GREAT WESTERN MINERALS GROUP APPOINTS PROJECT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR STEENKAMPSKRAAL RARE EARTHS OPERATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 26, 2011 - Saskatoon, Canada: Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.

("GWMG" or the "Company", TSX:V -- GWG) is pleased to announce it has appointed Mr.

Vincent Mora as the Companys Project Development Manager for the Steenkampskraal Rare Earths operation in South Africa.

He will be located at site. Mr.

Moras primary responsibility is to expeditiously plan, budget, coordinate, and direct activities concerned with the development of the feasibility study, detailed engineering, construction, and operation of the former-producing Steenkampskraal Mine.

Additionally, Mr.

Mora will use his high degree of knowledge and expertise of mineral processing to focus on the extraction and purification of the Rare Earth elements from the site.

He will also have overall responsibility for GWMGs planned exploration program at Steenkampskraal and for bringing the historic resource estimate into compliance with NI 43-101 technical reporting requirements.

Mr.

Mora brings a wealth of mining development expertise to the Steenkampskraal project and to GWMG.

He holds a Masters degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the Universidad de santiago de Chile, is a member of the South African Coal Processing Society and is fluent in five languages. His background as a process engineer includes significant experience in the design, management and execution of large projects in the minerals processing sector.

He has worked with companies such as Bateman Engineering, Anglo American, Mintek and other global mining and engineering firms. Jim Engdahl, President and Chief Executive Officer of GWMG said, "The addition of Vincent Mora to our management team is an important step forward as we continue the development of our Companys top priority, the Steenkampskraal operation.

Because Mr.

Mora will direct, monitor and supervise this project, day in and day out at site, we are very confident our Company will be able to proceed according to the fast track schedule GWMG recently announced.

Mr.

Moras proven management abilities will ensure GWMG executes the Steenkampskraal project on schedule and on budget.

Head office support for Mr.

Mora will be handled by Mr.

Richard Hogan, GWMG Vice President Operations, and we thank Richard for moving the project forward on a day to day basis up to this point." 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 Companys 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 Companys 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 92.6% 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 six 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 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 production at Steenkampskraal, satisfaction of the conditions precedent with respect to GWMGs 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 GWMGs current annual information form available at www.sedar.com.