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Donner Metals Ltd.: Donner Metals Ltd.-Initial Bracemac-McLeod NI43-101 Indicated Resource: 3,648,000 Tonnes at 11.09% Zinc, 1.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 22, 2009) - Mr. Harvey Keats, Chief Executive Officer of Donner Metals Ltd. (TSX VENTURE:DON)(FRANKFURT:D4M), reports that a resource calculation conforming to NI43-101 standards has been received from Xstrata Canada Corporation - Xstrata Zinc Canada Division (Xstrata Zinc), operator for the Bracemac-McLeod discovery located 6 kilometres southeast of Xstrata's operating Matagami Mill Complex. Indicated resources are currently calculated at 3,648,000 tonnes grading 11.09% zinc, 1.55% copper, 31.34 g/t silver and 0.48 g/t gold, with additional inferred resources of 528,000 tonnes grading 1.25% zinc, 1.79% copper, 11.51 g/t silver and 0.18 g/t gold, calculated separately for the less well defined McLeod West Zone and the Copper Zone.

Xstrata Zinc is presently conducting a scoping study focused on metallurgical testing, preliminary engineering studies using a ramp access and preliminary capital cost assessment. The objective of the study is to provide an initial evaluation of the viability of mine development as the first step towards assessing the feasibility of production at Bracemac-McLeod.

Alteration and the trend of mineralization indicate further potential exists to discover additional high-grade sulphides in the local vicinity of both the McLeod and West McLeod zones. This potential will continue to be assessed as the project is advanced.

Mineralization found at Bracemac-McLeod is typical of the Matagami Camp which has operating infrastructure and has consistently been a low-cost producer of zinc, copper, silver and gold since the first production began in 1963.

Current Bracemac-McLeod Resource Calculation
Indicated Resources

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 Mineralization
 Type Tonnes % Zn % Cu g/t Ag g/t Au
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McLeod Zone MS and SMS 1,843,253 10.23 1.36 29.36 0.57
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Upper Bracemac
 Zone MS and SMS 84,835 10.96 0.60 30.30 0.44
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Bracemac Zone MS and SMS 512,629 8.47 1.67 24.75 0.32
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Bracemac Key
 Tuffite Zone MS and SMS 1,207,367 13.52 1.85 37.23 0.40
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TOTAL INDICATED MS and SMS 3,648,084 11.09 1.55 31.34 0.48
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Current Inferred Resources
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 Mineralization
 Type Tonnes % Zn % Cu g/t Ag g/t Au
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West McLeod Zone MS and SMS 157,368 2.14 2.54 23.09 0.19
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Copper Zone S 370,922 0.87 1.47 6.59 0.18
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TOTAL INFERRED S, MS, and SMS 528,290 1.25 1.79 11.51 0.18
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MS equals massive sulphide, SMS equals semi-massive sulphide,
S equals stringer sulphide

Parameters Used For Indicated and Inferred Resource Calculations:

- Cut-off for the Bracemac and McLeod sulphide zones is based on the extent of massive sulphides. A cut-off grade of 4% zinc equivalent (zinc + 2 times copper) is used for the Copper Zone. Both are based on historical experience in resource estimation at Matagami.

- Capping Values were applied to individual gold and silver assays corresponding to the 97.5 percentile of each individual zone in order to minimize the nugget effect.

- Drill spacing for indicated resources calculated for the Bracemac Zones and the McLeod Zone is at approximately 50 metre centres.

- Inferred resources are classified on the basis of greater than 50 metre drill spacing and/or uncertain continuity/geometry at 50 metre drill spacing.

- Type of resource calculation model: Polygonal method on an inclined long section.

Zone Features:

The Bracemac and McLeod zones contain sulphides that are generally typical of zinc-enriched Matagami-type VMS deposits. The zones differ on the basis of significant sulphides stacked in two separate stratigraphic horizons in the hanging wall to the Key Tuffite at Bracemac, locally higher copper content for both the McLeod and Bracemac Key Tuffite zones, the absence of well developed stringer zones directly under the core of the zones, the tabular shape of mineralization and the extensive chloritization of the footwall Watson Lake rhyolite observed from Bracemac to McLeod (greater than 2 km wide). Mineralization is characterized geophysically by the weakness or total absence of electrical conductivity in the outer part of the sulphide bodies making the delineation of their edge difficult by standard electromagnetic geophysics. General characteristics of each zone are as follows:

McLeod Zone:

- Massive and semi-massive sulphides at or near the Key Tuffite stratigraphic horizon.

- Excellent potential for expansion of mineralization at depth indicated on basis of DDH MC-08-34 (10.81% zinc, 1.35% copper, 37.72 g/t silver, 0.59 g/t gold over 2.12 metres).

West McLeod Zone:

- Massive and semi-massive sulphides, generally copper-rich. Geometry, extent of sulphides and connection with the McLeod Zone is unclear at current drill spacing.

