INV Metals Provides Exploration Update


TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 23, 2012) - INV Metals Inc. ("INV Metals" or "Company") (TSX:INV) is pleased to provide an update on its exploration activities over the past few months.

Omatapati, Kaoko, Namibia

In late 2011, nine reverse circulation drill holes totalling 1,457 metres were completed to further test the Omatapati copper-silver target located within the Kaoko property in northwest Namibia. INV Metals, earlier in 2011, conducted a diamond drill program on the Omatapati target and intersected 19.0 metres at 2.0% copper and 119.8 g/t silver, including 5.0 metres at 6.4% copper and 410.3 g/t silver in hole INVD-14 (see INV press release dated September 22, 2011). The highlight of the current program, hole INVR-133, a vertical drill hole located 50 metres to the west of INVD-14, intersected 16 metres grading 1.4% copper and 55 g/t silver from 74 metres depth, including 5 metres at 3.4% copper and 120 g/t silver. See Figure 1 and Table 1 for details of the drill results being released today.

The Omatapati target is comprised of stockwork veins, veinlets, and disseminations of copper sulphides and oxides within an altered sequence of siltstones, dolostones, and evaporitic rocks. The mineralized zone appears to transition from a northeast-trending, cross-cutting and probably fault-controlled stockwork zone to a stratabound zone that follows a geological contact to the west. A number of surface copper-silver showings occur along this contact roughly two kilometres to the west of the stockwork zone. Two grab samples collected from these showings, about 500 metres apart, returned values of 3.5% copper, 9.3 g/t silver, and 4.3% copper, 2.0 g/t silver. The Company is currently compiling all of the data generated to date to evaluate and further test this encouraging copper-silver target.

Okozonduno, Kaoko, Namibia

INV Metals' previous reverse circulation drill program at the Okozonduno target, also located within the Kaoko property, intersected up to 20 metres grading 1.2% copper and 24.4 g/t silver, including 7 metres grading 2.8% copper and 59.6 g/t silver in hole INVR-109 (see press release dated September 22, 2011). In late 2011, the second reverse circulation drill program consisting of eight holes and 1,208 metres further tested this target (see Table 2). Hole INVR-136, which was drilled to undercut hole INVR-109, intersected 15 metres at 0.2% copper and 3 g/t silver over 15 metres, including 1 metre at 5.3% copper. No further work is planned at the Okozonduno target at this time.

Itaporã, Brazil

On claim NS13 at INV Metals' 100% owned Itaporã gold property, located in Pará state, Brazil, the Company previously tested a 1,000 metre by 300 metre gold in soil geochemical anomaly with one diamond drill hole, which intersected 14.4 g/t gold over 0.75 metres. Additional drilling in the fall of 2011 was conducted to test the down-dip extension of this mineralization (Hole PIT- DD-008) and to complete a full section across the soil anomaly (Hole PIT-DD-009). Gold values ranged from nil to a best intersection of 1.1 g/t gold over one metre. No further work is planned at this part of the Itaporã gold property however drilling is currently ongoing on claim NS7 to test gold in soil geochemical anomalies.

Rio Novo, Brazil

At the Rio Novo property, located in the Carajás district, Brazil, drilling is ongoing to test for the possible strike extension of the fold nose structure which hosts the neighbouring Serra Pelada gold-platinum-palladium deposit. A second drill from a different contractor has been procured to expedite the program, which has had extremely slow drilling production to date.

Mr. Keith Webb, an INV Metals employee, is the designated Qualified Person pursuant to NI 43- 101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators and is responsible for the verification and quality assurance of the technical content of this news release. This news release was prepared under the supervision of Mr. Webb.

