Exhibit 99.1

Wits  Basin Completes Sale of Minerals Exploration Company Located in South
      America and Announces Appointment of a New Board Member

Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 3, 2004. Wits Basin Precious Minerals Inc. ("Wits
Basin") (OTCBB: WITM) announced today that it has completed its sale of its
wholly owned subsidiary of Brazmin Ltda., ("Brazmin") a limited liability
company located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Wits Basin originally acquired
Brazmin on February 6, 2004, in a transaction (the "Quota Agreement") with
Argyle Securities Limited, a corporation formed under the laws of Saint Vincent
("Argyle").

During the time that Wits Basin owned Brazmin, Brazmin's only assets were the
mineral exploration rights of four distinct regions (the "Four Properties").
Brazmin has never had any revenues, as its activities have been solely to search
out and acquire exploration rights relating to base and precious minerals.

Pursuant to an agreement dated July 19,2004, Wits Basin sold Brazmin to the
prior owner, Argyle, for the following consideration: (a) a cash payment of
$25,000, (b) a further promise to receive an additional $25,000 on or before
December 31, 2004, (c) a cash payment of $100,000 in the event that Brazmin
commences on a pre-feasibility study on one of the Four Properties, (d) a cash
payment of $100,000 in the event that Brazmin commences on a bankable
feasibility study on one of the Four Properties, (e) a 10% carried interest in
Brazmin or its assigns or successors interest of the Four Properties up until
completion of a bankable feasibility process, (f) a 10% payment of any proceeds
obtained by Brazmin for the sale or partial sale of any of the Four Properties,
and (g) Argyle returned 400,000 shares of the 700,000 shares of Wits Basin
common stock that it had received as partial consideration pursuant to the Quota
Agreement. Argyle retained the 5-year warrant to purchase 150,000 shares of Wits
Basin common stock, with an exercise price of $1.50. Furthermore, Argyle assumed
all further liabilities required to maintain the Four Properties effective July
19, 2004. The consulting agreements with two of the principles of Brazmin were
also terminated effective June 30, 2004. Under the terms of the original Quota
Agreement, Wits Basin was required to obtain an effective registration of the
700,000 shares of its common stock by July 5, 2004. Under the terms of the July
19, 2004 agreement, Wits Basin is required to register the 300,000 shares as
soon as practical.

Appointment of a New Board Member

The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Stephen D. King
as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. King presently is the CEO of SDK
Investments of Atlanta, Georgia, a financial advisory firm.

Mr. King has extensive experience as a financing resource specialist in a
variety of business enterprises, including real estate, finance and media.





Update to the FSC Project in South Africa

On June 8, 2004, the Company announced the completion of the first drill hole,
which was drilled in the southern structural block to a depth of 2,984 meters,
and although the drill hole was not successful in intersecting Witwatersrand
rocks to the depths drilled, it provided valuable information which will refine
target selection elsewhere for the next two sites. Drilling will commence in
these areas once the required operating permits have been obtained.

The aim of the exploration at the FSC Project, which is being conducted by
AfriOre Limited (TSX:AFO) and funded in part by Wits Basin, is to discover a
major extension of the Witwatersrand basin. The "range-finding" drilling
program, which commenced after a comprehensive geophysical survey, aims to
identify the optimum position to discover mineralized gold reefs in a
Witwatersrand basin extension.

About Wits Basin Precious Minerals Inc.

Wits Basin is a precious minerals exploration company currently holding
interests in three gold and base metal exploration projects. In one of these
projects referred to as the "FSC Project," the Company is a passive investor.
The FSC Project (140,000 +ha) is located in South Africa adjacent to the major
goldfields discovered at the Witwatersrand Basin. To date Wits Basin has
advanced $2.025M to Kwagga Gold (Propriety) Limited ("Kwagga"), a wholly owned
subsidiary of AfriOre International (Barbados) Ltd. ("AfriOre"). Kwagga holds
the exploration and mining rights to the FSC Project. AfriOre is the operator of
the FSC Project. Wits Basin has an additional $75,000 payment, which will be due
upon the issuance of the required operating permits. Wits Basin retains the
right to increase its equity ownership in Kwagga with a future advance of $1.4M.
Wits Basin also holds exploration rights to certain lands (304 ha) near Wawa,
Ontario, Canada, referred to as the "Holdsworth Project." While there are no
current plans to conduct exploration activities on the Holdsworth Project, the
Company is actively seeking a partner to further explore and/or develop
Holdsworth. Wits Basin also holds an option agreement to earn a 70% interest,
subject to a 2% royalty, in 5 mining claims (1,295 ha) in the McFaulds Lake area
of northern Ontario currently held under option by an affiliate, Hawk Precious
Minerals Inc. The site is a new VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide) base metals
play. The Company has a funding commitment of $200,000 to help further explore
the property.

Wits Basin common stock trades on the Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board under the
symbol "WITM."

Wits Basin is headquartered in Minneapolis, MN with an office in Toronto, ON.

Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors

Certain statements contained in this press release that are forward-looking in
nature are based on the current beliefs and assumptions of our management. When
used in this press release, the words "may," "could," "should," "anticipate,"
"believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "predict," and similar
expressions and their variants may be used to identify forward-looking
statements. Such statements are valid only as of today, and we disclaim any
obligation to update this information. These statements are subject to known and
unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual future experience and
results to differ materially from the statements made. These statements are
based on our current beliefs and expectations as to such future outcomes.

The exploration for and development of mineral deposits involves significant
financial risks, which even experience and knowledge may not eliminate,
regardless of the amount of careful evaluation applied to a process. While the
discovery of a mineral deposit may result in substantial rewards, few properties
are ultimately developed into producing mines. Moreover, we cannot make any
estimates regarding probable reserves and mineral resources in connection with
any of our projects. Therefore, no assurance can be given that any size of
reserves or grades of reserves will be realized. If a discovery is made, the
mineral deposit discovered, assuming recoverable, may differ from the reserves
and mineral resources already discovered and recovered by others in the same
region of the planned areas of exploration.




The cost of exploration and exploitation can be extensive and there is no
assurance that we will have the resources necessary or the financing available
to pursue projects we currently hold interests in or to acquire interests in
other mineral exploration projects that may become available. The risks are
numerous and detailed information regarding these risks may be found in filings
made by us with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most
recent annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and reports on
Form 8-K.

Contact Information:
Wits Basin Precious Minerals Inc.
H. Vance White, CEO, 416.214.2250 or 866.214.WITM(9486);
Mark D. Dacko, CFO, 612.349.5277