SouthGobi Energy Resources Appoints Jay Gow, Vice-President, Coal Marketing

  Peter Meredith, Chief Executive Officer of SouthGobi Energy Resources Ltd. (TSX VENTURE: SGQ), is pleased to announce the appointment of Jay Gow as the company's new Vice-President, Coal Marketing.

Mr. Gow has more than 25 years of experience in international and domestic resource marketing and transportation and is currently Vice-President, Marketing for Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. Mr. Gow has extensive experience in negotiating large supply and transportation contracts with international customers and has wide-ranging resource industry and transportation contacts in Asia, Europe and the Americas.

"Mr. Gow brings to SouthGobi proven expertise in global markets that will help to expand and develop opportunities for the sale of the company's thermal and metallurgical coking coal products," Mr. Meredith said.

The company has granted Mr. Gow 50,000 incentive stock options exercisable at a price of $11.46 per share. The options vest over a period of three years, with initial vesting on the first anniversary of the date of grant, and expire on June 5, 2014.

The options were granted in accordance with the company's Employees' and Directors' Equity Incentive Plan.

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN)(NYSE: IVN)(NASDAQ: IVN) is SouthGobi Energy Resources' largest shareholder, currently owning, directly and indirectly, approximately 80% of the issued and outstanding shares.

About SouthGobi Energy Resources

SouthGobi Energy Resources is focused on exploration and development of its Permian-age metallurgical and thermal coal deposits in Mongolia's South Gobi Region and its Eocene-age metallurgical and thermal coal deposits in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The company's flagship coal mine, Ovoot Tolgoi, is selling coal to customers in China. The company plans to supply a wide range of coal products and electricity to markets in Asia. The company also is investigating the implementation of clean-coal technologies in the development of coal power-generating capacity to benefit all of its stakeholders.

Forward-Looking Statements: This document includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the company's future ability to supply coal markets in Asia, and other statements that are not historical facts. When used in this document, the words such as "could", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "potential", "should", and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although SouthGobi Energy Resources 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 Energy's Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for the year end Dec. 31, 2008, which is available at www.sedar.com.

The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts: SouthGobi Energy Resources Ltd. Steven Feldman Investors [phone] SouthGobi Energy Resources Ltd. Bob Williamson Media [phone] www.southgobi.com