Desert Gold Ventures Stock Price, News & Analysis

Desert Gold Ventures Inc. (OTCQB: DAUGF) is a gold exploration and development company active in West Africa. According to company disclosures, Desert Gold controls the SMSZ Gold Project in western Mali and is advancing this asset through exploration drilling, resource definition and economic studies focused on near-surface gold mineralization. The company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol DAU and is also quoted in Frankfurt under QXR2.

Desert Gold describes the SMSZ Project as covering approximately 440 km² in western Mali. Company materials state that this project contains Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources of 8.47 million tonnes grading 1.14 g/t gold totaling 310,300 ounces and Inferred Mineral Resources of 20.7 million tonnes grading 1.16 g/t gold totaling 769,200 ounces. These resources include oxide, transitional and sulfide/fresh mineralization and are reported in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 standards.

SMSZ Gold Project in Western Mali

The SMSZ Project is the core asset of Desert Gold Ventures. Company news releases explain that the project hosts multiple deposits and target areas, including Barani East, Barani Gap, Gourbassi West, Gourbassi West North, Gourbassi East, Mogoyafara South, Linnguekoto West, Frikidi, Kolon and Soa. The project area lies along and adjacent to the Senegal Mali Shear Zone, a regionally significant structure associated with several major gold deposits in western Mali and eastern Senegal, as illustrated in company figures.

Desert Gold reports that the SMSZ Project currently has a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) focused on near-surface oxide and transitional mineralization at the Barani and Gourbassi deposits. The company has disclosed both a maiden PEA and an updated PEA for these deposits. The PEAs outline open-pit oxide mining scenarios with gravity and carbon-in-leach (CIL) processing. The mine plans described in company releases are based on optimized open pits at Barani East, Barani Gap, Gourbassi West, Gourbassi West North and Gourbassi East, with a modular processing plant initially installed at Barani East and later relocated to the Gourbassi area.

In its PEA updates, Desert Gold highlights that the mine plans incorporate only a portion of the total mineral resources at SMSZ. The company notes that less than 10% of the project’s total gold resources are included in the PEA mine plan, and that the study focuses on oxide and transitional material, excluding sulfide mineralization and several smaller or deeper pits. Company disclosures also emphasize that the PEA is preliminary in nature, includes Inferred Mineral Resources and should not be considered definitive, consistent with NI 43-101 guidance.

Exploration and Resource Expansion at SMSZ

Desert Gold has reported multiple phases of drilling and surface work aimed at expanding and upgrading resources at SMSZ. News releases describe exploration and technical programs at Mogoyafara South, Linnguekoto West, Barani Gap, Frikidi, Kolon and Soa, among other targets. At Mogoyafara South and Linnguekoto West, the company has compiled historic drill, trench and soil data from prior operators and integrated it into its exploration model.

For Mogoyafara South, Desert Gold reports Inferred Mineral Resources of 412,800 ounces grading 1.05 g/t gold within a structural window hosting numerous shallow, dipping lenses of mineralization. Newly compiled trench and grab sample data, as well as historic reverse circulation drilling, are described as highlighting areas of higher-than-average grades and potential extensions to existing resource pits. At Linnguekoto West, trenching and prospecting results south of the current resource pit outline have identified additional gold-bearing zones and laterite-covered targets that the company views as prospective for further drilling.

Recent drilling campaigns at SMSZ, including a multi-target Phase 2 program, have tested extensions of known zones and auger anomalies at Mogoyafara South, Barani Gap, Frikidi, Kolon and Soa. Company disclosures detail intercepts from both reverse circulation and diamond drilling, including higher-grade intervals at Mogoyafara South and Frikidi and new mineralized zones at Barani Gap and other targets. Desert Gold indicates that these results support the potential to grow mineral resources and to move toward its longer-term exploration goal of increasing the overall resource base at SMSZ.

