Imperial Mining and SOQUEM Carheil-Brouillan Project Drilling Returns 31.4 g/t Gold over 1.45 m and 8.92 g/t Gold over 5.1 m

Highlights:

• D2 Zone drilling returned 31.4 g/t Au and 132.52 g/t Ag over 1.45 m and 8.92 g/t Au over 5.1 m.
• Historical drilling in the D2 area identifies broad area of gold, silver and copper mineralization.
• 3D IP geophysical results have defined priority drill targets.

MONTREAL, April 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Imperial Mining Group Ltd. ("Imperial") (TSX VENTURE:IPG) is pleased to announce that a new area of high grade gold, silver and copper mineralization was returned in SOQUEM’s drilling of the D2 Polymetallic Zone on the Carheil-Brouillan copper (Cu) - zinc (Zn) - silver (Ag) - gold (Au) project, northwestern Québec. In addition, Ore Vision™ 3-D induced polarization (3D-IP) survey results identified numerous geophysical anomalies for gold and copper-zinc mineralization on the property requiring further work (see Imperial Press Release – February 1, 2018).

“We are very excited by the SOQUEM’s results at D2 as it highlights the strong potential for discovery of additional gold and base metal deposits on the property,” said Peter Cashin, Imperial’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Geophysical results offer additional discovery potential along the west strike extension of SOQUEM's B26 base metal deposit geology at the northern part of the property and the area southeast of the D2 gold-copper-silver target horizon.”

Note from Table: 

*   - Includes 16.73 g/t Au and 11.96 g/t Au over 1.5 m, respectively.
** - Includes 46.38 g/t Au over 0.95 m.

D2 Zone Diamond Drilling

Results by SOQUEM from a 10-hole, 2,109 m diamond drilling program (see Table 1, Figure 1) on the D2 polymetallic vein system were recently returned and show a strong, broad area of copper, gold and silver mineralization and hydrothermal alteration. The D2 Zone consists of several centimetric to metric stacked quartz-carbonate veins with variable concentrations of pyrite, chalcopyrite and locally, visible gold.

The new drilling occurs 250 m northeast of historical diamond drilling which had returned up to 1.8% Cu, 76.4 g/t Ag, 24.3 g/t Au over 1.1 m from quartz-carbonate veining in a deformation corridor at the contact of basalt and gabbro. Current drilling confirmed the presence of additional quartz veining and 1-3% disseminated pyrite-pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite-sphalerite over 2.65 m related to a sheared and altered basalt-gabbro contact. Numerous visible gold grains were observed in some of the holes, suggesting a strong nugget effect for observed gold mineralization. Due to this nugget effect, some samples are being reprocessed via metallic screening at the ALS laboratory of Val-d’Or. The orientation of the veins still need to be determined. Soquem is planning an optical and acoustic Televiewer™ survey at the D2 zone later this year to better understand the precise orientation of the veining and hosting structures.

Ore Vision™ 3D-IP Geophysical Survey Results

The results of a program of 3D-IP geophysics were recently received from Abitibi Geophysics of Val d'Or, Québec across the grid (see Figure 2).

The geophysical survey covers the westward extension of the "B26" base metal horizon on Imperial's property, over a strike length of at least four km. The horizon is manifested as a moderate to strong chargeability lineament at the northern part of the grid and has been traced for a strike length of 3.5 km. A second strong anomaly observed to the south and east of the main anomaly has been traced for a further 1.3 km. These targets remain to be drill tested.

In addition, a strong anomaly sits east of the D2 drilling and extends the zone a further 300 m. A second, untested Priority 1 anomaly at the same stratigraphic level and 1.4 km east of the D2 is observed and has been traced for two km to the east. These targets constitute significant targets for gold and copper-zinc-silver and will be followed up with diamond drilling.

