Desert Gold Ventures: What First Gold at Barani Could Prove About the SMSZ | Jared Scharf

Join Lyndsay Malchuk on Market Frontlines for an interview with Jared Scharf, President and CEO of Desert Gold Ventures (TSXV: DAU | OTCQB: DAUGF | FSE: QXR2). Desert Gold is advancing its 100% owned Senegal Mali Shear Zone (SMSZ) Project in western Mali, and the 200-tonne-per-day gravity plant at Barani is now on site, with commissioning targeted through October and first gold recovery targeted for Q4. Scharf explains what operating data from the starter pit could show that drilling and modeling cannot: how the ore body behaves in three dimensions, how gravity recoveries compare with laboratory results, and what that means for the larger 1,200-tonne-per-day gravity and CIL scenario in the November 2025 PEA. He is clear that no mineral reserve has been established at Barani. He explains why the first phase is self-funded without debt, royalties or streams, and he outlines possible routes for a CIL expansion of roughly US$15 million, such as a stream, an offtake deal or a debt facility, instead of equity. He also covers the 1,200-tonne daily cap of the small mine lease and the longer-term vision of a centralized plant fed by several pits, plus how the team handled freight delays, fuel shortages and the rainy season. Essential viewing for investors following gold development in West Africa.