Vancouver, BC - TheNewswire - April 6, 2023 - Viva Gold Corp (TSX-V:VAU) (OTC:VAUCF) (the “Company” or “Viva”) is pleased to announce that a reverse circulation (“RC”) drill rig has been mobilized to the Tonopah Gold Project (“Tonopah”), located near Tonopah, Nevada, to commence work on a 3,000 meter, 21- hole work plan approved by the US Bureau of Land Management. The drilling program is expected to be completed over approximately a two-month period, with assay results to follow.

 

“The focus of this program is to follow up on the exceptional drill results from our 2022 RC drilling program (shown below) and to perform both infill and step-out drilling in our current resource area with the goal of increasing the contained gold mineral resource at Tonopah. The program is also expected to upgrade existing inferred mineral resource to measured and indicated category and to partially convert undrilled waste material in the resource pit area into gold mineralization,” stated James Hesketh, President & CEO.  

 

Highlights from our 2022 drill program (see January 16, 2023 release) follow:

 

• TG2219 intercepted 18.3 meters (“m”) grading 4.1 grams per tonne gold (“g/t Au”) starting at a depth of 73 m  

• TG2218, encountered 1.5 m at 9.2 g/t Au at 30 m depth  

• TG2217 penetrated 5.0 g/t Au over 18.2 m, including 4.6 m at 14.7 g/t Au starting at 76 m depth 

• TG2214 hit a zone of 4.6 m averaging 21.4 g/t Au starting at a depth of 111 m  

• TG2212 intercepted 21.3 m at 0.5 g/t Au, including 7.6 m at 1.3 g/t Au 

• TG2211 intercepted a zone of 57.9 m at 5.0 g/t Au from 40 meters depth, including 11m at 24.0 g/t Au which included 3 m at 53.6 g/t Au 

• TG 2010 intercepted three zones totaling 38 m at 0.8 g/t Au starting at 18m depth  

• TG2209; 86.9 m at 1.3 g/t Au starting at 87m depth, including 3.0 m at 13.5 g/t Au, and 1.5 m at 9.2 g/t Au 

 

Qualified Person

James Hesketh, MMSA-QP, has approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this press release. Mr. Hesketh is not independent of the Company; he is an Officer and Director.

 

About Viva Gold Corp:

Viva Gold Corp holds 100% of Tonopah, located on the world class Walker Lane mineral trend in western Nevada, approximately 30 minutes’ drive southeast of the Kinross Round Mountain mine and 20 minutes’ drive from the Town of Tonopah. Prior to its 2022 drilling programs, Tonopah reported a pit confined measured and indicated gold mineral resource of 394,000 ounces at a gold grade of 0.78 g/t and 206,000 ounces of Inferred resource at 0.87 g/t(1). The Company is updating its resource model by adding information from twenty-two drill holes completed in 2022 and is planning to prepare a new NI43-101 compliant resource estimate once the current drill program’s results are received. The gold resource at Tonopah is well oxidized and is amenable to both heap leach and leach mill processing for gold recovery. The project enjoys exceptional infrastructure with paved road access and nearby commercially available water and grid electric power. Viva is working with its regulators and local community to significantly advanced its environmental, social and technical baseline study work at Tonopah to support future environmental and project development permitting requirements. These efforts demonstrate Viva’s focus and commitment to de-risk and add value to the Tonopah project as it is advanced to feasibility study and permitting.

 

1. 2022 PEA:  NI43-101 Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Tonopah Project (amended April 12, 2022) authored by Gustavson Associates including Donald E. Hulse, P.E., SME-RM; Christopher Emanuel, SME-RM; Deepak Malhotra, Ph.D., SME-RM; and Edward Bryant, AIPG, CPG 

 

Viva has 106.7 million shares outstanding and a strong management team and board who can claim both gold exploration and production experience. For additional information on Viva Gold and the Tonopah Gold Project, please visit our website: www.vivagoldcorp.com.

  

For further information please contact:

James Hesketh, President & CEO

(720) 291-1775

jhesketh@vivagoldcorp.com

Graham Farrell, Harbor Access

(416) 842-9003

graham.farrell@harbor-access.com

 

Forward-Looking Information:

This news release contains certain information that may constitute forward-looking information or forward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, “forward-looking information”), including but not limited to drilling operations and estimates of gold mineral resource at the Tonopah Gold Project. This forward-looking information entails various risks and uncertainties that are based on current expectations, and actual results may differ materially from those contained in such information. These uncertainties and risks include, but are not limited to, the strength of the global economy, inflationary pressures, pandemics,  and issues and delays related to permitting activities; the price of gold; operational, funding and liquidity risks; the potential for achieving targeted drill results, 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 are present; the risks and hazards associated with drilling and mining operations; and the ability of Viva to fund its capital requirements. 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 available at www.sedar.com. Readers are urged to read these materials. Viva assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from such information unless required by law.

 

Cautionary Note to Investors --- Investors are cautioned not to assume that any "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources", or "inferred mineral resources" that the Company reports in this news release are or will be economically or legally mineable. United States investors are cautioned that while the SEC now recognizes "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources", investors should not assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into a higher category of mineral resources or into mineral reserves.  These terms have a great amount of uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility.  Under Canadian regulations, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in limited circumstances.  Further, "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to their economic and legal feasibility.  It cannot be assumed that any part or all of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. The mineral reserve and mineral resource data set out in this news release are estimates, and no assurance can be given that the anticipated tonnages and grades will be achieved or that the indicated level of recovery will be realized.

 

Neither 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.