Preliminary Economic Assessments for Barani and Gourbassi

Desert Gold’s maiden PEA for the Barani and Gourbassi deposits at SMSZ outlines a low-capital, open-pit oxide operation with a modular gravity and CIL plant. The study describes a phased mine plan starting at Barani East and later transitioning to the Gourbassi deposits, with the processing plant relocated rather than duplicated. Company disclosures present projected mine life, throughput, gold production, operating costs, capital costs, and economic metrics such as after-tax Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) at various gold price assumptions.

A subsequent updated PEA incorporates the Gourbassi East deposit and a higher base gold price assumption. According to Desert Gold, this update contemplates increased throughput and gold production relative to the maiden PEA, along with revised capital requirements and operating cost estimates. The company notes that the updated mine plan remains focused on oxide and transitional material and continues to use a modular plant that can be redeployed between deposits. In both PEAs, Desert Gold emphasizes that only Mineral Reserves have demonstrated economic viability and that the PEA results are preliminary and based in part on Inferred Mineral Resources.

Tiegba Gold Project in Ivory Coast

In addition to SMSZ, Desert Gold has disclosed an option agreement to acquire a majority interest in the Tiegba Gold Project in Ivory Coast. Company news releases describe Tiegba as a large, approximately 297 km² land package in the Tehini Greenstone Belt, part of the Paleoproterozoic Birimian terranes. The project area is characterized by northeast-trending volcanic and volcano-sedimentary sequences and granitoid intrusions, with structural and geological features considered favorable for orogenic gold systems.

Historical soil geochemistry at Tiegba, originally collected by a prior operator, delineated a prominent gold-in-soil anomaly approximately 4.2 km in length along the Tehini Shear Zone. Desert Gold reports that peak soil values exceed 900 ppb gold and that these anomalies coincide with structural features and magnetic lineaments. The company notes that Tiegba has not been drill tested despite these surface anomalies and that its technical team has conducted due diligence site visits confirming the in-situ nature of some gold anomalies.

Desert Gold has outlined a Phase 1 exploration program at Tiegba that combines soil sampling, geological and regolith mapping, rock sampling, trenching, and a high-resolution drone aeromagnetic survey, followed by air core drilling to test coincident geochemical and geophysical targets. The stated objective is to advance Tiegba from early-stage mapping to drill-defined targets and to evaluate the potential for a multi-kilometre mineralized system.

Corporate and Financing Activities

Company news releases indicate that Desert Gold is using a combination of equity financing and warrant exercise incentive programs to fund its exploration and project development activities. The company has described a warrant exercise incentive program under which holders of certain warrants were encouraged to exercise early in exchange for additional warrants, with proceeds allocated to the development of the SMSZ Project and general working capital. Desert Gold has also reported the closing of such a program, including the total proceeds raised and the number of warrants exercised.

Desert Gold’s disclosures also reference stock option grants to directors, employees and consultants, reflecting the company’s use of equity-based compensation. The company notes that these options are subject to standard terms, including exercise price, duration and regulatory hold periods, in line with TSX Venture Exchange policies.

Technical Oversight and Qualified Persons

Scientific and technical information in Desert Gold’s news releases is stated to have been reviewed and approved by Qualified Persons as defined under National Instrument 43-101. The company identifies specific geologists, including advisors and consultants, who are responsible for reviewing exploration results, resource estimates and PEA-related technical data. This technical oversight is intended to ensure that disclosures related to mineral resources, drilling, sampling and metallurgical test work meet applicable regulatory standards.

Project Development Focus

Across its disclosures, Desert Gold presents itself as focused on advancing the SMSZ Project toward a small open-pit gold mine based on oxide and transitional resources, while continuing to explore for additional resources both within SMSZ and at Tiegba in Ivory Coast. The company highlights the modular nature of its proposed processing infrastructure, the staged development approach between Barani and Gourbassi, and the potential for resource growth from multiple near-mine and regional targets. According to management commentary in news releases, exploration around Barani, Gourbassi, Mogoyafara South, Linnguekoto West and other zones is viewed as key to enhancing project economics and extending mine life scenarios evaluated in the PEA.