SouthGobi Resources Announces Board Changes

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Nov 12, 2014) - SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (TSX:SGQ)(HKSE:1878) ("SouthGobi" or the "Company") today announces the retirement of its Chair Ms. Kay Priestly, effective December 1, 2014. Current independent Director Mr. Gordon Lancaster has been appointed Interim Chair and Mr. Jeff Tygesen will join the Board as Director effective December 1, 2014.

Ms. Priestly said "It has been a privilege to serve SouthGobi's shareholders and work with the Board and management team over the last two years. I am pleased that Gord will serve as Interim Chair and I am confident that the Board will benefit from his leadership and vast experience in the resources industry and finance sector."

Mr. Lancaster has been Director of SouthGobi since 2010. He is Chair of the Compensation and Benefits Committee and a member of the Audit Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.

Mr. Tygesen has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Turquoise Hill Resources ("Turquoise Hill") effective December 1, 2014 and brings an extensive operational background to the Board of SouthGobi. Previously Mr. Tygesen spent more than 30 years with Rio Tinto in operational roles across multiple product groups as well as technology and innovation and strategic planning. Most recently, he was Vice-President, Copper Development at Rio Tinto Copper Group and was responsible for overseeing Rio Tinto's joint venture interests at its Chilean and Indonesian copper operations.

On his appointment, Mr. Lancaster said "I am honored to be appointed Interim Chair and we welcome Jeff as a new Board member. On behalf the entire Board and the management team, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to Kay for her leadership and contributions during her tenure as Chair".

Messrs. Pierre Lebel, Andre Deepwell, Bold Baatar, Kelly Sanders and Ross Tromans continue to serve as directors of SouthGobi.

In addition, the Company announced that Ms. Allison Snetsinger has been appointed Corporate Secretary of the Company effective November 14, 2014. Ms. Snetsinger was the Corporate Secretary of the Company from May 17, 2012 to March 31, 2014. Since then, she has been assisting the Company on corporate matters. Prior to her position as Corporate Secretary, she held the position of assistant corporate secretary since the Company's Canadian initial public offering in December 2003.

Note to editors

Mr. Lancaster has been Director of SouthGobi since 2010. He is also Chair of the Compensation and Benefits Committee and a member of the Audit Committee and the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Company.

Mr. Lancaster is an independent business consultant and was previously the Chief Financial Officer of Ivanhoe Energy Inc., an international heavy-oil development and production company whose core operations were in Canada, Ecuador and China. Mr. Lancaster holds a chartered accountant degree from the University of Manitoba and, prior to entering the industry in 1982, he had a 20-year career in public accounting with Deloitte & Touche with the last five years as a partner in that firm's Vancouver office. Mr. Lancaster also is a director of Ainsworth Lumber Co. Ltd. and Sonde Resources Corp.

Mr. Tygesen is the Chief Executive Officer and Director of Turquoise Hill. Prior to that, Mr. Tygesen has served as Vice-President, Copper Development at Rio Tinto Copper Group. In this capacity, he was responsible for overseeing Rio Tinto's joint venture interests, technical and innovation development, sustainable development and accountability at Rio Tinto's Chilean and Indonesian copper projects. Mr. Tygesen has spent over 30 years with Rio Tinto, and has held such positions as Mining Executive, Rio Tinto Copper Group; Regional General Manager, Rio Tinto Technology and Innovation; Manager, Long Term and Strategic Planning, Rio Tinto Energy America Coal; and Manager of Mine Development, Diavik Diamond Mines.

Mr. Tygesen holds a Bachelor of Science degree (Mining Engineering) and a Master of Science degree (Mining Engineering), both from the University of Utah (College of Mines and Earth Sciences). He is a member of the Society of Mining Engineering and the Institute of Corporate Directors.

About SouthGobi

SouthGobi is listed on the Toronto and Hong Kong stock exchanges, in which Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. ("Turquoise Hill"), also publicly listed in Toronto and New York, has a 56% shareholding. Turquoise Hill took management control of SouthGobi in September 2012 and made changes to the board and senior management. Rio Tinto has a majority shareholding in Turquoise Hill.

SouthGobi is focused on exploration and development of its metallurgical and thermal coal deposits in Mongolia's South Gobi Region. It has a 100% shareholding in SouthGobi Sands LLC, Mongolian registered company that holds the mining and exploration licences in Mongolia and operates the flagship Ovoot Tolgoi coal mine. Ovoot Tolgoi produces and sells coal to customers in China.