Viva Gold Announces PEA Study Results for its Tonopah Gold Project, Nevada

2025-07-07

NASDAQ - Nasdaq Stock Market · Gold · Silver · Lead · Zinc · Copper · United States

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VANCOUVER, BC – TheNewswire – July 7, 2025 – Viva Gold Corp ( TSXV: VAU; OTCQB: VAUCF ) (the “ Company ” or “ Viva ”) is pleased to announce the results of its updated Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) and Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) for its 100%-owned Tonopah Gold Project (“Tonopah or Project”). Tonopah is located about 20 minutes’ drive from the town of Tonopah, Nevada. The study was prepared by WSP Canada Inc. (“ WSP” ) of Calgary, Alberta and Kappes, Cassiday Associates (“ KCA” ) of Reno, Nevada. All amounts shown in this news release are in United States Dollars and metric units of measurement unless otherwise stated.

Tonopah Project PEA & MRE Highlights

The updated MRE reports measured and indicated (“M”) Mineral Resource containing 504,000 ounces gold (“Au”) at 0.59 grams per tonne (“g/t” Au, 1.8 million ounces silver (“Ag ”) 2.05 g/t Ag, and an inferred Mineral Resource of 83,000 ounces Au at 0.37 g/t Au, 402,000 ounces Ag , at 1.81 g/t Ag, all constrained within a pit shell above a 0.15 g/t Au cut-off (see Table 1).

Life of mine “LOM”) PEA production of 23.5 million tonnes of Mineral Resource ; consisting of 4.5 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.75 g/t Au and 3.35 g/t Ag as mill circuit feed; and 19.0 million tonnes at 0.37 g/t Au and 1.69 g/t Ag to the heap leach; at a strip ratio of 3.9 tonnes of waste per tonne of mineralized material.

Average mill circuit gold recoveries of 93% Au, 37% Ag, and heap leach Au recoveries of 75 % Au, 14% Ag, to produce a total of 404,000 ounces of payable Au and 354,000 ounces of Ag over a seven-year mine life with an additional year of residual Au/Ag recovery from the heap leach.

After-tax net present value (“NPV”) at a 5% discount rate (“NPV5%”) of $111.6 million at a gold price of USD$2,400 per ounce ($27.70 Ag increasing to $ 363.6 million at a gold price of $3, 200 per ounce ($36.93 Ag).

After-tax Internal rate of return (“IRR”) of 17.6% at a gold price of $2,400 per ounce increasing to an IRR of 43.4% at a gold price of $3,200.

After-tax payback period of 3.6 years from commencement of production at $2,400 per ounce Au , decreasing to 1.8 years at an Au price of $3, 200 ($36.93 Ag).

Average production cash costs of $1, 164 per ounce of Au and All-In Sustaining Cost (“AISC”) of $1,269 per ounce Au.

Pre-production capital expenditure of $219.9 million , $22.2 million in working capital, and additional LOM sustaining capital of $70.4 million including purchase of mine fleet under capitalized lease/purchase terms. New equipment pricing is assumed at this phase of work.

“This detailed PEA of the Tonopah Gold Project demonstrates significant leverage to the price of gold and displays accretive potential value when compared to Viva’s current market capitalization”, states James Hesketh, President & CEO. “The Tonopah gold project represents a unique opportunity to develop a gold project in one of the best mining jurisdictions in the world with excellent existing infrastructure and proximity to surrounding producers and metallurgical facilities. This location reduces infrastructure capital and can help to accelerate the permitting process. Opportunity may exist to defer or reduce initial capital expense through toll processing/milling, purchased of used equipment, or through contract mining with competitive bidding versus owner mining operations. We also believe that a unique permitting environment exists in the US and Nevada and Viva intends to accelerate feasibility study on Tonopah which will allow Viva to initiate the permitting process to take advantage of that window. In addition, while Viva’s focus is on advancing its core gold resource through feasibility and permitting, we remain convinced that substantial exploration potential remains in and around our project area, which we can demonstrate from existing drill results”.

