Mr. Jared Scharf reports

DESERT GOLD PROVIDES UPDATE ON BARANI EAST GOLD PROJECT SITE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

Desert Gold Ventures Inc. has provided an update regarding continuing development activities at its fully permitted Barani East gold project in western Mali.

As outlined in prior news releases and supported by Desert Gold Ventures Inc.'s updated preliminary economic assessment (PEA), the company is advancing the Barani East gold project through a staged approach focused on infrastructure readiness, risk reduction and disciplined capital deployment. In line with this approach, the company has initiated a series of site preparations and infrastructure works that will be completed in parallel with the manufacturing and delivery of a gravity processing plant and equipment.

"These activities reflect our disciplined, phased approach to advancing the Barani East oxide gold project," said Jared Scharf, president and chief executive officer of Desert Gold. "Completing site preparation ahead of plant delivery and installation will reduce execution risk and support efficient advancement of the project as we progress. Our main goal is to advance the development timeline to commercial production as expeditiously as possible."

Site preparations and infrastructure activities

Current and planned activities include civil works and infrastructure development intended to prepare the site for future plant installation and commissioning. These activities include, but are not limited to:

• Site clearing, earthworks, and cut-and-fill activities;
• Upgrading access roads and construction of internal roads servicing the plant site, ROM (run-of-mine) pad, waste areas and water infrastructure;
• Preparation of the ROM pad and processing plant platforms;
• Construction of plant foundations and associated structural works;
• Development of water supply infrastructure, including boreholes, pumping systems and pipelines to water storage facilities;
• Construction of water management structures, including ponds, diversion drains and spillways;
• Installation of drainage and environmental control measures;
• Installation of site utilities, security cameras and fencing and lighting;
• Construction and upgrading of site offices, control room facilities and camp infrastructure.

These works are intended to reduce future construction timelines and support efficient execution of subsequent development phases.

Processing equipment procurement

The company has advanced procurement of a modular, gravity-based gold processing plant as part of its phased development strategy. The selection and configuration of the processing equipment align with the conceptual development framework evaluated in the company's most recently completed PEA (see news release dated Nov. 25, 2025).

The initial processing plant configuration has been designed for a nominal throughput capacity of approximately 10 tonnes per hour, subject to feed characteristics, commissioning performance and operating constraints. The modular design allows for future expansion, with the overall circuit conceptually capable of supporting increased throughput of up to approximately 50 tonnes per hour under a staged development scenario. This is consistent with the concepts designed in the PEA and it is management's intention to pursue this expansion strategy. Such expansion will be subject to further technical evaluation, infrastructure availability and financing.

The processing equipment is currently under manufacture and is expected to be delivered to site following completion of factory acceptance testing and applicable logistics milestones.

Following installation, initial activities will focus on equipment commissioning, operational readiness and metallurgical validation. As outlined in the PEA, gravity gold recoveries of approximately 68 per cent were achieved during the metallurgical test work conducted as part of the company's PEA (see PEA filed on SEDAR+ on Jan. 9, 2026).

Material not recovered during gravity processing is planned to be stockpiled on site for potential future processing. The PEA contemplates additional downstream processing, including carbon in leach (CIL), as part of a longer-term development scenario, subject to the availability of infrastructure and financing. Metallurgical test work referenced in the PEA indicates that CIL processing has the potential to achieve gold recoveries of up to approximately 92 per cent under laboratory conditions, compared with gravity-only processing. However, these results are preliminary in nature and may not be representative of operating-scale performance (see PEA filed on SEDAR+ on Jan. 9, 2026).

Development strategy

Desert Gold believes this phased development approach provides a practical and disciplined pathway for advancing the Barani East gold project while maintaining capital efficiency. This strategy is intended to allow the company to continue progressing key development activities in a measured manner as technical work advances and financing options are evaluated. The company expects to provide updates to the market as material milestones are achieved.

Additional disclosure -- development and economic uncertainty

The company cautions that the decision to advance site development activities and conduct commissioning and metallurgical testing prior to the definition of mineral reserves involves significant technical and economic uncertainty. As outlined in National Instrument 43-101 Companion Policy 43-101CP, mineral projects that have not defined mineral reserves are considered to have a higher risk of failure, and there is no assurance that the project will be demonstrated to be economically viable. Key risks include, but are not limited to, uncertainties related to metallurgical performance, operating costs, gold recoveries, scale-up of processing infrastructure, logistics and the availability of sufficient financing. There is no certainty that further technical work will result in the declaration of mineral reserves or that any future development scenario would be economically viable.

Qualified person statement

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Ty Magee, MSc, PGeo, a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Magee is an adviser and consultant to Desert Gold Ventures and is considered independent of the company.

About Desert Gold Ventures Inc.

Desert Gold is a gold exploration company which controls properties in both Mali and Ivory Coast. This includes the 440-square-kilometre SMSZ project in western Mali as well as the newly optioned 297-square-kilometre Tiegba gold project in western Ivory Coast within the prolific Birimian greenstone belt.

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