MERRILL LYNCH & CO INC

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - May 13, 2004) - DESERT SUN MINING CORP. (TSX: DSM - News) remains on target and expects to be in production by early 2005, and producing at a steady state rate of at least 100,000 ounces per year in the second quarter of 2005. Today the Company released operating results for the period ending March 31, 2004. Desert Sun has changed its financial year-end from August 31 to December 31, with a transition year of 16 months ending December 31, 2004 and a second interim period covering four and seven months ending March 31, 2004. The company has scheduled a conference call on Friday May 14, 2004 to discuss the results and to update shareholders on its preproduction activities and exploration program at Jacobina in Brazil. CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS Date: Friday May 14, 2004 Time: 10:00 am EDT Local callers: 416-405-8532 North American callers: 1-877-295-2825 International callers: +1-416-405-8532 An archive recording of the call will be available following completion of the call on the Desert Sun website at www.desertsunmining.com. As at March 31, 2004 Desert Sun had cash and equivalents totaling $29.4 million and no debt. On a consolidated basis, the Company recorded a net loss from operations of $5,116,000 in the four months ended March 31, 2004, or 9 cents per share, compared with a net loss in the first quarter of $835,000, or 2 cents per share. Included in the loss from operations in the second quarter is a non-cash compensation expense of $4,478,000, attributable to options issued to directors, officers, employees and consultants during the seven months (and which vested during the second quarter) as valued in terms of the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The net loss from operations in the four months, excluding this expense was $638,000, comprising general and administration expenses of $857,000 and interest received on cash invested of $219,000. In the four months ended March 31, 2004, Desert Sun invested $1.8 million in the exploration and development of the Jacobina property, compared with $6 million in the three months ended November 30, 2003 which included $5 million to acquire the remaining 49% interest in the Jacobina property from Valencia Ventures Inc. The principal component of the exploration program is a 40,000 metre diamond drilling program, which cost $1.4 million during the four months. Mine Update The dewatering of the Joao Belo Mine, from which the bulk of planned production will come, has been completed. Underground services are being installed to accommodate the mechanized equipment, and some minor slashing of access areas will soon be taking place. The main haulage drifts to the Joao Belo mine are being rehabilitated, with crews removing track and ties from the previous haulage system in preparation for the new truck haulage system. The Mine Complex repair and upgrading is advancing well in preparation for the start of operations, including the installation of telephone and internet service and the rehabilitation of the main mine transformer sub-station. Technical inspections of the production facility and mill have been completed, and orders for the mechanized equipment are expected to be confirmed with major equipment suppliers during the third fiscal quarter; potentially including finance terms which are the subject of ongoing negotiations. Engineering and Plann ing has commenced for the initial mining stopes. Exploration Update The exploration program is focused on substantially increasing the mineral reserves in the main production areas (Joao Belo Norte and Basal Reef-Cuscuz) and exploring several new targets identified in the 2003 drill program, most notably the Morro do Vento, Canavieiras, and Joao Belo Sul areas. Drilling at Morro do Vento continues to confirm the potential to outline a large open pittable mineral resource. The target Intermediate reef package at Morro do Vento is consistently about 60 to 70 metres wide and extends along the full 2km strike length with extensive garimpos (free miner workings). Because of the geometry of the zone, and its location on the east flank of a hill, the zone could be open pit mined with minimal waste rock removal. At Canavieiras, recent drill results continue to confirm the excellent potential for