Project Description

Viva’s 100% owned Tonopah gold project sits in the middle of gold mining country about a half hour drive south of the Round Mountain mine owned by Kinross Gold and controls a major land position on the prolific Walker Lane Trend in Western Nevada. Viva has developed a high confidence level gold Mineral Resource and can demonstrate the potential for an economically viable open pit, heap leach/mill gold project through rigorous PEA study. The Project enjoys paved highway access , and proximity to Nevada grid power, commercial water supply, and a vast local vendor network for sourcing required mining project consumables and equipment.

Tonopah is a near surface, well oxidized, epithermal gold/silver deposit with gold mineralization occurring in higher-grade veins and brecchias , all within a blanket of low-grade disseminated gold mineralization. Drill results demonstrate the potential for additional exploration potential, while the core Mineral Resource has been drilled to a high confidence level with approximately 87% of total contained gold ounces in the M&I resource category. The Project is located on 508 unpatented federal lode claims.

The PEA study was developed using conventional open pit hard rock mining methods at a nominal rate of approximately 45,000 tonnes per day (“TPD”) of material mined over a seven-year period. Pit slope angles are based on geotechnical study completed for Viva in 2020. Mined gold mineralization is transported by truck to either a high-grade (> 1.0 g/t ) or low-grade stockpile. Barren waste rock would go to a waste rock storage facility.

Process design was developed based on preliminary indicative metallurgical testwork . The process considers crushing 10,000 TPD of mineralized run-of-mine material including 8,000 TPD of low-grade and 2,000 TPD of high-grade material. Mineralized material will be crushed to 100% passing 12.5 mm using a three-stage closed crushing circuit. High-grade and low-grade material will be campaigned through the crushing circuit and stockpiled separately using a radial stacking conveyor. Low - grade material will be agglomerated with cement, before being conveyor-stacked in 10m lifts onto a permanent geomembrane-lined heap leach pad and leached with a dilute cyanide solution. Pregnant leach solutions will be pumped to a carbon adsorption circuit. Gold will be collected onto activated carbon and then periodically transported off-site to be toll-processed where the loaded carbon will be stripped and regenerated before being returned to the Project for re-use.

High - grade mill feed ground to 80% passing 150 Mesh (106 micron) in a single stage ball mill circuit. Ball mill discharge will be diverted to a Carbon-in-Leach (“CIL”) circuit where the thickened slurry will be mixed with activated carbon with a portion of the flow being diverted to a gravity concentrator for the recovery of coarse metal. Loaded carbon from the CIL will be toll-processed along with carbon from the heap leach circuit. Leached slurry will be discharged and filtered using a filter press, and dry-stacked using trucks onto a dedicated portion of the heap leach pad.

The Tonopah open pit will extend below the existing water table. As a result, a pit de-watering system is required to de-water ahead of mining advance. A conceptual dewatering system design for the Project was developed by Piteau Associates of Reno, Nevada, Viva’s long term hydrologic consultant, dated June 20, 2025.

Existing project infrastructure includes paved State highway access, nearby 15 KV grid powerline upgradable to 25 KV, newly constructed cell and data communications tower, and nearby public utility water supply. The project has a total of 26 existing groundwater monitoring wells. Additional infrastructure will include fencing and gates, weigh scale, office buildings, repair shops, assay laboratory, fencing and gates, water supply system, power substation and overhead distribution lines.

Mineral Resource

The 2025 MRE incorporates data from 59 new drill holes completed since 2022, as well as a new structural model based on drilling and Controlled Source Audio-frequency Magnetotellurics ( CSAMT ) data. The updated resource model has resulted in an increase in the indicated resource, demonstrating enhanced confidence in the geologic interpretation.

