Opta Minerals Inc. Announces Appointment of John Dietrich as Executive Vice President

WATERDOWN, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 14, 2013) - Opta Minerals Inc. (TSX:OPM), today announced the appointment of Mr. John Dietrich to the position of Executive Vice President. Mr. Dietrich will report directly to David Kruse, President and Chief Executive Officer, Opta Minerals Inc. Reporting to Mr. Dietrich will be finance and administration and human resources. He will also be responsible for legal matters, insurance and corporate development activities.

Mr. Dietrich is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst with 25 years of finance and accounting experience gained during a progression of senior roles in both private industry and public companies. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Dietrich has been with SunOpta Inc. (66.2% owner of Opta Minerals) since 2002 and has served in a number of roles including Vice President Corporate Development and Chief Financial Officer.

David Kruse, President and CEO of Opta Minerals Inc. commented, "I am very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Dietrich to the position of Executive Vice President. John is very familiar with Opta Minerals due to his tenure at SunOpta and has been indirectly involved in many of Opta Minerals' major acquisitions in the past. We welcome him to his new role with Opta Minerals as we focus on continued growth in the future."

About Opta Minerals

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, Idaho, France, Slovakia and Germany. Opta has one of the broadest product lines in the industry.