Exploration History

The Carheil property lies in Brouillan and Carheil townships (see Figure 1), 5 km southwest of the past-producing Selbaie Mine (historical open pit production 53.0 Mt @ 1.9% Zn, 1.0% Cu, 40.7 g/t Ag 0.6 g/t Au). The property straddles a major geological contact interpreted to be the western strike equivalent to SOQUEM's B26 Cu-Zn-Ag deposit geology, east of Imperial's ground (SOQUEM 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate - March 4, 2018 - Indicated resource of 6.97 Mt grading 1.32 % Cu, 1.80 % Zn, 0.60 g/t Au and 43 g/t Ag and Inferred resource of 4.41 Mt grading 2.03 % Cu, 0.22 % Zn, 1.07 g/t Au and 9 g/t Ag).

Imperial holds a 100% interest in the Carheil-Brouillan property. The property consists of 113 contiguous claims covering approximately 53.7 km². On August 25^th, 2017, an option agreement for the property was executed with SOQUEM Inc. Under the terms of this agreement SOQUEM made a cash payment of $250,000 and can acquire a 50% interest in the Project by carrying out exploration work totaling $3,750,000 over an option period of four (4) years. Imperial retains a 2.0 % NSR royalty on the property after SOQUEM has vested for their 50% interest.

The technical content in this press release was reviewed and certified by Pierre Guay, Imperial's VP Exploration, a Professional Geoscientist and Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.

QA-QC Protocol

Strict QA/QC protocols have been implemented for the Carheil-Brouillan Project, including the insertion of certified reference materials (standards) and blanks.

A total of 650, including 51 QA-QC, half-core samples were sent for analysis at the ALS laboratory of Val-d’Or, Quebec. The samples were weighed, crushed and pulverized (code ALS Prep-31) and analyzed for the following elements: Ag, Al, As, Au, Ba, Be, Bi, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Ga, Ge, Hf, In, K, La, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, Re, S, Sb, Sc, Se, Sn, Sr, Ta, Te, Th, Ti, Tl, U, V, W, Y, Zn and Zr. For Au, a 30 g split was analyzed by fire assay fusion, which involves melting the sample and analyzing the melt by atomic absorption (code ALS Au-AA23). Samples grading between 0.5 and 2 g/t Au are re-assayed with gravimetric finish (code ALS Au-GRA21). For all other elements, samples are subjected to four-acid digestion (HF-HNO3-HCl-HClO4) followed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS; code ALS ME-MS61). Samples grading above 100 ppm Ag or 10,000 ppm Cu, Pb or Zn are re-assayed by four-acid digestion followed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES; code ALS ME-OG62). When silver (Ag) grades exceed 1,500 ppm, a 30 g split is analyzed by fire assay with gravimetric finish (code ALS Ag-GRA21).

ABOUT IMPERIAL MINING GROUP LTD.

Imperial is a new Canadian mineral exploration and development company focussed on the advancement of its copper-zinc, gold and technology metals properties in Québec. Imperial is publicly listed on the TSX Venture Exchange as “IPG” and is led by an experienced team of mineral exploration and development professionals with a strong track record of mineral deposit discovery in numerous metal commodities.

ABOUT SOQUEM INC.

SOQUEM, a subsidiary of Ressources Québec, is a leading player in mineral exploration in Québec. Its mission is to explore, discover and develop mining properties in Québec. SOQUEM has participated in more than 350 exploration projects and contributed to major discoveries of gold, diamonds, lithium and other minerals.

For further information please contact:

Peter J. Cashin
President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel: +1 (514) 360-0571
Email: info@imperialmgp.com
URL: www.imperialmgp.com

This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to the Company’s operations or to its business environment. Such statements are based on the Company’s operations, estimates, forecasts, and projections, but are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict or control. Several factors could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those expressed. These factors include those set forth in the corporate filings. Although any such forward-looking statements are based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot guarantee that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. In addition, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, for any reason. We also do not commit in any way to guarantee that we will continue reporting on items or issues that arise. Investors are cautioned that this press release contains quoted historical exploration results. These are derived from filed assessment reports and compiled from governmental databases. The Company and a QP have not independently verified and make no representations as to the accuracy of historical exploration results: these results should not be relied upon. Selected highlight results may not be indicative of average grades.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Two photos accompanying this announcement are available at

http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/7d4b5fc0-3978-4d5a-a57b-8ff082a400ab

http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/c314ad76-a5c5-4451-a7d0-241cd1c4140c