Table 1: Summary of Estimated Mineral Resources – Effective Date: June 13, 2025

| Classification | Au (g/t) | Ag (g/t) | Tonnes (Kt) | Contained Gold (oz/t) | Contained Silver (oz/t) | | Measured | 1.41 | 3.11 | 1,690 | 77,000 | 169,000 | | Indicated | 0.53 | 1.98 | 25,000 | 427,000 | 1,593,000 | | Measured + Indicated | 0.59 | 2.05 | 26,690 | 504,000 | 1,762,000 | | Inferred | 0.37 | 1.81 | 6,905 | 83,000 | 402,000 | | Total | 0.54 | 2.00 | 33,560 | 587,000 | 2,164,000 |

Notes:

The MRE for the potentially surface mineable resource were constrained by conceptual pit shells for the purpose of establishing reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction based on potential mining, metallurgical and processing grade parameters identified by studies performed to date on the Project.

Key constraint inputs included reasonable assumptions for operating costs, geotechnical slope parameters, forecast Au prices, and a minimum Cut-off Grade of 0.15 g/t Au.

The Cut-off Grade assumes a gold price of US$2,200 and a revenue factor of 1.2 (equivalent to US$2,640 gold price), and includes all material that can be economically processed

Heap leach recovery of 75% was assumed.

Tonnage and contained metal estimates are rounded to the nearest 1,000.

kt = kilotonnes; g/t = grams per tonne; oz/t = troy ounces per tonne.

Mineral Resource categorization of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources presented in the summary table is in accordance with the CIM definition standards (CIMDS, 2014).

No mining recovery, dilution or other similar mining parameters have been applied.

Although the Mineral Resources presented in this press release are believed to have a reasonable expectation of being extracted economically, they are not Mineral Reserves. Estimation of Mineral Reserves requires the application of modifying factors and a minimum of a PFS.

10.

The reported Inferred Mineral Resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as Mineral Reserves.

11.

There is no certainty that all or any part of this Mineral Resource will be converted into Mineral Reserve.

12.

Mineral Resource estimates are not precise calculations, being dependent on the interpretation of limited information on the location, shape and continuity of the occurrence and on the available sampling results. All figures are rounded to reflect the relative accuracy of the estimates.

The Mineral Resource categorization applied by the Qualified Person (“QP”) has included the consideration of data reliability, spatial distribution and abundance of data and continuity of geology and grade parameters. The QP performed a statistical and geostatistical analysis for evaluating the confidence of continuity of the geological units and grade parameters. The results of this analysis were applied to developing the Mineral Resource categorization criteria.

The updated MRE reports 504,000 ounces of measured and indicated gold resources at 0.59 g/t Au, constrained within a pit shell above a 0.15 g/t Au cut-off (see Table 1). Compared to the 2022 PEA, this is an increase of 109,000 ounces of measured and indicated Mineral Resources , and a reduction of 123,000 ounces of inferred Mineral Resources . Additional drilling reduced drill hole spacing and revealed new high-grade zones as well as non-mineralized areas. The introduction of a structural interpretation served to constrain the estimate to additional hard-boundary domains. For the first time, 2,164,000 ounces of silver at 2.0 g/t are reported.

Au and Ag were estimated into a 3D block model using ordinary kriging interpolation. The block size in the area of the reported resources is 6 m x 6 m x 6 m. Estimation was constrained by hard boundary domains based on rock type and fault boundaries.

Primary differences between the 2022 resource block model and the 2025 resource block model include a reduction in block size from 20 m to 6 m, a change in the Au top-cut grade parameters (increased from 10 g/t to 100 g/t and using a high-grade search restriction), and a change to the resource classification methodology.

At present, only Mineral Resources have been estimated and there are no Mineral Reserves for the Project .

The Mineral Resource estimates for the potentially surface mineable resources at Tonopah were constrained by conceptual resource pit shells for the purpose of establishing reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction based on potential mining, metallurgical recovery and processing parameters identified by mining, metallurgical, and processing studies performed to date on the Project .

