i-minerals inc.: Drilling to Upgrade Portions of Kelly's Basin Deposit to Proven Reserve Underway

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - July 14, 2011) - i-minerals inc. (TSX VENTURE:IMA)(PINK SHEETS:IMAHF) ("the Company") announces that drilling is underway to upgrade the first 20 years of production under the mine plan to proven reserves from the current probable reserves (please refer to the Kelly's Basin Prefeasibility Study available on our website at www.imineralsinc.com). As noted in the Company's March 9, 2011 press release SRK Consulting (US) Inc. ("SRK") of Denver, Co has provided collar locations for fifteen relatively short drill holes, (~ 150 feet) which would be sufficient to upgrade the first 10 years of the mine plan to proven reserves. Rather than limit the proven reserves to 10 years with the balance remaining probable reserve, the Company has elected to drill a total of 33 holes to upgrade a larger reserve with a mine life of 20 years to the proven category. The infill drilling will not be completed and assays received in time for incorporation into the Feasibility Study which remains on track for completion on or about August 15, 2011. Whether the Company uses probable or proven reserves will not impact the feasibility level assessment of the economic viability of the Kelly's Basin deposit, but the upgrade to proven reserves will facilitate the raising a portion of the capital costs through debt instruments such as state revenue bonds as mine life of the proven reserve will be greater than the repayment period of the bonds.

President and CEO Thomas Conway noted, "This small program is a simple series of in-fill holes, samples from which will be sent for whole rock analysis to confirm the grade and thickness of the Kelly's Basin ore body currently categorized as a probable reserve. Strong progress is being made on the permitting process as well and we remain in schedule for submission of the permitting documentation and the beginning of the review and approval process on or about August 15 as well."

A. Lamar Long, CPG, is a qualified person ("QP") for i-minerals inc. and has reviewed and approved the contents of this release.

About i-minerals inc.

i-minerals holds ten minerals leases in northwestern Idaho that hosts Kelly's Basin feldspar-quartz deposit that is the subject of an ongoing feasibility study.. High purity quartz (>99.98% SiO₂) can be produced through a standard flotation process. A pre-feasibility study completed by SRK Consulting (USA) Inc. of Denver Co ("SRK"), calculated a NPV of $61 million and an IRR of 19%. Preliminary exploration work on occurrences of primary clay deposits has identified variable concentrations of kaolinite, halloysite, quartz and feldspar. The Company commissioned SRK to complete and initial assessment of the primary clay deposits through a Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA") which is based upon limited, widely spaced drilling over large areas. While additional assessment work is required to fully assess the economic viability of the deposits, the PEA yielded a NPV of $95 million and an IRR of 48% and indicated these primary clay deposits may represent the largest deposit of halloysite in North America. Halloysite is a unique tubular shaped alumina-silicate mineral often referred to as a halloysite nanotube which is being increasingly used in nanotechnology applications.

i-minerals inc.
Per: "Thomas M. Conway"
Thomas M. Conway,
President & CEO

This News Release may contain forward-looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results that may prove to be inaccurate as a result of risk factors beyond its control, and actual results may differ materially from the expected results.