Astron Limited has appointed two additional board directors.

The appointments increase the Astron Board to five directors including three non-executive directors.

Kang Rong has been appointed executive director. He was formerly Astron's vice general manager, based in China.

Kang Rong joined Astron in 1992 as the Chinese marketing manager. Since then she has overseen Astron's China operations and global sales for over 10 years and has been largely responsible for the growth and development of the company.

Ronald McCullough has been appointed a non-executive director and will be based in Melbourne Australia.

Ronald McCullough is a former general manager of Gunnedah Coal Company Ltd (GCC) in the northern Hunter Valley in New South Wales, Australia.

He is a director of Oakbridge Limited. He is also a director of Gunnedah Coal Company which is becoming involved in coal bed methane development.

Astron Limited is an Australian-listed company that imports zircon sand to China and manufactures zirconium chemicals and advanced materials for the ceramics, TV glass, refractories and consumer industries. It has been growing this business in China since 1991.

QGX makes mineral projects leader appointment

QGX Ltd has appointed John Thompson project development vice president. John Thompson brings to QGX the necessary depth and experience in operations to guide the continued development of the Baruun Naran (coking and steaming coal) and Golden Hills (copper, gold, and silver) projects as they move into the pre-feasibility stage. John Thompson's career spans 36 years working in open-pit and underground operations as well as project development for the Utah Development Company, BHP, Newcrest Mining, and others in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

QGX president and CEO Paul Zweng says John Thompson's fossil fuel and metals background make him ideally suited to lead the development of our coal project at Baruun Naran and the copper-gold-silver project at Golden Hills.

QGX is a Canadian-based company that has been exploring for mineral deposits in Mongolia since 1994. QGX's two most advanced properties are the Baruun Naran and the Golden Hills projects. The resource estimate for metallurgical and thermal coal at Baruun Naran comprises 47.5 million tonnes of measured, 60 million tonnes of indicated (107.5 million tonnes contained in measured and indicated) and an additional 48 million of inferred resources. A polymetallic resource has been delineated at the Central Valley Zone of Golden Hills. Barrick Gold Corp holds a 9.4% equity interest in QGX as part of a strategic relationship between the two companies.