Positioning for Growth: Desert Gold Ventures CEO Jared Scharf on Rising Gold Prices and the Road to 2025 Production

That's a good question and one I'm happy to answer. We have already discovered 1.1 million ounces of gold on our 440 km2 flagship SMSZ Project and our stock market value is currently around USD 10.60 per troy ounce in the ground. In fact, more than 27 gold zones have been discovered on our property to date and only 5 of those have been incorporated into 1.1 million ounce resource. So there is plenty of room to grow our resource base and create more value. From a mining perspective, the higher gold price will definitely enhance the economics of our Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) which we expect to publish in Q1 2025.

Absolutely. Our phase 1 mine plan provides for the exploitation of two open pit mines of near surface oxide gold deposits totalling ~200,000 ounces of gold. The mining method we plan to use is heap leach mining which is a low-cost mining method. This strategy combined with the low-cost jurisdiction of Mali will hopefully result in a mining proposal with strong economics. I believe a production cost per ounce of gold in the range of USD 800 to USD 1,300 is achievable. At the current market price of USD 2,600 per troy ounce, profit margins in the range of 50% are achievable in my opinion. Keep in mind this phase of mining is only the beginning, as with over a million ounces in our portfolio the likelihood of expanding production over time and extending the mine life is very good.

As I mentioned previously, we will soon publish our PEA for our phase 1 production plan. This will provide more clarity, transparency and detail regarding all aspects of the mine plan including economics. We will also be updating our resource. I believe these will be major catalysts for the company as it will show tangible evidence of economic value, a pathway towards cashflow and a trajectory for growth. I also believe an ongoing commitment to exploration will continue to grow our gold resource base as has been evidenced over the last several years.

If all goes according to plan, we should be able to start gold production in the second half of 2025. This will obviously be a company defining milestone which the market will likely take notice of. Cashflow from production would further enhance our exploration and also allow the company to pursue other strategies such as acquisitions, dividend payments or share buybacks. This is obviously looking a bit further out into the future but our intention is to evaluate a number of different strategies to reward our shareholders and attract new ones.

This question is, of course, justified. The work being completed as part of our PEA I hope will show strong economics and de-risk the project to a point where we can finance part or potentially all of the mine construction with outside capital via some type of debt instrument. We are also looking at other financing alternatives. To this point, discussions have already started with several funding groups and I’m optimistic for a positive outcome. With a 440km2 regional land package and a solid base of over a million ounces of gold to start from, we have a clear goal and pathway to establish ourselves as an emerging gold producer in the region of West Africa.