outlining a significant mineral resource that could be readily accessed from the existing workings. The Company is also conducting exploration along the whol ly-owned 110+ kilometre long Bahia Gold Belt. This belt includes a 75+ kilometre strike length of the Serra do Corrego Formation conglomerates, which hosts the existing mines and the already-identified 14,802,000 tonnes at 2.86 g Au/t containing 1.36 million ounces measured and indicated mineral resource and 29,487,000 tonnes at 2.62 g Au/t containing 2.47 million ounces inferred mineral resource on less than 10% of the property. About Desert Sun Mining Corp SNC Lavalin completed a Feasibility Study for Desert Sun (see press release September 12, 2003) which confirmed the economics of bringing the Jacobina Mine, on the Bahia Gold Belt in Brazil, back into production and outlined a mineral reserve of 10,746,000 tonnes grading 2.20 g Au/t containing 758,600 ounces of gold. SRK Consulting extended the SNC Lavalin Feasibility Study mine plan (2004 to 2011) an additional 11 years to early 2023 by scheduling the potentially "mineable tonnes" resulting from the conversion of inferred resources based on historical data. SRK considered that Jacobina has the potential to deliver "economically mineable tonnes" containing 2 million recoverable ounces of gold. A key objective of the expanded exploration program is to upgrade the present inferred mineral resources to the indicated category to achieve these potential recoverable ounces. It must be cautioned that the SRK study is not adequate to definitely confirm the economics of the inferred m ineral resources and that there is no guarantee that further drilling will upgrade the inferred resources. Based on the SNC Feasibility Study, which used a gold price of US$350 per ounce and a Real to $US exchange rate of 3:1, the mine can be in production by 2005, producing at a rate of 102,000 ounces per year at an average cash cost of US $189 per ounce. The Company is presently reactivating the Jacobina Mine (on standby since 1998) according to the feasibility plan. Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo., is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the scientific and technical work on the program. Statements in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual developments or results may vary materially from those in these "forward-looking statements". Desert Sun Mining is a Canadian gold exploration and development company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (www.desertsunmining.com).

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - Apr 21, 2004) - DESERT SUN MINING CORP. (TSX:DSM - News) reports results from five additional underground drill holes from the Canavieiras Mine on the Bahia Gold Belt in Jacobina, Brazil, as a follow-on to previously announced drill results. The former Canavieiras mine is located 3 km north of the processing plant and is located in a block, bounded by faults, that is approximately 1.2 km long and 400 metres wide. In contrast to the main conglomerate trend, Canavieiras is characterized by moderate folding resulting in structural upgrading of gold mineralization in the reefs. Past production at the Canavieiras Mine, primarily from the Piritoso and Liberino reefs, totaled 458,247 tonnes at a grade of 8.65 g Au/t. From the press release of January 21, 2004, Hole CAN-18 was drilled at an angle of +40 degrees from a crosscut on the east side of the old mine workings to test the Hollandez reef, which is just above the Piritoso and Liberino reefs that were previously mined. An intersection of 2.57g Au/t over a 10.4m true width was recorded, including 3.96g Au/t over a true width of 5.0m. Results from New Drillholes - Hole CAN-19, on the same section as CAN-18 and drilled horizontally, intersected 2.02 g Au/t over a true width of 2.7m in the Hollandez reef, however this zone was disrupted by faulting. - Hole CAN-20, drilled at +46 degrees 40m south of this section returned 2.71 g Au/t over 1.5m true width in the Hollandez and 1.38 g Au/t over 5.9m true width in the Maneira reef. - Hole CAN-23, a further 30m south and drilled at +33 degrees, intersected 3.32 g Au/t over a true width of 6.9m in the Hollandez reef and 3.45 g Au/t over 1.8m in the Maniera reef. - Holes CAN-21 and CAN-22, as shown in Figure 1, were drilled on the same section 