Mount Polley Mine Operations Impacted by Forest Fires

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July10, 2017(GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Imperial Metals Corporation (the "Company") (TSX:III) reports that forest fires in south central British Columbia are threatening the homes of many employees who live in the Williams Lake area, and impacting operations at the Mount Polley mine site, located 56 km northeast of Williams Lake. Many of the roads used to access the mine site are currently closed. Employees who have been able to report for work have been reassigned to maintain mill operations at the expense of mining operations, which have significantly reduced. Should critical supplies such as fuel not be available due to road closures, the mine may be forced to suspend operations.

Many Red Chris employees also live in the Williams Lake area, and have been evacuated from their homes or are on evacuation alert. With the temporary closure of the Williams Lake airport, Red Chris charter flights from Williams Lake to Dease Lake have been cancelled. We are reorganizing our crews and adjusting charter flights into Dease Lake to maintain staffing levels at the Red Chris mine.

About Imperial

Imperial is a Vancouver based exploration, mine development and operating company. The Company, through its subsidiaries, owns the Red Chris, Mount Polley and Huckleberry copper mines in British Columbia. Imperial also holds a 50% interest in the Ruddock Creek lead|zinc property in British Columbia.

Forward-Looking Information and Risks Notice

Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect Company management's expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, specific statements regarding: lower production at the Mount Polley mine if employees are unable to access the mine site due to road closures; possible evacuation of local Mount Polley employees and their families; and the possible suspension of operations at Mount Polley mine if critical supplies are not received at the mine site. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "outlook", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative of these terms or comparable terminology. In this document certain forward-looking statements are identified by words including "guidance", "expectations", "targeted", "plan", "planned", "estimated", "calls for" and "expected". By their very nature forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks related to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future prices of mineral resources; possible variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; accidents; dependence on key personnel; labour pool constraints; labour disputes; availability of infrastructure required for the development of mining projects; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; that additional required financing may not be available to the Company on terms acceptable to the Company or at all; that the Company may not receive its requested waivers of certain financial covenants contained in its credit facilities and other loan documents and could be found to be in default; counterparty risks associated with sales of our metals; changes in general economic conditions; increased operating and capital costs; perils such as fire and flood; and other risks of the mining industry as well as those factors detailed from time to time in the Company's interim and annual financial statements and management's discussion and analysis of those statements, all of which are filed and available for review on sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Company Contacts
Brian Kynoch | President | 604.669.8959
Andre Deepwell | Chief Financial Officer | 604.488.2666
Steve Robertson | Vice President Corporate Affairs | 604.488.2669
Gordon Keevil | Vice President Corporate Development | 604.488.2677
Sabine Goetz | Shareholder Communications | 604.488.2657 | investor@imperialmetals.com