Desert Sun Appoints Bruce Humphrey President & CEO.

TORONTO -- Stan Bharti Appointed Chairman & Gerry McCarvill Appointed Vice-Chairman

DESERT SUN MINING CORP. (AMEX:DEZ) (TSX:DSM) is pleased to announce that Bruce Humphrey, P.Eng., has joined the firm as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors. Stan Bharti, P.Eng. has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors and Gerry McCarvill has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Desert Sun Board. Both Messrs. Bharti and McCarvill will continue to be active in the growth of the Company. Mr. Humphrey's commencement date with the Company will be mid October 2004.

Mr. Humphrey is a mining engineer with 30 years experience in the mining industry. He has worked for several major mining companies and mining contractors in a variety of engineering, operations and executive management positions. He has been very active in several mining associations and mine safety groups.

In his most recent position, Mr. Humphrey was Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldcorp Inc., (TSX:G) (NYSE:GG). His responsibilities included the re-development, start-up and operation of the high grade Red Lake Mine as well as the Exploration Group and Goldcorp's operations in South Dakota and Saskatchewan.

Mr. Humphrey's considerable experience in operating significant gold mining operations is a great step forward as the Company enters this all important stage of building a world class mining company. Mr. Humphrey's compensation package includes a grant of options which is subject to shareholder approval.

"It's a pleasure to welcome Bruce to the Desert Sun team and to the Board of Directors. His extensive operational and management experience, particularly at Goldcorp will be valuable to Desert Sun as we move into production," said Stan Bharti.

Desert Sun owns 100% of the Jacobina Mine and the 155 km long Bahia Gold Belt in the state of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. The mine will re-start operations in the first quarter of 2005. Based on the SNC Lavalin Feasibility Study which used a gold price of US $350 per ounce and a Real (Brazilian currency) to $ US exchange rate of 3:1, the mine can produce at a rate of 102,000 ounces of gold per year at an average cash cost of US $189 per ounce.

Mr. Stan Bharti, and Mr. Gerry McCarvill who have been instrumental in building the Company since the outset, will continue to contribute to the Company's performance as Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively.

Mr. Bharti is well known on an international basis as an innovative mining finance executive and will continue to expand relationships with investment banks and institutional investors.

Mr. McCarvill will focus on bringing a higher profile of Desert Sun to retail investors in the United States and Canada. Recently, the Company was listed on the American Stock Exchange thereby allowing US investors better access to the Company.

The Board of Directors would like to thank Messrs. Bharti and McCarvill for a job well done in bringing the Company to this advanced stage, and congratulate all three gentlemen on their new positions.

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 and the American Stock Exchange. (www.desertsunmining.com).

Desert Sun Mining Corp. (TSX:DSM) (AMEX:DEZ)