Desert Metals Extends Tiogo Gold Corridor to 1.5km with High-Grade Aircore Hits

Tiogo Discovery Grows with Exceptional High-Grade Intercepts

Desert Metals Limited (ASX:DM1) has significantly advanced its Tiogo gold prospect in northern Côte d'Ivoire, confirming a continuous gold mineralised corridor now stretching over 1.5 kilometres. The follow-up aircore drilling campaign delivered a standout intercept of 4 metres at 19.48 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 42 metres depth, marking the strongest single hit across the entire Tiogo program to date. This result, alongside other high-grade hits such as 12 metres at 3.81 g/t gold (including 2 metres at 21.84 g/t), underscores the potential scale and grade continuity of the system.

The recent program comprised 40 aircore holes totalling 2,032 metres drilled as seven infill and step-out lines designed to close gaps between wide-spaced 2025 drilling and extend the mineralisation along strike. Gold was intersected on every line, confirming Tiogo as a substantial laterally continuous, quartz vein-hosted gold system within the Birimian metasedimentary sequence of the Syama–Boundiali Greenstone Belt. This belt is renowned for hosting multi-million-ounce orogenic gold deposits, including Perseus Mining’s (ASX:PRU) nearby Sissingué gold mine, just 30 kilometres north of Tiogo.

Open at Depth and Along Strike, Next Drilling to Target Fresh Bedrock

Perhaps most intriguing is that several holes ended in quartz vein-hosted mineralisation near total depth, indicating the highest-grade zones remain untested in fresh, unweathered bedrock below the current aircore drilling depth of approximately 50 to 60 metres. The 4m at 19.48 g/t gold intercept on the northernmost line exemplifies this potential, suggesting grade intensification at depth and along strike.

Desert Metals plans to escalate exploration with reverse circulation and diamond drilling to depths of 150 to 250 metres to test the bedrock expression of the Tiogo system. This transition to deeper drilling is a critical step to delineate the primary orebody and assess the prospect’s resource potential.

Meanwhile, the gold corridor remains open to the north and south, with soil sampling recently completed over previously untested areas. Results from this program are expected by late May 2026 and could guide further step-out drilling along the anomalous soil trends.

Strategic Positioning and Funding Support Exploration Momentum

Tiogo’s proximity to Perseus Mining’s Sissingué mine adds strategic value to Desert Metals’ portfolio. The company’s recent aircore drilling builds on initial high-grade results reported in May 2025, which included intercepts of 12m at 4.20 g/t and 8m at 6.47 g/t gold. The current program’s infill drilling has confirmed these were not isolated hits but part of a continuous mineralised system, a positive development for future resource estimation.

This drilling campaign follows Desert Metals’ recent capital raising initiatives, including a fully underwritten $325,000 option entitlement offer aimed at funding ongoing exploration activities at Tiogo and its other Côte d'Ivoire prospects. The company’s ability to secure funding reflects investor confidence in its exploration strategy and the prospectivity of its assets. The placement was announced in April 2026 and aligns with the timing of the current drilling program, which is now delivering tangible results.

Geological Context and Exploration Methodology

The Tiogo prospect is interpreted as a structurally controlled, quartz-vein-hosted gold system within the Birimian sequence, consistent with other major deposits in the Syama–Boundiali Greenstone Belt. The regolith profile is deep, with mineralisation concentrated in the lower saprolite and saprolitic bedrock transition zone. The company’s use of photon assay techniques, which employ a 500-gram charge, enhances assay representativity and mitigates nugget effects common in coarse gold deposits.

Drilling was oriented perpendicular to the interpreted north-south structural corridor to provide unbiased sampling of mineralisation. The combined 2025 and 2026 datasets now provide a robust framework for understanding the continuity and geometry of the Tiogo gold system, with drilling lines spaced at approximately 160 to 200 metres intervals along strike.