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SMP.V ·

Alex Heath, CFA, Joins Southern Empire’s Board of Directors

Management Changes

TSX-V: SMP

OTC: SMPEF

Frankfurt: 5RE

News Release

February 16th, 2021

Alex Heath, CFA, Joins Southern Empire’s Board of Directors

Southern Empire Resources Corp. (Southern Empire; TSX -V: SMP; Frankfurt: 5RE; OTC: SMPEF ) is pleased to

announce the appointment of Alex Heath as an independent member of Southern Empire’s board of directors.

Dale Wallster, CEO of Southern Empire stated : “ We are extremely pleased that Alex has agreed to join

Southern Empire’s board. Alex has tremendous experience in many facets of the mining sector and is well

respected in the capital markets community. Having worked together on other ventures, I know that Alex will

be a strong, independent member of our Southern Empire board and his contributions will no doubt help us

to achieve our goals.”

Alex is a CFA Charterholder and has a B achelor of Commerce degree, with honours, from the University of

British Columbia. He is currently President of Ethos Gold Corp., and also a VP of Corporate Development and

Strategic Advisor to other “Discovery Group” companies . Previously, Alex worked as Director, Corporate

Development & Investor Relations for a mid -tier precious metals producer . Alex has signif icant corporate

finance experience, having spent eight years with Salman Partners focused on mining financings and merger

and acquisition transactions , and as a Corporate Finance Manager for Seasp an Corporation, the world’s

largest containership lessor, where he was involved in raising over $2 Billion in equity and debt from banks,

institutions and public capital markets.

Granting of Options

Southern Empire announces the grant of a total of 750,000 incentive stock options to directors, officers and

consultants of Southern Empire, subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance. Each option is exercisable to

purchase one common share of Southern Empire for five years at a price of C$0. 30 per common share i n

accordance with the terms of the Company’s stock option plan.

About Southern Empire Resources Corp.

Southern Empire is focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of gold deposits in North

America.

In the Cargo Muchacho mountains of Imperial County, California, Southern Empire owns 100 per cent of the

historical gold-producing American Girl mine property and also holds options to acquire a 100 percent interest

in the adjacent 2,160-hectare (5,338-acre) Oro Cruz property located approximately 22.5 kilometres (14 miles)

southeast of the operating Mesquite gold mine of Equinox Gold Corp.

At Oro Cruz, extensive historical drilling and large -scale open-pit and underground mining of the American

Girl, Padre y Madre, Queen and Cross oxide gold deposits by the American Girl Mining Joint Venture (AGMJV;

ultimately owned 53 per cent by MK Gold Company and 47 per cent by Hecla Mining Company) occurred

between 1987 and 1996. At that time, gold was recovered by either heap leaching of lower -grade or milling

of higher-grade ores until AGMJV operations ceased in late 1996 because of declining gold prices leaving the

Oro Cruz Gold Project with many gold explora tion targets in addition to the historical inferred resource

estimate, reported In 2011 by Lincoln Mining Corp., totalling 341,800 ounces gold based on 4,386,000 tonnes

averaging 2.2 grams gold per tonne at a cut -off grade of 0.68 g/t Au (4,835,000 tons at 0.07 ounce gold per

ton; please refer to the Cautionary Notice Regarding Historical Resource Estimate below).

Southern Empire is well financed, having completed two oversubscribed, non -brokered private placement

financings during 2020; see Southern Empire's news releases dated March 18 and June 12, 2020, for details.

With its strong working capital position, which also includes a significant equity holding in Augusta Gold Corp.,

Southern Empire has the financial resources to continue exploration and development programs at Oro Cruz

and consider new opportunities.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Southern Empire Resources Corp.,

Dale Wallster, CEO and Director

For further information on Southern Empire please visit both www.smp.gold and SEDAR or contact: Lubica

Keighery, (778) 889-5476, [email protected] .

Cautionary Notice on Forward-Looking Information

Information provided in this news release may contain forward -looking information or forward-looking statements that

are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. Such information or statements reflect management’s

current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations and are not guarantees of future performance. Southern Empire

cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a

number of material factors, many of which ar e beyond its respective control. Such factors include, among other things:

risks and uncertainties relating to Southern Empire limited operating history, the need to comply with environmental

and governmental regulations, results of exploration programs on its projects and those risks and uncertainties identified

in its annual and interim financial statements and management discussion and analysis. Accordingly, actual and future

events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, belie fs, intentions and expectations expressed

or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Southern Empire

undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

Cautionary Notice Regarding Historical Resource Estimate

The historical resource estimate outlined above is disclosed in a technical report dated April 29, 2011, prepared for

Lincoln Mining Corp. by Tetra Tech, Inc. and filed on Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document

Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR). It is termed an inferred mineral resource, which is a category set out in NI 43-101. It was

based on historical reverse circulation and core drill hole sample, underground channel sample, an d blasthole sample

assay results and calculated using ordinary kriging to estimate gold grades in 10 -foot-by-10-foot-by-five-foot blocks.

Accordingly, Southern Empire considers this historical estimate reliable as well as relevant as it represents key targ ets

for future exploration work. However, a QP has not done sufficient work to verify or classify the historical estimate as a

current mineral resource and Southern Empire is not treating this historical estimate as current mineral resources.

Work Programs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Timing of Southern Empire's exploration programs will be contingent on governmental regulations regarding the COVID-

19 pandemic and also the availability of exploration -related personnel, drill contractors, equipment, lodging, et cetera.

Southern Empire will adhere to COVID -19 directives regarding safe working practices putting worker, community and

national safety first and will proceed with exploration and development work programs only if potential COVID -19 risks

can be effectively managed.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies

of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.