For further information regarding the Kaoko property's Okohongo initial inferred resource please refer to the Company's technical report filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and entitled "Technical Report on the Okohongo Copper-Silver Property in Northwest Namibia" prepared by Philip John Hancox and Sivanesan Subramani and dated effective March 31, 2011. INV Metals has also filed Technical Reports with the relevant securities regulators entitled "Technical Report on the Kaoko Copper-Silver Property in Northwest Namibia" dated June 15, 2011, and "Technical Report on Recent Exploration at the Rio Novo Copper-Iron-Gold-Platinum-Palladium Property in the Carajás District, Pará, Brazil" dated October 27, 2010. These reports are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and include a full description of the Kaoko and Rio Novo properties and the Quality Control - Quality Assurance procedures utilized by INV Metals. Potential quantity and grade are conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to-date to define a mineral resource on the Rio Novo or Itaporã properties and it is unknown if further exploration will result in such properties being delineated as a mineral resource.

INV Metals entered into agreements with a subsidiary of Teck Resources Limited which provide INV Metals the right to acquire an initial 50% interest in the extensive Kaoko property, located in northwest Namibia and the Rio Novo property, located in the Carajás mining district of Brazil (see INV Metals' press release dated August 4, 2009).

About INVMetals

INV™ Metals is an international mineral resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of base and precious metal projects in Brazil, Namibia and Canada. Currently, INV™ Metals' primary assets are: (1) its option to acquire 50% of the Rio Novo property, located in Brazil, (2) its option to acquire 50% of the Kaoko property, located in Namibia, and (3) its 100% owned Itaporã gold properties, located in Brazil.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievement of INV Metals to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, risks related to the actual results of current exploration activities, conclusions of economic evaluations, risks associated with mining and mineral exploration activities, uncertainty in the estimation of mineral resources, including, without limitation, the assumptions on which such estimates are based, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future prices of metals, economic and political stability in Canada, Namibia and Brazil, environmental risks and hazards, increased infrastructure and/or operating costs, availability of future financing, labour and employment matters, and government regulation. There is no guarantee that any drill targets or economic mineral deposits will be found on INV Metals' properties. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors, refer to INV Metals' annual information form filed with Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com.

To view FIGURE 1: Omatapati Drill Plan and Geology, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Omatapati_Drill_Plan.pdf.

TABLE 1: Omatapati Phase Two Drill Results
Hole EOH Azimuth Dip From To Width Cu Ag
(m) % g/t
(metres)
INVR-127 147 0 -90 77 85 8 0.63 38
Including 82 83 1 2.13 99
INVR-128 171 140 -65 44 46 2 0.22 1
INVR-129 195 140 -60 56 68 12 0.32 4
Including 59 61 2 0.65 2
INVR-130 144 90 -60 77 78 1 0.51 8
INVR-131 188 0 -90 Not sampled
INVR-132 165 90 -60 70 72 2 1.03 87
Including 70 71 1 1.61 134
INVR-133 153 0 -90 74 90 16 1.43 55
Including 76 84 8 2.54 103
Including 77 82 5 3.37 120
INVR-134 150 140 -60 68 72 4 0.20 4
Including 70 71 1 0.30 17
77 88 11 0.20 8
Including 79 81 2 0.31 16
INVR-135 144 0 -90 11 28 17 0.49 5
Including 16 18 2 1.13 3
TABLE 2: Okozonduno Phase Two Drill Results
Hole EOH Azimuth Dip From To Width Cu Ag
(m) % g/t
(metres)
INVR-136 120 90 -60 44 59 15 0.23 3
Including 57 58 1 5.30 1
INVR-137 111 90 -60 Not sampled
INVR-138 150 90 -60 Not sampled
INVR-139 162 90 -60 No significant values
INVR-140 150 90 -60 38 39 1 2.21 45
INVR-141 199 90 -60 152 155 3 0.24 3.8
INVR-142 147 90 -60 No significant values
INVR-143 169 90 -60 Not sampled

Contact Information:

INV Metals Inc.
Robert Bell
Chief Executive Officer
(416) 703-8416
rbell@invmetals.com