160m south of CAN-18/19 and 90m south of CAN-23. Hole CAN-21 intersected 8.47 g Au/t over a core length of 13.02m (8.07g Au/t with highs cut to 30 g/t; true width 5m - 10m) in a strongly silicified zone near the base of the Hollandez reef adjacent a steeply dipping fault zone filled with a mafic dyke. Hole CAN-22 intersected 2.17 g Au/t over 15.8m true width in the upper part of Liberino and the Hollandez reefs. Dr. Bill Pearson, Ph.D., P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration commented: "These new results continue to confirm the excellent potential for outlining a significant mineral resource at Canavieiras that could be readily accessed from the existing workings. Additionally, the fact that we are seeing a different form of mineralization than that from the main conglomerate trend is potentially significant from a geological perspective. Further drilling will continue to focus on outlining higher grade zones within the more extensive lower grade mineralization." Desert Sun's work at Canavieiras is focused on evaluating the full stratigraphic package hosting the favourable conglomerate beds. The package is estimated to be over 300m thick. Major targets include: - Hollandez-Maneira reefs covering a target area of 500m by 200m about 20m above the mine workings; - Middle Unit (MU) and Lower Unit (LU) reefs covering a target area of 160m by 220m about 50m below the Canavieiras mine workings; and - A potential high grade extension zone in a target area 130m by 120m in the Piritoso reef adjacent to the old stope in the southern end of the mine. The Hollandez reef is typically 15 to 20m thick, although in places is up to 40m thick, with significant gold mineralization occurring in the lower part of the reef. The reef extends along a north-south strike for at least 1km of which 500m of this strike length would be readily accessible from existing mine workings in the Canavieiras Mine. The Maneira Reef, which is 30m stratigraphically above the Hollandez reef, comprises the upper sequence of conglomerates in the Serra do Corrego Formation. It is typically 70 metres thick dipping 55 degrees to the east, and comprises a very large quartz pebble conglomerate at the base which grades to a medium-sized quartz pebble conglomerate at the top. The conglomerates typically have a fuchsite-rich matrix, sometimes oxidized. Gold mineralization is presented at both the base and top. Significant results from new drill holes are shown in Table 1. Table 1: Summary of Significant New Drilling Results, Canavieiras --------------------------------------------------------------------- True Depth Below Hole No.(i) From To Gold Interval Width Reef Surface(ii) (m) (m) (g/t) (m) (m) (m) --------------------------------------------------------------------- CANAVIERAS SECTION N8758458 CAN-18 (released January 21, 2004) Dip +40 deg. 0.00 11.61 2.57 11.61 10.4 Hollandez 78 Incl. 0.00 8.02 3.34 8.02 7.2 Hollandez 82 77.46 78.78 3.87 1.32 1.2 Maneira 67 CAN-19 Dip +0 deg. 12.38 15.59 2.02 3.21 2.7 Hollandez 80 90.98 97.39 1.03 6.41 5.4 Maneira base 140 SECTION N8758419 CAN-20 Dip +46 deg. 0.48 1.04 1.55 0.56 0.6 n/a 75 15.63 18.23 1.47 2.60 2.6 Hollandez 68 27.46 28.95 2.71 1.49 1.5 Hollandez 65 92.21 93.51 2.10 1.30 1.3 Maneira 50 102.08 107.94 1.38 5.86 5.9 Maneira 45 SECTION N8758300 CAN-21 Dip +0 deg. 0.00 13.02 8.47 13.02 5m-10m Near base 95 8.07 Cut to 30g/t Hollandez 28.86 34.59 1.10 5.73 4.4 Maneira base 110 Incl. 33.61 34.59 6.22 0.98 0.8 Maneira base 110 65.33 68.26 0.82 2.93 2.3 Maneira top 125 CAN-22 Dip +37 deg. 0.00 17.50 2.17 17.50 15.8 Liberino/ 62 Hollandez 63.16 70.50 1.05 7.34 6.6 Maneira 55 SECTION N8758390 CAN-23 Dip +33 deg. 30.86 40.73 3.32 9.87 6.9 Hollandez 68 86.55 89.15 3.45 2.6 1.8 Maneira 72 (i) All holes are NQ diamond drill core size with azimuth at 80 degrees (ii) Depth calculated from mid-point of intersection Surface drilling is continuing at the Joao Belo Sul-Joao Belo Norte Mine, Basal Reef-Cuscuz and Morro do Vento areas, in addition to the underground drilling Canavieiras. More results from drilling at these other targets will be released in the coming weeks. Assaying for the program was carried out by Lakefield Geosol, an ISO 9001:2000 certified laboratory based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, using fire assay on 50 gram pulps. Check assaying is routinely carried out by ALS Chemex in Vancouver, Canada on 10% of sample pulps and 5% of sample rejects. Security is maintained at the core logging and sampling facility. Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo. is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the scientific and technical work on the program. ABOUT DESERT SUN: SNC Lavalin completed a Feasibility study for Desert Sun (see press release September 12, 2003) which confirmed the economics of bringing the Jacobina mine back into production and outlined a mineral reserve of 10,746,000 tonnes grading 2.20 g Au/t containing 758,600 ounces of gold. SRK Consulting extended the SNC Lavalin Feasibility Study mine plan (2004 to 2011) an additional 11 years to early 2023 by scheduling the potentially "mineable tonnes" resulting from the conversion of inferred resources based on historical data. SRK considered that Jacobina has the potential to deliver "economically mineable tonnes" containing 2 million recoverable ounces of gold. A key objective of the expanded exploration program is to upgrade the present inferred mineral resources to the indicated category to achieve these potential recoverable ounces. It must be cautioned that the SRK study is not adequate to definitely confirm the economics of the inferred mineral resources and that there is no guarantee that further drilling will upgrade the inferred resources. Based on the SNC Feasibility, which used a gold price of US$350 per ounce and a Real to $US exchange rate of 3:1, the mine can be in full production by 2005, producing at a rate of 102,000 ounces per year at an average cash cost of US $189 per ounce. Statements in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual developments or results may vary materially from those in these "forward-looking statements". Desert Sun Mining is a Canadian gold exploration and development company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (www.desertsunmining.com).

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(CCNMatthews - Mar 31, 2004) - DESERT SUN MINING CORP. (TSX:DSM - News) has entered into an agreement with Lakefield Geosol Laboratorios Ltda. to design, commission and operate an independent laboratory for analysis of production ores, definition drill core, metallurgical samples and water for environmental monitoring at the Jacobina mine site, Bahia, Brazil. All work procedures, training and quality systems of the mine site laboratory will be based on the Lakefield Geosol model which is ISO 9001:2000 compliant. Once the mine laboratory is fully operational, Lakefield Geosol and Desert Sun will apply for ISO certification. Analysis of exploration drill core and rock samples will continue to be done at the Lakefield Geosol laboratory in Belo Horizonte. ADVERTISEMENT Lakefield Geosol Laboratorios Ltda. is a joint venture company between SGS Lakefield Research Limited, part of the SGS Group, which provides global testing and consulting services to the broad mining and metals sector from offices in Canada, Chile, Australia, South Africa and Brazil and Geosol Geologia e Sondagems Ltda of Brazil. SGS Lakefield has considerable experience worldwide, and specifically in Brazil, in the development of on-site mine laboratories. Clients in Brazil include Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (CVRD) one of the largest integrated mining, smelting and manufacturing companies in the world. With a head office in Belo Horizonte and an affiliate laboratory in Parauapebas, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Lakefield Geosol provides gold determinations via fire assay and aqua regia leach, analysis of trace elements by Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP), Atomic Absorption Spectophotometry (AAS), X-Ray Florescence (XRF), ore/industrial rock assays and whole rock analysis. Heavy metal determinations, physical/chemical parameters and bacteriological tests, classification of residues, and sampling campaigns for waters, effluents and residues are also available to the environmental sector. Quality is continually monitored via regular proficiency and interlaboratory tests. Peter Tagliamonte, P.Eng., Vice President, Operations and Chief Operating Officer of Desert Sun said: "We are very pleased to enter into this agreement with Lakefield Geosol which will ensure that we will have a high quality and independent laboratory at the mine. This is another important operational step in bringing the mine to full production in 2005 and reflects the commitment of our management team to maintain the highest standards of transparent reporting." Statements in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual developments or results may vary materially from those in these "forward-looking statements". Desert Sun Mining is a Canadian gold exploration and development company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (www.desertsunmining.com). