Great Western Minerals Group discovers new showing at douglas river: 2010 exploration results

GREAT WESTERN MINERALS GROUP LTD.

NEWS RELEASE

TSX Venture Symbol: GWG                                                                CUSIP: 39141Y 10 3

OTCQX: GWMGF

GREAT WESTERN MINERALS GROUP DISCOVERS NEW SHOWING AT DOUGLAS RIVER: 2010 EXPLORATION RESULTS

June 16, 2011 - Saskatoon, Canada: Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (“GWMG” or the “Company”) is pleased to report the results of the 2010 exploration program at the Douglas River Rare Earth Project, located in the western Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan.  The work program included geological mapping, till, soil and biogeochemical surveys, trenching and core drilling. 

The project area includes two claims – the Beatty River claim and the Douglas River claim.  The initial program in 2009 included refurbishing and sampling the historic Beatty River trenches discovered by Marline Oil during uranium exploration in 1977.  These trenches encountered high grade Heavy Rare Earth Oxide (“HREO”) mineralization (See GWMG News Release, October 9, 2009).  This program confirmed the results of the historic work.  The historic mineralization identified in the Douglas River area could not be relocated.

During the 2010 exploration program, geological mapping on the Beatty claim discovered a new showing named the Helipad showing.  Like the historic showing, the mineralization is concentrated in porous sandstone channels within the Athabasca Sandstone in a parallel, north-south structure 50 m to the west of the original discovery (termed the Marline Showing).  Two trenches tested this showing.  Sampling of the trenches gave grades of up to 2.31% Total Rare Earth Oxides (“TREO”) over 1.0 m in width and 3.0 m in depth, of which 99% are HREO.  Three trenches tested the extensions of the Marline showing mineralization to the north and south.  No mineralization was identified to the north but REE (“Rare Earth Elements”) mineralization was encountered in the trench 5 m south of the original trench.  This trench had values of up to 1.14% TREO over 1.2 m in width and 3.0 m in depth, of which 96% are HREE (“Heavy Rare Earth Elements”).  The Rare Earth values, and the high heavy Rare Earth component, are related to the mineral xenotime.  The results are shown below:

The geochemical surveys were focused on the southern third of the Beatty Claim.  The till sampling identified a dispersion train with a source to the east and up ice from the Marline showing.  The biogeochemical surveys identified eight areas anomalous in REE and other elements while the soil survey identified seven areas anomalously enriched in REE of which five were coincident with the biogeochemical anomalies. 

Core drilling (14 drill holes, 1,006.2 m) tested the Marline showings, the Helipad showings and four of the geochemical anomalies. The drill holes failed to encounter any significant REE mineralization.

“While we were generally pleased with the trenching results, which showed significant concentrations of heavy Rare Earths locally, we were disappointed that the drilling did not pick up similar results to the trenching”, said Jim Engdahl, President.  “However, we remain encouraged that, with a focused exploration effort, the potential exists to establish a resource from multiple occurrences of heavy Rare Earth enriched mineralization.”

During 2011 GWMG will carry out geological mapping, prospecting and geochemical surveys over the northern two thirds of the Beatty Claim and will detail the anomalies identified in the 2010 program in order to determine the geological controls of the geochemical anomalies.

John Pearson, MSc, P.Geo, Vice-President Exploration for GWMG, is the qualified person responsible for reviewing the contents of this news release.

Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. is an integrated Rare Earths processor. Its specialty alloys are used in the battery, magnet and aerospace industries. Produced at the Company's wholly owned subsidiaries Less Common Metals Limited in Birkenhead, U.K. and Great Western Technologies Inc. in Troy, Michigan, these alloys contain aluminium, nickel, cobalt and Rare Earth Elements. As part of the Company's vertical integration strategy, GWMG has signed an Off-take Agreement for 100% of the Rare Earth Elements to be produced at the former producing Steenkampskraal Mine in South Africa and holds 93.1% equity ownership in Rare Earth Extraction Co. Limited, the owner of the Steenkampskraal Mine. In addition to a planned exploration program at Steenkampskraal, GWMG also holds interests in five Rare Earth exploration and development properties in North America. 

For further information, please contact Dwight Percy, Manager of Investor Relations at (306) 659-4500. Email inquiries should be made to info@gwmg.ca and the company website is located at www.gwmg.ca.  Inquiries by direct mail should be addressed to Great Western Minerals Group Ltd., 219 Robin Crescent, Saskatoon, SK S7L 6M8.

Neither 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.

Certain information set out in this News Release constitutes forward-looking information.  Forward-looking statements (often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "expect", "may", "could", "anticipate" or "will" and similar expressions) may describe expectations, opinions or guidance that are not statements of fact and which may be based upon information provided by third parties. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions, expectations and estimates of management of GWMG as at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements.  Those factors include, but are not limited to, the results of the exploration program, a resource estimate and commencement of production at Steenkampskraal, satisfaction of the conditions precedent with respect to GWMG's offtake agreement, receipt of all required approvals (including those relating to the commencement of production at the Steenkampskraal mine) and risks, uncertainties and other factors that are beyond the control of GWMG, risks associated with the industry in general, commodity prices and exchange rate changes, operational risks associated with exploration, development and production operations, delays or changes in plans, risks associated with the uncertainty of reserve or resource estimates, health and safety risks and the uncertainty of estimates and projections of production, costs and expenses.  In light of the risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking information.  Although GWMG believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements set out in this press release or incorporated herein by reference are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct.  The forward-looking statements of GWMG contained in this News Release, or incorporated herein by reference, are expressly qualified, in their entirety, by this cautionary statement and the risk factors contained in GWMG's current annual information form available at www.sedar.com.