Copper Zone:

- This zone is characterized by the occurrence of stringer copper mineralization within extensive "Pipe" alteration in a laterally predictable and continuous sheet that occurs between 10 to 30 metres below mineralization in the McLeod Zone.

Bracemac Zone:

- Massive and semi-massive sulphides occur in three stacked zones (Upper Bracemac Zone, Bracemac Zone and Bracemac Key Tuffite Zone).

Advancement of the Matagami Project

Xstrata Zinc's engineering and mine team will focus on the advancement of Bracemac-McLeod through the scoping, prefeasibility, feasibility and development stages, and the go/no-go decisions at the completion of each stage, with the overall objective of supplementing and replacing production from the Perseverance Mine. Continued exploration in the immediate vicinity of Bracemac-McLeod will be conducted as part of the scoping/prefeasibility stages.

In conjunction with Xstrata's efforts on Bracemac-McLeod, the Xstrata Zinc-Donner exploration team will focus on drilling targets from the pipeline of high priority drill/exploration targets elsewhere on the extensive property covered under the Matagami Option and Joint Venture Agreement. The exploration team is using a combination of 3D data integration, innovative advanced technologies, new concepts and diamond drilling with the objective of making additional discoveries that will integrate into the future resource base at Matagami.

SUMMARY

A total of 90,185 metres of diamond drilling in 180 drill holes has been completed on the Matagami Project since the activity under the Option and Joint Venture Agreement began in late 2006. Approximately 80,000 metres of diamond drilling have been focused on, and in the vicinity of, the Bracemac-McLeod Discovery.

The full technical report for the resource estimate on Bracemac-McLeod will be posted on SEDAR and the Donner website within forty-five days of this press release. Additional geological information, including maps and sections, is available at [ www.donnermetals.com ].

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Donner has the option to earn a 50% participating joint venture interest in the Matagami Project by incurring a total of $25 million of expenditures on exploration and related work on or before May 31, 2011. Upon earn-in by Donner, five separate joint ventures will be formed, covering the property and the area of interest. In each of the five joint venture areas, Xstrata Zinc has the option to earn back a 15% interest in each area by incurring up to $20 million on a feasibility study.

The Matagami Project has an area of mutual interest of 4,750 square kilometres and presently includes 3,340 mineral claims covering 801 square kilometres. The project covers the Matagami Mining Camp which is a world-class mining district, with 18 known VMS deposits, including 10 past producers of varying sizes, including the giant Matagami Lake Deposit (25.64 million tonnes of 8.2% Zn, 0.56% Cu, 20.91 g/t Ag and 0.41 g/t Au) discovered in 1957 and mined from 1963 to 1988. The area is host to historical production of 8,600 million pounds of Zn and 853 million pounds of Cu. The Matagami area is well serviced by established infrastructure including the town of Matagami, power, a permitted tailings facility, railway, and airport and well developed road and highway networks. Xstrata Zinc is currently producing from its low-cost and wholly-owned Perseverance Deposit which feeds its refurbished 2,600 t/day Matagami mill complex. Any future development under the Donner-Xstrata agreement will benefit from the established infrastructure and facilities. Zinc concentrates produced at Matagami are refined at the Noranda Income Fund zinc refinery in Valleyfield, Quebec. Copper concentrates are smelted at Xstrata's Horne smelter in Rouyn-Noranda and refined at Xstrata's Canadian Copper Refinery in Montreal.

The Company's strategy is to explore for and discover zinc-copper deposits in the Matagami Camp and to leverage the general infrastructure and existing processing facilities within a known and well-established cost structure for developing VMS deposits. Donner's exploration objective is to investigate multiple stratigraphic horizons with potential for VMS mineralization including the prolific Key Tuffite horizon throughout the Matagami Camp. To date, Donner has discovered new mineralization at Bracemac-McLeod and at Bell Channel. Within the extensive project area there are numerous exploration targets with excellent potential for additional discoveries.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Xstrata Zinc is the project operator for the Matagami Project and is responsible for both fieldwork and resource evaluation including, but not limited to, sampling, submittal of samples for assay, assay verification, metallurgical evaluation and QA/QC. In accordance with Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, National Instrument 43-101 Section 5.3(3), Donner is relying on the technical information supplied by Xstrata Zinc, a "producing issuer" under the instrument. Calculation of resources reported in this news release was conducted by Gilles Roy and Michel Dessureault who are the Qualified Persons for Xstrata Zinc responsible for the technical information. Donner will file a technical report incorporating the Xstrata technical information on SEDAR within forty-five days.

Assaying of samples that form the basis of the resource calculation were carried out and certified by ALS Chemex-Chimitec, of Val D'Or, Quebec (zinc, copper and silver by atomic absorption, and gold by standard fire assay procedures). Sample preparation was done by ALS Chemex of Val D'Or, Quebec.

Robin Adair, VP of Exploration for the Company, is the Qualified Person for Donner Metals Ltd. and is responsible for the technical information reported in this news release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DONNER METALS LTD.

Harvey Keats, Chief Executive Officer

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.