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pre-Production Work Also Progressing Well DESERT SUN MINING CORP. (TSX:DSM - News) announces additional drill results that further support the possibility of outlining a large open pittable mineral resource at the Morro do Vento target area at the Jacobina Mines on the Bahia Gold Belt in Brazil. Morro do Vento is located about 1.5 km from the processing plant and existing mines, and approximately 9 km from the town of Jacobina. Desert Sun is also pleased to provide an update on the activity at the mine site. Pre-production work is progressing well and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Peter Tagliamonte, P. Eng. is now based at the mine site in Jacobina to oversee the reactivation of the mines and the rampup to production. ADVERTISEMENT Highlights of the progress on the exploration and mining are: 1. The exploration data at Morro do Vento continues to provide encouraging results that show the potential for outlining a large open pittable mineral resource. SRK Consulting is completing a scoping study on Morro do Vento to establish order of magnitude mining parameters to guide further exploration drilling. In light of these new drilling results, Desert Sun is accelerating drilling to complete sufficient holes across the full 2km target zone to outline a mineral resource estimate that meets CIM standards for a pre-feasibility study. 2. Significant exploration work is also in progress at several other targets, notably the Joao Belo Sul-Joao Belo Norte, Canavieras and Basal Reef (Itapicuru). Results of holes in these areas will be released as they are available. The Company now has 10 drills on site and is accelerating the previously announced US$5 million program, comprising over 40,000+ metres of drilling. The objective of Desert Sun's drill program is to increase its mineral reserves to 2 million ounces, at a comparable tonnage and grade to the current estimated mineral reserves of 10,746,000 tonnes at 2.20 g/t containing 758,600 ounces of gold (see press release Sept. 12, 2003), by the end of 2004. Desert Sun cautions that this objective is preliminary in nature and there is no guarantee that further drilling will achieve these tonnage and grade objectives. Desert Sun is also conducting a major exploration program along the wholly-owned 110+ Km long Bahia Gold Belt. This belt includes a 75+km strike length of the Serra do Corrego Formation conglomerates, which hosts the existing mines and the already-identified 1.36 million ounces measured and indicated resource and 2.47 million ounces inferred mineral resource on less that 10% of the property (see press release August 26, 2004). 3. Major improvements in drill productivity have been attained since the beginning of the year and the rate of drilling is now at 3,500 to 4,000m per month. The logging process is fully automated with direct entry on laptop computers at the core bench with all data entered into GEMCOM. The previously reported backlog at the laboratory is in the process of being cleared, and the company anticipates having a series of new drill results from several target areas to release in the coming weeks. 