Original-Research: Desert Gold Ventures Inc (von GBC AG): Buy
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Original-Research: Desert Gold Ventures Inc - from GBC AG
08.10.2026 / 14:30 CET/CEST
Dissemination of a Research, transmitted by EQS News - a service of EQS
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Classification of GBC AG to Desert Gold Ventures Inc
Company Name: Desert Gold Ventures Inc
ISIN: CA25039N4084
Reason for the research: Research Comment
Recommendation: Buy
Target price: 0.93 CAD
Target price on sight of: 31.12.2027
Last rating change:
Analyst: Matthias Greiffenberger, Cosmin Filker
Plant on Site, First Gold in Sight
Desert Gold Ventures' 16 September construction update confirms meaningful
progress at Barani East and supports our positive view of the company's
transition from exploration to initial gold recovery. The 200 tonne-per-day
gravity plant and 650 kVA generator have both reached the site in western
Mali, removing a major delivery uncertainty identified in our May research
comment. The revised schedule, however, is materially later than previously
expected: commissioning is now planned through late October, followed by
ramp-up and initial processing in November. We maintain our Buy
recommendation and C$0.93 target price, while recognizing that the potential
start of cash generation has moved back.
The generator reached Dakar in July and the processing plant in mid-August;
both were cleared and transported to Barani. The principal access route from
Bourdala has been rehabilitated, while civil works, plant erection and
electrical and mechanical installation remain to be completed. Desert Gold
attributes the delay to ocean freight, regional fuel and material shortages,
contractor availability and the rainy season. In May, the company had
targeted commissioning for mid-July. The new timetable therefore represents
a delay of roughly three to four months, even though equipment delivery and
improved access now make the remaining work more tangible.
The plant and generator are now physically at Barani, the main access route
can accommodate them, and Desert Gold has a clear sequence for erection,
commissioning and processing. These steps reduce uncertainty around
procurement and transport. If the remaining works finish on schedule,
investors can soon judge the operation on actual throughput and gold
recovery rather than development plans alone.
Water availability has also advanced, but is not yet fully established for
continuous operations. Following 15 geophysical survey lines and four
boreholes, three holes returned reported rates of 24 m3, 9 m3 and 8 m³ per
hour. The final hydrogeological report is pending, so these results should
not yet be treated as proof of sustainable supply at the required quality
and seasonal reliability. The company reports no project-specific security,
safety or community incidents durin0g its 2026 reporting periods to date.
The distinction between an initial milestone and a producing mine remains
important. Desert Gold targets initial gold recovery in Q4 2026, conditional
on completing construction, commissioning and ramp-up. It has not declared
commercial production or established mineral reserves at Barani through a
feasibility study. The current 200 tpd gravity plant is also separate from
the approximately 1,200 tpd gravity and carbon-in-leach scenario assessed in
the November 2025 PEA; the larger development would require further
technical work, approvals and financing. Accordingly, the first operating
data on feed grade, throughput, recovery, uptime and costs will be more
informative for valuation than the equipment delivery alone.
The remaining execution phase also calls for sufficient fuel, consumables,
personnel and working capital during commissioning and ramp-up. The public
update does not quantify the construction spending still required, the
amount of prepared feed or the liquidity buffer available at start-up. These
items matter for the pace of ramp-up and the potential need for additional
capital, so we will assess them when the company provides verifiable public
figures. The September release itself identifies capital and operating
costs, logistics, fuel supply and the availability of mineralized material
among the project risks.
The publicly disclosed warrant structure adds funding optionality. Desert
Gold raised C$7.18m gross in its February LIFE offering for the initial
Barani plant, exploration and general working capital. At 31 December 2025,
it had 15.83m warrants outstanding at C$0.08, representing about C$1.27m in
potential gross proceeds if all were exercised. The February offering added
3.32m finder warrants at C$0.08 and approximately 44.89m unit warrants at
C$0.12. Those February-issued warrants alone represent approximately C$5.65m
in possible gross inflows and 48.21m new shares if all are exercised. This
is a meaningful potential source of working capital that could reduce the
need for a separate placement during ramp-up. Exercise remains at holders'
discretion and entails dilution. We do not count potential proceeds as cash
or assume when exercises might occur; updated share capital will be needed
before revisiting the per-share valuation.
Our May valuation attributed US$89.6m to the Barani East gravity plant,
US$124.0m to the Mali oxide PEA project, US$21.7m to other Mali resources
and US$9.5m to Tiegba in Côte d'Ivoire, yielding the existing C$0.93
per-share target. The latest release improves confidence that the initial
plant can be assembled and tested, while the longer schedule and outstanding
operating inputs warrant monitoring before changing those assumptions. The
wider SMSZ exploration programme remains a potential source of additional
near-mine feed and resource growth; the April announcement of a 4,250 metre
RC campaign has yet to be followed by published results in the company's
current news list. On balance, the recent news confirms our positive outlook
and we reiterate our Buy rating and unchanged target price of C$0.93 per
share. We will revisit the assumptions as construction, water-supply and
operating data become public.
You can download the research here:
https://nwr.eqs-cockpit.com/fncls2.ssx?fn=redirect&u=55fc0a67609fd036f4f69c6d6daa1637
Contact for questions:
GBC AG
Halderstrasse 27
86150 Augsburg
0821 / 241133 0
research@gbc-ag.de
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Issuer-Sponsored Research und wurde in Übereinstimmung mit dem
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erstellt.
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Completion: 08.10.2026 (1:45 p.m. CEST)
First distribution: 08.10.2026 (2:30 p.m. CEST)
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2412674 08.10.2026 CET/CEST
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