AZARGA METALS CORP. ("Azarga" or the "Company") (TSX-V:AZR) announces it has approved plans for the first drilling program at its newly acquired Unkur Copper-Silver Project in the Zabaikalsky province of eastern Russia. Details of the Unkur property were contained in the Company’s news release of March 1, 2016, including historic drilling on the Unkur property that outlined a large area of high-grade shallow stratiform sediment hosted copper-silver 20 to 50 meters thick over an area four to six kilometers long.

Azarga’s president and CEO Dorian L. (Dusty) Nicol commented "This first phase of drilling will target copper-silver zones with the objective of verifying historical results to confirm the presence of high grade mineralization."

During the first phase of drilling, the Company aims to drill between eight and ten diamond drill holes totaling approximately 3,000 cumulative linear meters. The program will employ two drill rigs operating from late-July / early-August through the end of November. Assaying will be conducted by SGS Minerals Services in Chita, with results expected in the October to December period.

Objectives of first phase drilling are to:

• Verify significant high grade intercepts from historic drilling;
• Begin compiling subsurface data that will be the basis for a 43-101 compliant Resource estimate. Initially, this will focus on demonstrating an Inferred Resource as this can be the basis for fast-tracking a Preliminary Economic Assessment (Scoping Study);
• Demonstrate copper and silver grades from drill core with expected better recovery than historic drilling;
• Assess distribution of silver mineralization both within, and if present, outside of copper mineralization envelope. Historic analyses of drill core were in general only within the copper mineralized envelope;
• Gain geologic understanding that will help with resource estimates and planning of future drilling programs;
• Demonstrate grade and thicknesses of portions of the Unkur deposit;
• Take samples of sufficient unoxidized mineralized material to make several composites for metallurgical testing (subject to budget constaints).

Five initial holes will be drilled (collar locations marked as AM-001 to AM-005 on the map below) around the location of higher grade copper and silver intercepts observed from historical drilling. Another 11 proposed drill hole loctions (collar locations marked as AM-006 to AM-016 on the map below) have been identified to the west and south-west of the initial drilling area. It is anticipated that between three and eight of these will be selected for drilling as part of the first phase program, with the determination on which holes get prioritized being made as information from the first five holes becomes available.

Map of Unkur Copper-Silver Project with proposed drill-collar locations

Source: Azarga Metals Corp., QGIS and Google Earth.

Commencement of drilling will be dependent on receipt of approval from the Forestry Service of Russia for Azarga’s plans for subsoil penetration at the site. Such approval has already been applied for and the Company expects to receive positive notification prior to the commencement of drilling according to the timetable set out in this news release.

The Unkur exploration license has recently passed an inspection by Rosprirodnadzor (the Russian Federal Service for the Supervision of the Use of Natural Resources), which oversees compliance with the terms and conditions of mineral exploration licenses. The Company is pleased to report that the Unkur license was found to be in full compliance with regulations and license terms.

Qualified Person

The Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Dorian L. (Dusty) Nicol, B.Sc. Geo, MA Geo, a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the exploration information disclosures contained in this Press Release.

About Azarga Metals Corp.

Azarga is a mineral exploration and development company that owns 60% of the Unkur Copper-Silver Project in the Zabaykalsky province in eastern Russia.

AZARGA METALS CORP.

"Dusty Nicol"
Dorian L. (Dusty) Nicol, President and CEO

For further information please contact: Doris Meyer, at +1 604 536-2711 ext 6, or visit www.azargametals.com.

Neither the 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.

Cautionary Statement:

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on the Corporation's current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "suggest", "indicate" and other similar words or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from estimated or anticipated events or results implied or expressed in such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the actual results of current planned exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans to continue to be refined; possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing; and fluctuations in metal prices. There may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Corporation disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein.