Desert Gold Completes over 230 Holes at SMSZ Project Totaling 16,400 m - 82% of Planned Program Completed
Delta, June 22, 2021 - Desert Gold Ventures Inc. (TSXV: DAU) (FSE: QXR2) (OTCQB: DAUGF) (the "Company") is pleased to provide an update regarding its ongoing exploration program. As of June 20th, the Company has completed over 230 holes comprising 16,400 metres of drilling representing in excess of 82% of the planned 20,000 metre drill program. The Company expects to complete the drill program by early July. As of June 20, results for approximately 14,000 samples or 80% of the drilling completed are pending. Based on the lab's schedule, the Company anticipates receiving results for approximately 1,500 samples per week starting this week. The 410 km2 SMSZ Project is both named after and overlies a 38 km section of the Senegal Mali Shear Zone (the "SMSZ"). The SMSZ is related to 5 large mines located both to the north and south, along strike, including B2 Gold's Fekola Mine, Barrick's Gounkoto and Loulo Mines and Allied Gold's Sadiola and Yatela Mines1. To the Company's knowledge, the SMSZ Project is the largest, contiguous, non-producer land package over this highly prospective structural feature (see Figure 1.).
The Company's goal is to discover a tier 1 gold deposit associated with the regional-scale, gold-bearing structural systems that pass through the SMSZ Project. Exploration at the SMSZ Project has discovered in excess of 20 gold zones with 2021 exploration data strongly suggesting that more will be discovered. 2021 drill holes have tested, or will test, approximately 75% of the targets generated from 2019 to 2021.
Partial results have been received for drilling at the Gourbassi East and West Zones and no drill chip and core assays have been returned from the Barani East drill holes.
A general summary of the holes completed to date, by target area follows (see Figure 2):
- Gourbassi West/Gourbassi East/Gourbassi NE
- Objective - Follow-up on known gold bearing zones with a goal to define mineral resources and make a new discovery by testing new gold-in-auger anomalies north of the Gourbassi West Zone
- 28 holes totaling 3,641 metres completed with AC, RC and diamond drill holes ranging from 30 to 336 metres long. Four holes still need to be completed over the Gourbassi West and East Zones with another 25 holes to follow up drill and auger assay results. Partial assays received.
- Gourbassi SE
- Objective - Follow-up historic breccia zone intercept of 0.67 g/t Au over 15 metres1
- 2 RC holes completed totaling 208 metres. Assays pending.
- Berola
- Objective - Follow-up historic breccia zone intercept of 1.03 g/t Au over 18 metres1
- 2 RC holes completed totaling 214 metres. All assays pending.
- Barani East Area
- Objective - Extend gold zones and make a new discovery - Define additional mineral resources at Barani East Zone, test geophysical targets and gold-in-soil targets
- First pass target drilling comprising 47 holes totaling 4,553 metres completed. Holes comprised a mix of AC, RC and diamond ranging from 42 to 258 metres deep. All assays pending.
- Barani North and West Area
- Objective - Make a new discovery - Follow-up on 2021 gold-in-auger anomaly trends thought to represent untested, long strike length gold-bearing trends
- A total of 88 AC holes completed comprising 4,326 metres with holes ranging from 18 to 78 metres long. All assays pending.
- Manakoto/Kamana/Sorokoto North
- Objective - Make a new discovery by following up historic drill results to 1.84 g/t Au over 30 m1
- Combination of 60 AC and RC holes completed totaling 3,200 metres. All assays pending.
- Soa Area
- Objective - Make a new discovery by following up 2020 drill results of 2.04 g/t Au over 30 m1
- Northeast strike extent of Barani East gold zone.
- 36 AC holes totaling 1,800 metres planned.
QAQC
All auger and drill samples are delivered to SGS in Bamako, Mali where they are prepped. The prepped samples, are both shipped by truck to SGS's facility in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, or remain at SGS's laboratory in Bamako, for Au determination by fire assay. Standards, assay blanks and sample duplicates, are inserted into the assay stream every 25, 23 and 22 samples, respectively equaling one control sample for every 8 assay samples. All assay batches are reviewed for quality with re-assays requested for standards that assay more than 2 to 3 SD from an excepted value and for blanks that contain more than 10 ppb gold.
There is no QAQC record for the fire assays for the Mankoto, Berola and Gourbassi SW zones and as such, until validated, may not be relied on with 100% certainty. However, from follow-up exploration carried out to date, the correlation between historic gold values and subsequent validation work, have generally been within acceptable parameters.
This press release contains certain scientific and technical information. The Company is solely responsible for the contents and accuracy of any scientific and technical information related to it. Don Dudek, P.Geo. a director of Desert Gold and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this press release.
1 True width unknown
On Behalf of the Board
"Jared Scharf"
___________________________
Jared Scharf
President & CEO
About Desert Gold
Desert Gold Ventures Inc. is a gold exploration and development company which holds 2 gold exploration permits in Western Mali (SMSZ Project and Djimbala), its Anumso project in Ghana's Ashanti Belt and its Rutare gold project in central Rwanda. For further information please visit www.SEDAR.com under the company's profile. Website: www.desertgold.ca
Figure 1 - SMSZ Project Location, Regional Geology and Major Deposits in Western Mali and Eastern Senegal
To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4954/88168_5b3f277e945d09e2_001full.jpg
Figure 2 - Summarized Gold zones and drill hole progress
To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:
https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4954/88168_5b3f277e945d09e2_002full.jpg
Contact
Jared Scharf, President and CEO
Email: jared.scharf@desertgold.ca
Tel. No.: +1 (858) 247-8195
This news release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements entail various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on current expectations, are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks, and actual results may differ materially from those contained in such statements. These uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, the strength of the capital markets, the price of gold; operational, funding, liquidity risks, the degree to which mineral resource estimates are reflective of actual mineral resources, the degree to which factors which would make a mineral deposit commercially viable, and the risks and hazards associated with mining operations. Risks and uncertainties about the Company's business are more fully discussed in the company's disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and available at www.sedar.com and readers are urged to read these materials. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from such statements unless required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein in the United States. The securities described herein have not been and will not be registered under the united states securities act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to the account or benefit of a U.S. person absent an exemption from the registration requirements of such act.
[1] Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily representative of mineralization hosted on the Company's SMSZ Property.