Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.: Nickel-Cobalt Property Acquisition-Expanded Disclosure
SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN -- April 20, 2007 - Great Western Minerals Group Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: GWG) (PINK SHEETS: GWMGF):
At the request of Market Regulation Services the Company offers the following expanded disclosure to the April 17th news release announcing the acquisition, through staking, of a 100% interest in an advanced-stage, nickel-cobalt-magnesium project in the western USA. Currently 150 claims cover 3 areas of known nickel-laterite mineralization.
The property was the subject of a "Phase I Feasibility Study" completed by Davy McKee Corporation, a well-known construction and consulting firm, in 1986. The study was based on 124 drill holes completed between 1964 and 1972 and 36 back-hoe test pits dug and sampled in 1981.
The study, which is not NI 43-101 compliant, and as such a qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, was based on a 2,500 ton per day mining operation and concluded that the project was feasible, generating a 20.6% return on investment with a 5-year payback on an initial capital cost of US$258 million.
The study estimated an in-situ tonnage of 27,168,290 tons of lateritic material from the 3 bodies, grading 1.0% nickel, 0.13% cobalt and 8.2% magnesium. Pricing used for the study was US$1.82 per pound nickel, US$11.00 per pound cobalt and US$1.50 per pound magnesium. The study reported that it was metallurgically and economically viable to recover all 3 metals and recommended proceeding to a "Phase II Feasibility Study" which would include a pilot plant and detailed engineering sufficient to produce a "bankable" document suitable for a production decision and financing purposes. The Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources and the historical estimate should not be relied upon. The results are provided here as historic information only.
Geologically, the laterite is exposed at surface and ranges between 5 and 95 feet in depth (2-30 metres).
"This fits in well with our mine-to-market business model involving strategic metals in North America", says Jim Engdahl, President. "Many of the same technologies that use the rare earth elements, like we are developing at our Hoidas Lake project in Saskatchewan, also require nickel and cobalt. And any time you can acquire a property with this much work already completed and documented, situated in North America, is potentially a tremendous asset." Adds Mr. Engdahl, "With nickel prices 10 times what they were when the Davy McKee study was done, and cobalt more than double in value, we are anxious to bring the project up to speed in terms of current standards and see what the new economics look like."
Now called the Crescent Project, the Company has completed digitizing all the historic data in its possession to facilitate preparation of an initial NI 43-101 compliant report on the project. The results reported above are not current, are no longer valid and should not be relied upon. The Company is treating the historical estimate as just that-a historical resource.
Gary L. Billingsley, P.Eng., P.Geo. is the Qualified Person responsible for the project and has reviewed this release.
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd., is a Canadian based company exploring for, and developing, strategic metal resources in North America. Pursuing a vertically-integrated business model, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary Great Western Technologies Inc., located in Troy, Michigan, produces a variety of specialty alloys for use in the battery, magnet and aerospace industries. These "designer" alloys include those containing nickel, cobalt and the rare earth elements.
Jim Engdahl, President
The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.
Gord Dent
Manager of Investor Relations
(306) 668-0701
Email: info@gwmg.ca
Website: www.gwmg.ca
Great Western Minerals Group Ltd.
226 Cardinal Crescent, Saskatoon, SK S7L 6H8
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