Great Western Minerals Group's Lcm Places Order for Second Rare Earth Strip Cast Furnace

SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN -- (Marketwire) -- 03/26/12 -- Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. ("GWMG" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: GWG) (OTCQX: GWMGF) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Less Common Metals Limited ("LCM") located in Birkenhead, United Kingdom, has signed the contract for the purchase of a second rare earth strip cast furnace.

The new strip cast furnace features similar design and output capacity as the first strip cast furnace unit purchased by LCM in 2011 and commissioned in January 2012 (see GWMG news release, January 31, 2012: Great Western Minerals Group's LCM Successfully Completes First Pour with New Rare Earth Furnace).

LCM Managing Director Ian Higgins said, "The purchase agreement stipulates that the furnace will be shipped from China prior to the end of November 2012 at which time it will be installed at LCM by a team of engineers comprised of our own technical staff and personnel from the furnace manufacturer. The manufacturer was extremely complimentary about the level of technical competence and engineering support from LCM during the installation of the first furnace. The second strip cast furnace will increase the total production capacity of LCM to approximately 2,000 tonnes per annum of rare earth alloys."

GWMG President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Engdahl said, "GWMG remains committed to the capacity expansion of LCM in response to demonstrated industry demand. Twenty years of experience in the rare earth alloy industry on the part of LCM has meant a smooth transition in adding to our broad range of melting and reduction furnaces. That experience, combined with the planned output of rare earth materials from our Company's Steenkampskraal operation, will enable GWMG to ramp up quickly in response to demand growth on the part of our global customer base."

Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. is an integrated rare earth 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 aluminum, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements. As part of the Company's vertical integration strategy, GWMG also holds 100% equity ownership in Rare Earth Extraction Co. Limited, which owns a 74% equity interest in the Steenkampskraal Mine in South Africa. In addition to a rare earth separation plant joint venture in South Africa and an exploration program at Steenkampskraal, GWMG holds interests in four active rare earth exploration and development properties in North America.

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 successful completion of the Offering, the construction, commissioning and operation of the proposed monazite processing facility and separation facility, mine refurbishment activities, reliance on third parties to meet projected timelines, the results of the exploration program at Steenkampskraal, completion of 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, environmental matters, water and land use) 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

CUSIP: 39141Y 10 3

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Contacts:

Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.

Dwight Percy

Manager of Investor Relations

(306) 659-4516


Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.

219 Robin Crescent

Saskatoon, SK S7L 6M8
info@gwmg.ca
www.gwmg.ca