Ruddock Creek property by spending an additional $6.0 million by March 31, 2013.

The combined Ruddock Creek mineral resources tabulated below are from the Upper E, Lower E and the Creek zones. This area covers only 2 kilometres of the known strike length from drilling, mapping and sampling of the 5 kilometre length of the Ruddock Creek Sulphide Horizon. Metal prices used in the determination of the base case cut-off grade were US$1.00/lb for zinc and US$1.00/lb for lead.

Block model grade estimation was carried out using Gemcom Surpac software. For the E zone, block grades were estimated using ordinary kriging constrained by zone domains. Three kriging passes with incremental search distances were implemented. Blocks estimated in the first two passes using a maximum anisotropic search distance of 31 metres were classified as indicated. Blocks estimated in the third pass using a maximum anisotropic search distance of 100 metres were classified as inferred. Grades for the Creek zone were estimated using the inverse distance squared method. Otherwise, all search parameters were the same as those for the Lower E zone.

The 2012 Technical Report contains tables providing the mineral resource estimates for each zone, and estimates for each resource category. The Company expects to file the 2012 Technical Report on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) within 10 days, following which the 2012 Technical Report will be available on the Company's website.

RUDDOCK CREEK EXPLORATION UPDATE

The Creek zone is located 900 metres west of the E zone surface exposure. Diamond drilling carried out on the Creek zone in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011 has shown this horizon to be continuous over 600 metres down dip and 300 metres along strike from the surface showing. The mineralization dips gently to the north, plunges gently to the west and is up to 12.6 metres thick. The Creek zone appears to be a fault offset and uplift of the E zone mineralization. The strike, dip, mineralization and the presence of a barren pyrrhotite horizon located approximately 50 metres below the targeted base metal horizon are all characteristic the both the Lower E and Creek zones.

The proposed 2012 exploration program will continue to expand the Lower E zone using two underground diamond drills and utilizing the existing workings and drill bays. A bulk sample for metallurgical testing will be excavated from the Lower E zone during the 2012 underground program as well. Surface drilling will continue to expand the Creek zone west and south. A helicopter supported drill program will be designed to continue to explore and follow up on the highly successful 2011 drill program in the V zone area, located 3 kilometres west of the E zone outcrop.

Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co. Ltd. and Itochu Corporation have earned a 35% interest in the Ruddock Creek property by funding $14.0 million in exploration expenditures, and will earn an additional 15% working interest by funding a further $6.0 million in expenditures by March 31, 2013. At that time, the Ruddock Creek property will be held Imperial 50%, Mitsui 30% and Itochu 20%. Imperial will continue to operate the project through its wholly owned subsidiary Selkirk Metals Corp.

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Imperial Metals Corporation: Ruddock Creek Resource Tonnage Increased; JV Partners to Proceed With Year 3 Earn-In