WATERDOWN, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Aug. 10, 2012) - Opta Minerals Inc. (News - Market indicators), today announced results for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012. All figures are reported in U.S. dollars and are in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), except where otherwise noted.

Financial Highlights (presented in $000s USD except per share amounts):

David Kruse, President and CEO of Opta Minerals, noted "During the second quarter, Opta Minerals experienced solid revenue growth over the comparable period in 2011. Solid earnings in the steel sector were slightly offset by marginal results in the industrial minerals sector. We have continued to manage production to demand while focussing on our cost structure. We remain cautiously optimistic with the direction of the economic environment in our business."

Operational Highlights:

• Revenue in the Mill and Foundry Products and Services segment increased 42.0% over the comparable quarter in 2011 due largely to the demand for lime blends and chromite and, the acquisition of Babco Industrial Corp. during the first quarter. Revenue in the Abrasive Products Manufacturing and Distribution segment decreased 13.3% over the comparable quarter in 2011 due to a decrease in demand for metallurgical slags.
  
  
• Gross profit increased quarter over quarter. Gross profit as a percentage of revenue has declined slightly as a result of some weakness in the industrial minerals sector and product mix.
  
  
• Selling, general and administrative expenses (SGA) increased to 15.6% of revenue for the second quarter of 2012 from 14.3% for the comparable quarter in 2011. Most of the increase was the result of a bad debt due to the bankruptcy filing of a large American steel producer and customer in the amount of $0.9 million and, costs associated with target acquisitions (see below).
  
  
• Net earnings for the second quarter increased 27.7% over the comparable quarter in 2011. The majority of the increase was due to the recognition of deferred income tax assets from previously unrecognized non-capital loss carry forwards.
  
  
• The foreign exchange loss was $0.5 million for the quarter as compared to a foreign exchange gain of $0.1 million for the same quarter in 2011. The results reflected a year-over-year foreign exchange loss of $0.8 million largely due to the weakness of the Euro.
  
  
• For the three months ended June 30, 2012, cash flow from operating activities before changes in working capital generated $1.6 million versus $2.0 million in the second quarter of 2011. The positive cash flow was used to finance working capital, namely trade receivables.
  
  
• On July 13, 2012, the Company tendered an offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of WGI Heavy Minerals, Incorporated (WGI), for Cdn $0.60 in cash per share by way of a take-over bid. The offer valued WGI at approximately Cdn $15.5 million on a fully diluted basis. The offer will be funded by bank term debt.
  
  
• The Company's working capital at June 30, 2012 amounted to $15.9 million and total assets were $119.8 million, as compared to $14.7 million and $92.4 million respectively at December 31, 2011.
  
  
• The debt-to-equity ratio at June 30, 2012 was 1.04 to 1.00, versus 0.65 to 1.00 at December 31, 2011. The increased debt-to-equity ratio is largely attributable to the acquisition of Babco Industrial Corp. during the first quarter, financed by bank term debt.
  
  

Opta Minerals President and CEO, David Kruse, plans to host a conference call at 2:00PM Eastern Standard Time on Friday, August 10^th, 2012 to discuss second quarter 2012 results and recent corporate developments. After opening remarks, there will be a question and answer period. This conference call can be accessed with the toll free dial-in number 1-(866) 321-6651 or 1-(416) 642-5212; quote confirmation code 5048710. If you are unable to listen live, the conference call will be archived and can be accessed between August 10^th, 2012 and August 17^th, 2012, with the toll free dial-in number 1-(888) 203-1112 or 1-(647) 436-0148 followed by pass code 5048710.

Opta Minerals is a vertically integrated provider of custom process solutions and industrial mineral products used primarily in the steel, foundry, loose abrasive cleaning, water-jet cutting and municipal water filtration industries. The Company has production and distribution facilities in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Louisiana, South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan, New York, Texas, Florida, Ohio, France and Slovakia. Opta has one of the broadest product lines in the industry.

FOOTNOTES:

Earnings before income taxes and interest ("EBIT"); and earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") as defined below, are both non-IFRS earnings measures that do not have standardized measures prescribed by IFRS, and therefore may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other publicly traded companies.

Notes

This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" which reflect the current expectations of management of the Company regarding the Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities. Wherever possible, words such as "may", 'would", "could", "should", "will", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "expect", "intend", "estimate", "aim", "endeavour", "seek", "predict", "potential" and similar expressions have been used to identify these forward-looking statements. These statements reflect management's current beliefs with respect to future events and are based on information currently available to management of the Company. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, cancellations of or the failure to renew purchase orders; production and delivery issues; quality, pricing and availability of raw materials; compliance with environmental regulations; exchange rate fluctuations as well as the other risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Information Form and other public filings (copies of which may be obtained at www.sedar.com). Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements may vary materially from those expressed or implied by this press release. These factors should be considered carefully and reader should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Although any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon what management currently believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure readers that actual results, performance or achievements will be consistent with these forward- looking statements, and management's assumptions may prove to be incorrect. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and, other than as required by law, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update or revise these forward- looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.