"SouthGobi Resources announces Notice of Investment Dispute...

"SouthGobi Resources announces Notice of Investment Dispute filed against Mongolian Government

HONG KONG – SouthGobi Resources Ltd. (TSX: SGQ, HK: 1878) (“SouthGobi”) announced today that SGQ Coal Investment Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of SouthGobi that owns the Company’s Mongolian operating subsidiary SouthGobi Sands LLC (“SGS”), has filed a Notice of Investment Dispute on the Mongolian Government pursuant to the Bilateral Investment Treaty (“BIT”) between Singapore and Mongolia. The Company has filed the Notice of Investment Dispute following a determination by management that they have exhausted all other possible means to resolve an ongoing investment dispute between SGS and the Mongolian authorities.
The Notice of Investment Dispute consists of, but is not limited to, the failure by the Mineral Resources Authority of Mongolia to execute the pre-mining agreements (“PMAs”) associated with certain exploration licenses of the Company pursuant to which valid PMA applications had been lodged in 2011. The areas covered by the valid PMA applications include the resource known as Zag Suuj and certain areas associated with the broader Soumber Deposit.
The Notice of Investment Dispute triggers the dispute resolution process under the BIT whereby the Mongolian Government has a six-month cure period from the date of receipt of the notice to satisfactorily resolve the dispute through negotiations. If the negotiations are not successful, the Company will be entitled to commence conciliation/arbitration proceedings under the auspices of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”) pursuant to the BIT. However in the event that the Mongolian Government fails to negotiate, ICSID arbitration proceedings may be accelerated before the six (6) months have expired."