4. The Company recently announced the hiring of Peter Tagliamonte, P.Eng. as COO. Mr. Tagliamonte officially joined the firm on March 1, 2004 and is based at Jacobina. His primary task is to reactivate the existing Joao Belo and Itapicuru mines. The pre-production work has already started and Desert Sun expects the mine to be in production by the first quarter of 2005 and reach steady state production by the second quarter of 2005 Additional Drill Results from Morro do Vento Morro do Vento is a major potential open pittable target zone in the Intermediate reefs. To date 44 holes totaling 6844 m have been completed of which results have been received for 40 of these holes. Four drills including the Longyear LG-30 track drill are currently working at this target. The target Intermediate reef package is consistently about 60-70m wide and extends along the full 2km strike length with extensive garimpos (free miners workings). Because of the geometry of the zone, and its location on the east flank of a hill, the zone could be open pit mined with minimal waste rock removal. Table 1 below summarizes new drilling results at Morro do Vento which are from holes across most of the strike length of the target zone. The attached longitudinal section in Figure 1 shows the location of the pierce points. Highlights include: - MVT-335 which intersected 1.01 grams gold per tonne (g Au/t) over a true width of 54.3m including higher grade intersections of 3.10 g Au/t over a true width of 6.3m and 2.17 g Au/t over a true width of 4.17m; and - MVT-324 which returned 0.79 g Au/t over a true width of 40.5m including 2.42 over a true width of 8.1m g Au/t. Results from MVT-322 to MVT-324 fill in a major gap in previously drilling in the northern part of the target zone and indicate that the mineralized zones are continuous through that area. - MVT-316 which intersected 0.76 g Au/t over a true width of 73.5m including higher grade intersections of 2.87 g Au/t over 7.4m true width and 2.33 g Au/t over 6.8m true width; and - MVT-336 which returned 0.71 g Au/t over a true width of 67.2m including higher grade intersections of 3.41 g Au/t over a true width of 4.2m and 4.06 g Au/t over a true width of 1.5m. SRK Consulting is carrying out a preliminary assessment of the potential for open pit mining at Morro do Vento. Results of this study will be used to guide further exploration drilling to outline a mineral resource that meets CIM standards for a pre-feasibility study. Metallurgical test work is also in progress at SGS Lakefield in Lakefield, Ontario. Table 1: Significant Drilling Results, Morro do Vento ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hole From To Gold Interval True Depth Below No.(i) (m) (m) (g/t) (m) Width Surface(ii) (m) (m) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MORRO DO VENTO MVT316 N8754098 dip - 65 52.05 138.54 0.76 86.49 73.5 110 incl 65.28 69.86 1.73 4.58 3.9 80 incl 98.20 106.15 2.33 7.95 6.8 120 incl 126.12 134.88 2.87 8.76 7.4 160 MVT-322 N8754375 dip - 83 67.99 171.33 0.40 103.34 72.3 110 incl 78.80 84.62 2.39 5.82 4.1 74 incl 161.09 163.30 4.55 2.21 1.5 144 incl 197.39 205.05 2.75 7.66 5.4 174 MVT-323 N8754407 dip - 75 57.97 156.57 0.56 98.60 54.2 92 incl 57.97 61.06 1.39 3.09 1.7 50 incl 67.32 77.25 1.68 9.93 5.5 60 incl 120.10 130.61 1.40 10.51 5.8 108 MVT-324 N8754535 dip - 38 99.91 215.76 0.79 115.85 40.5 45 incl 99.91 107.55 2.12 7.64 2.7 34 incl 123.94 129.28 1.92 5.34 1.9 32 incl 160.59 183.64 2.42 23.05 8.1 40 MVT-325 N8754623 Faulted dip +8 degrees 60.18 69.43 1.14 9.25 6.7 45 MVT-330 N8753259 dip - 86 degrees 157.69 272.41 0.40 114.72 72.3 214 incl 187.67 191.7 1.22 4.03 2.5 193 incl 224.89 240.13 1.41 15.24 9.6 232 MVT-333 N8753950 dip - 55 degrees 5.81 74.95 0.58 69.14 69.1 36 incl 46.93 48.40 5.48 1.47 1.5 40 MVT-335 N8753634 dip - 82 degrees 35.23 122.85 1.01 87.62 54.3 78 incl 35.23 38.63 2.17 3.40 2.1 40 incl 50.72 55.80 2.11 5.08 3.1 47 incl 83.43 93.67 3.10 10.24 6.3 88 incl 115.22 122.85 2.17 7.63 4.7 118 MVT336 N875363 dip - 55 degrees 26.78 101.44 0.71 74.66 67.2 60 incl 26.78 31.43 3.41 4.65 4.2 30 incl 41.67 46.38 1.45 4.71 4.2 42 incl 60.45 66.00 1.05 5.55 5.0 60 incl 97.72 99.38 4.06 1.66 1.5 86 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ (i) all holes are NQ diamond drill core size; results for MVT-317, -319, -320 and -321 were released December 18, 2004; results for MVT-318 are pending. (ii) depth calculated based on midpoint of intersection Pre-Production Work in Full Progress at Mine Site Preproduction development work is proceeding at an accelerated rate on site. Work completed or in progress is as follows - Dewatering of the Joao Belo Mine is on the 620m elevation with only 15m remaining to reach the bottom level 605m. - Dewatering of the Itapicuru Mine continues with the use of two pumps in series with the water level now 40m below adit level. All the pumped water is being diverted to the tailings pond. - At the plant site, work is in progress with a full Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPCM) Team on site from GEST Engenharia, a Brazilian-based engineering firm who worked under SNC Lavalin's direction on the feasibility study. - The main activities in progress at the plant site are on the leach area where four major new pachucas will be erected. The area where these tanks will be located has been fully cleaned and all redundant steel structure removed. - Detailed engineering is in progress and by month end major procurement activities will take place. The Board of Directors is also pleased that Peter Tagliamonte has officially joined Desert Sun as Vice President Operations and Chief Operating Officer, effective March 1st, 2004. He will be based at Jacobina for the first year, where he will head up the entire pre- production team and mine construction and reactivation. Mr. Tagliamonte stated: "The work at the site is going well and we expect to be in production by the first quarter of 2005, and reach a steady-state rate by Q2. The mining equipment is being ordered and the plant rehabilitation is progressing on schedule. I am excited to be at the site. There is no technical reason that I can see why this mine should not produce at the rate of over 102,000 ounces per year at a cash cost of US$189, as outlined in the SNC Lavalin feasibility study." Kurt Menchen, Vice President Operations, Brazil added: "We are very fortunate to have the addition of Peter's experience and expertise on board here in Jacobina. Peter's track record over his career and particularly in Brazil, is one of productivity and efficiency. Everyone at the mine site and production facility is committed to meeting our reactivation and production objectives, and welcomes Peter to the team." As previously reported (see press release August 26, 2003) Micon International reviewed and confirmed measured and indicated mineral resources of 14,802,000 tonnes grading 2.86 g Au/t containing 1,362,000 ounces gold and inferred mineral resources of 29,487,000 tonnes grading 2.62 g Au/t containing 2,479,500 ounces of gold in the Jacobina mine area. The SNC Lavalin Feasibility study (see press release September 12, 2003) confirmed the economics of bringing the Jacobina mine back into production and outlined a mineral reserve of 10,746,000 tonnes grading 2.20 g Au/t containing 758,600 ounces of gold. SRK Consulting extended the SNC Lavalin Feasibility Study mine plan (2004 to 2011) an additional 11 years to early 2023 by scheduling the potentially "mineable tonnes" resulting from the conversion of inferred resources based on historical data. SRK considered that Jacobina has the potential to deliver "economically mineable tonnes" containing 2 million recoverable ounces of gold. A key objective of the expanded exploration program is to upgrade the present inferred mineral resources to the indicated category to achieve these potential recoverable ounces. It must be cautioned that the SRK study is not adequate to definitely confirm the economics of the inferred mineral resources and that there is no guarantee that further dri lling will upgrade the inferred resources. Based on the SNC Feasibility, which used a gold price of US$350 per ounce and a Real to $US exchange rate of 3:1, the mine can be in full production by 2005, producing at a rate of 102,000 ounces per year at an average cash cost of US $189per ounce. Assaying for the program was carried out by Lakefield Geosol, an ISO 9002 laboratory based in Brazil, using fire assay on 50 gram pulps. Check assaying is routinely carried out, by ALS Chemex in Vancouver, on 10% of sample pulps and 5% of sample rejects. Security is maintained at the core logging and sampling facility. Dr. Bill Pearson, P.Geo. is the Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101 responsible for the scientific and technical work on the program. Statements in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual developments or results may vary materially from those in these "forward-looking statements". Desert Sun Mining is a Canadian gold exploration and development company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. (www.desertsunmining.com). NOTE: There is a Map available on CCNMatthews' website at: http://www2.cdn-news.com/database/fax/2000/DMAP324.doc --------------------------------------------------------------------------------