Desert Gold Signs Option Agreement On 297 Square Kilometre Tiegba Gold Project In Ivory Coast

(MENAFN- Newsfile Corp) Delta, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 23, 2025) - Desert Gold Ventures Inc. (TSXV: DAU) (FSE: QXR2) (OTCQB: DAUGF) ("Desert Gold" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into an option agreement (the "Agreement") with Flower Holdings SARLU ("Flower") to acquire a 90% interest in the Tiegba Gold Project. Flower is a private company located in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The signing of the Tiegba option agreement marks a major milestone for the Company as it expands its project portfolio to become a regionally diversified gold explorer and developer in West Africa.

Tiegba Project Highlights

• The Tiegba Project is in Ivory Coast which has one of the most accommodative and investor friendly mining codes in the region;
  • Politically stable
  • Fast permitting
  • Excellent infrastructure
  • Major discoveries made in recent years with new mines coming online such as Montage Gold's Koné Project
• Large 297km² strategic land package in Tier-1 Birimian orogenic gold belt (see Image 3.);
  • Underexplored. Less than 20% of the Tiegba license has been explored representing significant exploration blue sky
• Located near multi-million-ounce deposits (See Image 2) including;
  • Agbaou (Allied Gold Corp)
  • Bonikro/Hire (Allied Gold Corp)
  • Yaouré (Perseus Mining Ltd)
• Large 4.2 km by 2.1km gold-in-soil anomalous trend along key regional structure; Tehini Shear Zone (see Image 1);
  • Multiple parallel mineralized trends with values exceeding 900 ppb gold including 89 samples over 50 ppb gold, 29 samples between 100 and 200 ppb gold and 12 samples over 200 ppb gold
  • Tiegba has never been drill tested despite compelling surface results
  • Company site visit confirms in-situ nature of gold anomalies
• Upcoming exploration program aims to quickly define drill targets;
  • Infill and expanded soil grids
  • Property-wide airborne magnetic and IP Surveys
  • Targeted trenching, geological mapping and prospecting

Desert Gold's CEO Jared Scharf commented "The completion of the Tiegba option agreement is a major milestone diversifying the Company into a regional West African player. During the spring, our technical team evaluated a dozen projects in the region covering over 1,000km². Tiegba ticked all the boxes. We look forward to quickly advancing the obvious and compelling gold prospects on the property into drill ready targets."

Image 1. Tiegba Planview highlighting 4.2km by 2.1km Anomalous Gold Trend

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Image 2. Tiegba License Regional Scale Planview Map

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Image 3. Tiegba Project Country Scale Map Highlighting Major Gold Projects

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Key Terms of the Flower Option Agreement

• Desert Gold will pay Flower of total of USD $450,000 over the term of the Agreement, of which USD $150,000 has been paid upon signing of the Agreement with the remaining balance to be paid in two equal instalments on the first anniversary of the agreement and the final payment being made of the first permit renewal;
• Desert Gold will issue a total of 1,500,000 common shares to Flower in three (3) equal instalments along with the cash payments. Share issuances are subject to TSXV statutory hold periods;
• Upon completion of the cash and share payments to Flower, Desert Gold will have satisfied the terms of the Agreement earning a 90% interest in the Tiegba license. Flower's 10% interest will be free carried through Mine Feasibility. Thereafter Flower will be subject to standard form pro-rata dilution clauses.
• Flower shall retain a one percent (1%) net smelter royalty on all ore mined from the Tiegba license;
• Desert Gold will retain a right of first refusal ("ROFR") of any sale of Flower's NSR and or 10% minority interest.
• During the option period, Desert Gold will be responsible for maintaining the Tiegba permit in good standing and satisfy any and all obligations required by Ivorian law and will take over operational control of the Tiegba project on closing of the transaction with Flower.

