Name of the Project
Senegal Mali Shear Zone (SMSZ) gold project.

Location
In western Mali, near the border with Senegal. The project overlies a 38 km section of the SMSZ, in a gold belt that also hosts major regional gold mines.

Project Owner/s
Regional West African gold exploration company Desert Gold Ventures Inc.

Project Description
Desert Gold’s flagship gold project in western Mali includes the Barani/Gourbassi oxide development. It hosts measured and indicated mineral resources of 11.12-million tonnes grading 0.94 g/t gold for 336 800 oz, and inferred resources of 27.16-million tonnes grading 1.01 g/t gold for 879 900 oz. An updated preliminary economic assessment, released in November 2025, outlines a staged openpit oxide mining operation focused on the Barani and Gourbassi deposits.

Mining will start at Barani East, before transitioning to Gourbassi, with a modular gravity and carbon-in-leach processing plant initially installed at Barani and later moved to Gourbassi.

The updated PEA increases planned production from 18 000 t a month to about 36 000 t a month, or 432 000 t/y at steady state over a ten-year mine life. The mine plan includes 130 700 oz of contained gold, with 113 100 oz expected to be recovered at an average metallurgical recovery of 87%. The company is also advancing near-mine and regional exploration across the broader SMSZ land package.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The updated PEA estimates an after-tax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $61-million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 57%, using a base-case gold price of $2 850/oz. Payback is estimated at 2.5 years. Desert Gold has warned that the project has not declared mineral reserves and that the PEA remains preliminary in nature.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $20.4-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Commissioning of the Barani gravity plant was targeted for mid-July 2026.

Latest Developments
In April 2026, Desert Gold started a 4 250 m Phase 1 reverse-circulation drill programme across five priority targets: Koussili, Gourbassi West North, Mogoyafara South, Kolon-Soa and the Barani Gap. The programme is designed to expand known mineralisation, test strike and depth extensions, and assess higher-grade zones while advancing near-mine resource growth around the planned Barani East oxide operation.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Minxcon (updated PEA); and AGR-Consulting (water-supply geophysical targeting work at Barani).

Contact Details for Project Information
Desert Gold Ventures Inc, tel +1 604 357 4726 or email info@desertgold.ca.