Great Western Minerals Group appoints mining industry accounting professional to Board

TSX Venture Symbol: GWG             
CUSIP: 39141Y 10 3
OTCQX: GWMGF

SASKATOON, Jan. 14, 2013 /CNW/ - Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. ("GWMG" or the "Company", TSX:V - GWG) today announced it has appointed Lenard Boggio, B.A., B.Comm., FCA, CPA (Illinois), ICD.D, to the Board of Directors, subject to regulatory approval. The appointment is effective immediately.

Mr. Boggio was a Partner with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ("PwC") and its predecessor firm Coopers & Lybrand from 1988 until his retirement from PwC in May 2012. During that time, he was Leader of the B.C. Mining Group of PwC and an audit practitioner for publicly listed Canadian, U.S. and U.K. mineral resource and energy clients. The scope of his clients' activities included exploration, development and production stage operations in the Americas, Africa, Europe and Asia.

Mr. Boggio holds a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Windsor, Ontario, he has been a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia since 1985 and was awarded the Fellow Chartered Accountant designation for distinguished service to the accounting profession and the community in 2007. Mr. Boggio earned his CPA designation in Illinois in 1999 and is a Member of the State Boards of Accountancy in Illinois and Washington State. He has also been a Member of the Institute of Corporate Directors since 2010, earning his ICD.D designation in 2012.

After many years as a professional advisor to mining companies, he has more recently been serving as a Director and Audit Chair for Blue Gold Mining Inc., Goldgroup Mining Inc. and Sprott Resource Corp.

His numerous avenues of professional involvement include roles as a Board Member and Vice-Chair of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants, Commissioner of the Financial Institutions Commission of B.C., a Member of the Ontario Securities Commission's Continuous Disclosure Advisory Committee and a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of B.C. Technical Forum that advised the B.C. Securities Commission and TSX Venture Exchange on policy and interpretation issues.

GWMG President and Chief Executive Officer Marc LeVier said, "GWMG is exceptionally pleased to announce the appointment of yet another independent Director with significant experience in the mining industry. Mr. Boggio's expertise as a professional advisor to mining companies, alongside his thorough knowledge of regulatory and public reporting issues, will be very valuable to GWMG as our Company continues to become a fully integrated rare earth producer. We look forward to his contribution to our Company's success."

Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. is engaged in becoming an integrated rare earth producer. The Company currently produces specialty alloys which are used in the aerospace, automobile, computer and high-tech 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 iron, 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 an exploration program at Steenkampskraal, GWMG also holds interests in four active rare earth exploration and development properties in North America.

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 successful and timely completion of its preliminary economic assessment at Hoidas Lake; the successful and timely completion and the results of its preliminary economic assessment of the Steenkampskraal project, 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 and commencement of production at Steenkampskraal; risks related to the receipt of all required approvals including those relating to the commencement of production at the Steenkampskraal mine, delays in obtaining permits, licenses and operating authorities in Canada, South Africa and China, environmental matters, water and land use risks; 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 resource estimates; health and safety risks; uncertainty of estimates and projections of production, costs and expenses; risks that future Hoidas Lake or Steenkampskraal and region exploration results may not meet exploration or corporate objectives; the adequacy of the Company's financial resources and the availability of additional cash from operations or from financing on reasonable terms or at all; political risks inherent in South Africa and China; risks associated with the relationship between GWMG and/or its subsidiaries and communities and governments in Canada and South Africa, radioactivity and related issues, dependence on one mineral project; loss of, and the inability to attract, key personnel; the factors discussed in the Company's public disclosure record; and other factors that could cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated. 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. Except as required by law, GWMG does not assume any obligation to update forward looking statements as set out in this news release. 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 Professional Securities Market listing particulars available at www.sedar.com.

SOURCE: Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.

Dwight Percy, Manager of Investor Relations at [phone]. Email inquiries should be made to [email protected] 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