APPOINTMENT OF DENIS TURCOTTE AS CANADIAN BASED DIRECTOR

PERTH, Western Australia, Dec. 22 /CNW/ - Coalspur Mines Limited ("Coalspur" or "Company") (ASX: CPL, TSX: CPT) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Denis Turcotte as an independent non-executive Director of the Company, effective immediately. Mr. Turcotte is a highly regarded Canadian based corporate executive, and in 2006 was recognised as Canadian Business Magazine's Top CEO.

Mr. Turcotte is a Professional Engineer with over 25 years experience and was previously the President and CEO of Algoma Steel Inc. ("Algoma") an integrated steel producer based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Mr Turcotte oversaw the successful recapitalisation and rapid growth of Algoma which was subsequently acquired for C$1.85 billion in cash by Essar Global Limited ("Essar") in 2007. Mr. Turcotte is currently President and CEO of a private business consulting and investing firm. He is also a director of Domtar Corp. and a member of the Advisory Board of the Brookfield Special Situations Funds.

Mr. Turcotte is highly regarded by the North American investment community and brings to the Board his extensive experience as a senior executive of TSX listed and commodity based companies. Mr. Turcotte will immediately join the Company's Audit Committee.

The Board is delighted to welcome Mr. Turcotte to the Board and believe that his appointment is an important step for the Company as it strives to develop a major new thermal export coal mine to meet growing energy demands worldwide. Coalspur has recently completed a Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") on its Vista Coal Project ("Project") in Alberta, Canada.

Mr. Turcotte will receive an annual retainer of C$40,000 and will be entitled to participate (up to the extent of 100,000 share rights or equivalent) in any future equity incentive plans established by the Company, subject to the necessary regulatory and shareholder approvals. The share rights will not have an exercise price and will be subject to various key project development milestones for the Project.

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains 'forward-looking information' that is based on the Company's expectations, estimates and projections as of the date on which the statements were made. This forward-looking information includes, among other things, statements with respect to the Company's business strategy, plans, development, objectives, performance, outlook, growth, cash flow, projections, targets and expectations, mineral reserves and resources, scoping, pre-feasibility and other studies, results of exploration and related expenses. Generally, this forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'expect', 'potential', 'outlook', 'anticipate', 'project', 'target', 'likely', 'believe', 'estimate', 'intend', 'may', 'would', 'could', 'should', 'scheduled', 'will', 'plan', 'forecast', "evolve" and similar expressions. Persons reading this news release are cautioned that such statements are only predictions, and that the Company's actual future results or performance may be materially different.

Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.  Forward-looking information is developed based on assumptions about such risks, uncertainties and other factors set out herein, including but not limited to the risk factors set out in the Company's Annual Information Form.  This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect our forward-looking information. These and other factors should be considered carefully and readers should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking information.

The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, estimates or options, future events or results or otherwise, unless required to do so by law.

For further information:

Gene Wusaty
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Telephone:  [phone]