Imperial Reports on Drilling at the Catface Property

Imperial Reports on Drilling at the Catface Property

Vancouver, BC — September 8, 2010 - Imperial Metals Corporation (TSX:III) reports the first diamond drill hole of the 2010 Catface exploration program, CF-10-56, intersected 275.5 metres grading 0.60% copper and 0.014% molybdenum within a 755.0 metre mineralized section grading 0.46% copper and 0.006% molybdenum. The exploration program is scheduled for six drill holes, expected to be completed by the end of September. Subsequent holes will test the Irishman Creek zone (located north of the Cliff zone), the area between Irishman Creek zone and the Cliff zone, and the southern extent of the Cliff zone.

Hole CF-10-56 was designed to test Cliff zone mineralization in a north-south direction. It was drilled sub-parallel to and extends to the north and south of an 857 metre adit driven by Falconbridge in 1970. The mineralization consists of fracture controlled and disseminated chalcopyrite, bornite and molybdenite. The Cliff zone also contains silver mineralization. Silver assays in the higher grade 275.5 metre interval averaged 3.52 g/t silver. The mineralized interval in CF-10-56 improves on the grade obtained from sampling of the underground workings that it parallels which averaged 0.37% copper over an interval of 719.3 metres.

The Catface property is located on Catface Mountain (locally known as Chetarpe) at tidewater on the western edge of the Catface Peninsula on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, approximately13 kilometres north-northwest of Tofino. The copper/molybdenum porphyry deposit is hosted within both volcanic rocks and porphyritic intrusives but is atypical of most calc-alkalic porphyry deposits in British Columbia in that it lacks a pyritic halo or a distinct phyllic alteration envelope. This lack of pyrite means this deposit is unlikely to generate acidic mine drainage. Sampling of drainage from the Falconbridge underground workings has confirmed it is not generating acid.

A 2009 report, Mineral Resource Estimate Catface Copper Project — Alberni Mining Division, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, was prepared for Selkirk Metals Corp. by Ronald G. Simpson, P.Geo. of GeoSim Services Inc. and Jim Chapman, P. Geo., Qualified Persons for the purpose of National Instrument 43-101 — Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The report included a 43-101 compliant resource for the Cliff zone. The resource estimate, which totals 56.86 million tonnes of indicated resource grading 0.40% copper, and 262.45 million tonnes of inferred resource grading 0.38% copper, was estimated using Cliff zone drilling only and did not include results sampling of the underground workings. At the end of 1990 cumulative drilling on the Catface property totalled 20,774 metres in 131 surface and underground holes. In 2008 Selkirk Metals conducted an eight hole 2,383 metre diamond drill program designed to twin several holes on the Cliff zone. This drilling successfully confirmed the historic grades reported by Falconbridge. The Cliff zone remains open and is one of three zones of mineralization (Cliff, Irishman Creek and Hecate Bay zones) discovered on the property to date.

Jim Miller-Tait, P.Geo., is the designated Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for the exploration programs at Catface, and has reviewed this news release. Samples for the diamond drilling reported at Catface were analyzed at Acme Analytical Laboratories in Vancouver. A full QA/QC program using blanks, standards and duplicates was maintained for all samples submitted to the labs. The limits of the known mineralization are unknown and may be irregular in shape so true thicknesses have not been estimated. A drill plan and cross section will be available on the Company’s website.

Imperial is a mine development and operating company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Company’s key properties are the Mount Polley open pit copper/gold producing mine in central British Columbia, the Huckleberry open pit copper/molybdenum producing mine in northern British Columbia, the development stage Red Chris copper/gold property in northwest British Columbia, and the development stage Sterling gold property in southwest Nevada.

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Contact: Brian Kynoch, President 604.669.8959; Patrick McAndless, Vice President Exploration 604.488.2665; Sabine Goetz, Investor Relations 604.488.2657 // website: www.imperialmetals.com // email: info@imperialmetals.com

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