SouthGobi Resources Announces Changes to Board of Directors

Turquoise Hill Resources CEO Kay Priestly Appointed New Chairman

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 09/04/12 -- SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (TSX: SGQ) (HKSE: 1878) ("SouthGobi") today announced changes to the company's Board of Directors, including the resignation of three existing directors and the appointment of five new directors effective September 3, 2012.

The Board accepted the resignation of directors Edward Flood, the Honourable Robert Hanson and chairman Peter Meredith, and subsequently appointed Lindsay Dove, Sean Hinton, Kay Priestly, Brett Salt and Kelly Sanders as directors of the company.

Messrs. Pierre Lebel, Andre Deepwell, Gordon Lancaster and Alexander Molyneux continue to serve as directors of SouthGobi.

Kay Priestly, Chief Executive Officer of Turquoise Hill Resources, has been appointed Chairman of the Board. Ms. Priestly has more than 30-years of experience in the financial, mining and energy sectors. Sean Hinton has been appointed as Deputy Chairman and will play an active role in supporting the management team. Mr. Hinton has more than 23 years of experience in Mongolia and China, including as an advisor to Rio Tinto PLC, Oyu Tolgoi LLC and Goldman Sachs (Asia).

On her appointment, Ms. Priestly said, "Peter, Ed and Robert have been longstanding directors and have been instrumental in providing outstanding guidance in discovering, developing and successfully operating SouthGobi's flagship Ovoot Tolgoi mine. I want to sincerely thank them for their long service to the company.

"I am honoured to be appointed chairman and welcome the other new directors. I look forward to working with Pierre Lebel, our lead independent director, Deputy Chairman Sean Hinton, my fellow directors and the SouthGobi management team. With the termination of the Chalco transaction, we will focus on the company's core business performance and realizing the operating potential of an outstanding asset."

Commenting on the new Board appointments, Pierre Lebel said, "On behalf of the Board, particularly on behalf of SouthGobi's independent directors, I want to welcome our new directors to the company. Each brings significant skills and experience that will be very valuable to SouthGobi as we move ahead with future development."

Kay Priestly is Chief Executive Officer of Turquoise Hill Resources. She was previously a senior executive at Rio Tinto, most recently serving as Chief Financial Officer of the company's global Copper product group. Ms. Priestly joined Rio Tinto in 2006 as Chief Financial Officer at Rio Tinto's Kennecott Utah Copper operations. Prior to Rio Tinto, she spent more than 24 years with global professional services firm Arthur Andersen, where she provided tax and consulting services to global companies in the energy and mining sectors and was a member of Andersen's global executive team. Ms. Priestly is also a director of Stone Energy Corporation.

Sean Hinton is founder and principal of Terbish Partners, an advisory firm mainly focused on energy and mining projects. From 1997-2000, he served as Mongolia's Honorary Consul- General in Australia. Previously Mr. Hinton was a partner and principal at MEA, a London- based boutique investment bank, and spent five years with McKinsey & Company advising major clients on a wide range of strategic issues.

Lindsay Dove spent more than 30 years in the international oil, coal and shipping industries with BP and Rio Tinto where he held a variety of senior management positions. Since retiring from Rio Tinto in 2006, Mr. Dove has been an independent consultant advising on acquisitions and corporate transactions, primarily in the international coal mining industry.

Brett Salt was appointed Senior Vice President, Strategy and Development at Turquoise Hill Resources on May 1, 2012. Previously, Mr. Salt was with Rio Tinto for 15 years in a variety of senior product group and corporate level commercial roles. Most recently, he was General Manager Business Development and Chief Financial Officer of the Rio Tinto Marine business.

Kelly Sanders currently is President and CEO of Kennecott Utah Copper and has been working in the mining industry for 32 years, including 28 years with coal mining operations. Mr. Sanders previously held senior positions with Rio Tinto Energy America and Ziegler Coal, both in Wyoming's famed Powder River Basin coal mining district.


About SouthGobi Resources

SouthGobi Resources is focused on exploration and development of its Permian-age metallurgical and thermal coal deposits in Mongolia's South Gobi Region. The company's flagship coal mine, Ovoot Tolgoi, produces and sells coal to customers in China. The company plans to supply a wide range of coal products to markets in Asia.


Forward-Looking Statements:

This document includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, plans to supply a wide range of coal products to markets in Asia; and other statements that are not historical facts. When used in this document, the words such as "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "likely" and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although SouthGobi believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in SouthGobi's Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011 which is available at www.sedar.com.



Contacts:

SouthGobi Resources Ltd.
Dave Bartel, Vice President Investor Relations and External Affairs
(Hong Kong)
+852 2156 7023
www.southgobi.com