Tiegba Project Details
The Tiegba Project is located approximately 188km west of the Capital city Abidjan and covers an area of 296.9km2 within the underexplored Tehini Greenstone Belt (See Image 3.). The Tehini Belt extends northward towards Burkina Faso, where it hosts major active gold deposits such as Houndé (5.2 million ounces ["Moz"] Au) and Mana (2.3 Moz Au). Importantly, the northwestern extension of the Tiégba Project trends toward the Bonikro Agbaou gold complex and the Yaouré gold mine (See image 2.):

• Agbaou Deposit ¹
  • Proven and Probable Reserves (9.49 Mt @ 1.50g/t = 458 koz)
  • Measured and Inferred (9.33 Mt @2.10 g/t = 631 koz)
• Boniko & Hire Deposits ¹
  • Proven and Probable Reserves (11.98 Mt @1.15 g/t = 444 koz)
  • Measured and Inferred (40.21Mt @ 1.30g/t = 1.68 Moz)
• Yaoure ²
  • Proven and Probable Reserves (35.2 Mt @1.53 g/t = 1.73 Moz)
  • Measured and Inferred (55.6 Mt @1.52 g/t = 2.7 Moz)

Geology
The Tiegba Project is part of the Paleoproterozoic Birimian terranes which consists of a northeast-trending sequence of volcanic/volcano sedimentary rocks and syn- to late-tectonic granitoids features characteristic of gold-bearing greenstone belts across West Africa.

The local geology of the Tiegba Project exhibits strong similarities to the Bonikro-Agbaou gold district. Notably, calc-alkaline intrusive bodies have been mapped along both the western and eastern margins of the permit area. These intrusions are considered favorable hosts for gold mineralisation, particularly along their contacts, within high-strain structural corridors, and at the intersection of quartz vein networks. These geological features represent high-priority targets for follow-up exploration.

Historical soil geochemistry data, originally collected by Newcrest Mining Limited, identified a prominent north-northeast trending gold-in-soil anomaly approximately 4.2km in length within the Tiegba Project area. Peak gold values exceed 900 ppb Au. These levels of soil samples are well above typical background levels for Birimian greenstone belts. These anomalies appear to be spatially associated with the Tehini Shear Zone, a major regional structure that transects the property. This mineralized corridor has also been proven prospective on adjacent ground to the southwest, currently being advanced by Thor Explorations Ltd. (see Thor news release dated September 16, 2024)³.

Desert Gold Site Visit
As part of Desert Gold's initial due diligence, a site visit was conducted by its technical team in March 2025 to assess the prospectivity of the Tiegba permit. Field observations confirmed elevated soil anomalies coincident with sub-outcropping bedrock and transitional zones containing residual lithological fragments and dispersed quartz float. These features are interpreted as supportive of an in-situ mineralized source, with a geochemical anomaly resulting from primary dispersion processes.

Work Plans
Despite the presence of well-defined gold-in-soil anomalies, the Tiegba project remains untested by drilling. To date, only a small portion of the property has undergone systematic evaluation (<20%). Desert Gold plans to validate the historical soil data through the expansion of soil sampling grids and targeted infill sampling to better define geochemical trends.

Desert Gold intends to conduct a property-wide geophysical survey to improve understanding of the underlying structural architecture. This work will support the effective planning of additional soil sampling, trenching, detailed geological mapping, and prospecting activities, all aimed to quickly advance the project toward its first drill program.

SMSZ Project Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") Update
Desert Gold's previously announced SMSZ Project PEA is near completion. The company expects to publish initial results in the coming weeks.

Stock Option Issuance
The Company has issued a total of 1,000,000 incentive stock options to certain directors, employees and consultants of the Company. The stock options have an exercise price of CAD $0.08 and a duration of five (5) years from the date of issuance.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors
"Sonny Janda"
___________________________
Sonny Janda
Chairman

About Desert Gold Ventures
Desert Gold Ventures Inc. is a gold exploration and development company which controls the 440 km² SMSZ Project in Western Mali containing 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. For further information please visit under the company's profile. Website: .

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