Great Western Minerals Group Announces Pricing on Previously Announced $15 Million Private Placement

SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN -- (Marketwire) -- 10/31/11 -- THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT AUTHORIZED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES.

Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: GWG) (OTCQX: GWMGF) ('GWMG' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce that the Company and a syndicate of agents co-led by Byron Capital Markets Ltd. ('Byron') and Cormark Securities Inc. ('Cormark') and including GMP Securities LP ('GMP') (collectively, the 'Agents') have priced the Company's previously announced private placement (the 'Offering').

The Agents will offer an aggregate of 23,810,000 of common shares (the 'Offered Shares') of the Company at a price of $0.63 per share (the 'Offering Price'). In addition, the Company has granted the Agents an option, exercisable at any time up to 48 hours prior to closing of the Offering, to place up to an additional 3,571,500 Offered Shares at the Offering Price for additional gross proceeds of $2.25 million, if the option is exercised in full. The Company expects that closing of the Offering will occur on or before November 10, 2011.

The Offered Shares will be subject to a four month hold period under applicable Canadian securities legislation. The Company plans to use the proceeds for the continued development of its Steenkampskraal project in South Africa as well as for general corporate purposes.

The Agents will receive an aggregate cash commission of 5% of the gross proceeds of the Offering. Closing of the Offering is subject to all applicable regulatory approvals, including the final acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. Readers are cautioned that there is no guarantee the Offering will be completed on the terms proposed, or at all.

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 also holds 100% equity ownership in Rare Earth Extraction Co. Limited, which owns a 74% equity interest in the Steenkampskraal Mine. In addition to an exploration program at Steenkampskraal, GWMG also holds interests in four active Rare Earth exploration and development properties in North America.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. This press release may contain statements within the meaning of safe harbour provisions as defined under United States Securities Laws and Regulations. The above statements are based on the current expectations and beliefs of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those described above.

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 completion of the proposed financing on the anticipated terms or at all, refurbishment activities and reliance on third parties to meet projected timelines, the results of the exploration program at Steenkampskraal, 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.

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

Contacts:

Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.

Dwight Percy

Manager of Investor Relations

(306) 659-4500
info@gwmg.ca


Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.

219 Robin Crescent

Saskatoon, SK S7L 6M8
www.gwmg.ca