Key constraint inputs included reasonable assumptions for operating costs, geotechnical slope parameters, Au forecast prices, as summarized in Table 2, resulting in a minimum Cut-off Grade (“ COG” ) of 0.15 g/t Au. The COG assumes a gold price of US$2,200 and a revenue factor (“ RF” ) of 1.2 (equivalent to US$2,640 gold price) and includes all material that can be economically processed.

Table 2: Break-Even Cut-off Grade for Mineral Resources

| Parameter | Unit | Value | | Processing Costs (incl. Sustaining Capex) + G&A | $/t | 7.12 | | Processing Recovery | % | 75.0% | | Refining Recovery/Payable | % | 99.9% | | Royalty | % NSR | 1.0% | | Refining Cost/Selling Cost | $/oz Au | 2 | | Resource Gold Price at RF | $/oz Au | 2,640 | | Cut-off grade | g/t Au | 0.15 |

GEOVIA Whittle™ (“ Whittle” ) Pit Optimizer software was used to develop the resource pit shell. Whittle was used with the input parameters presented in Table 3 to provide guidance for establishing reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction.

Table 3: Resource Pit Shell Input Parameters

| Mining Parameter | Unit | Value | | Waste Mining Cost 1 | $/t | 1.90 | | Mineral Mining Cost 1 | $/t | 1.90 | | Overburden Mining Cost 1 | $/t | 1.60 | | Mining Sustaining Capital Cost 2 | $/t | 0.24 | | Mining Recovery 3 | % | 100 | | Mining Dilution 3 | % | 0 | | Processing Parameter | Unit | Value | | Mill Recovery | % | 92.5 | | Heap Leach Recovery | % | 75 | | Mill COG | g/t | 1.0 | | Heap Leach COG | - | breakeven | | Mill Processing Cost + G&A | $/t | 17.50 | | Mill Processing Sustaining Capital Cost 4 | $/t | 0.11 | | Heap Leach Processing Cost + G&A | $/t | 8.70 | | Heap Leach Processing Sustaining Capital Cost 5 | $/t | 0.62 | | Selling Parameter | Unit | Value | | Gold Price | $/oz | 2,640 | | Gold Royalty | % | 1.0 | | Selling Cost | $/oz | 2.00 | | Gold Payable | % | 99.9 |

Notes:

The mineral and waste mining cost were based on escalated mining cost from similar projects in Nevada and nearby states escalated to Q2 2025 US$ value. The overburden mining cost is the cost of free digging the overburden, without drilling and blasting.

Mining sustaining capital cost of 0.24 $/t was calculated based on the escalated April 2020 PEA cost estimate to Q2 2025 US$ value and was included in the pit optimization to the mining cost.

The block model described included dilution or mining recovery. Viva recommended to use 100% mining recovery and 0% dilution, and it is the QP’s opinion that this logic is reasonable for a PEA-level study.

Mill processing sustaining capital cost of 0.11 $/t was obtained from the April 2020 PEA cost estimate and escalated to Q2 2025 US$ value.

Heap leach processing sustaining capital cost of 0.62 $/t was obtained from industry benchmarking, and both were included in the pit optimization to the processing cost for all scenarios.

PEA Mine Plan and Production Details

Tonopah will have a seven-year mine life with eight years of gold recovery. Closure and reclamation activities are expected to commence at the cessation of mining and last for a period of three years utilizing exiting mine equipment and personnel. Please note that a Preliminary Economic Assessment is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic consideration applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and that there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized.

Table 4: Annual Detail of Tonopah PEA Production Schedule

[](https://www.thenewswire.com/data/tnw/clients/img/812f21c444306c532f1c7d0afd2ddd91.png) Click Image To View Full Size

PEA Study Economic Analysis

The PEA economic analysis is based on the estimated production schedule, capital costs, and operating costs, and cash flow model prepared by WSP. All information used in this economic evaluation was derived from work completed by WSP and KCA, with support from Viva Gold.

Project economics were evaluated using a discounted cash flow method that measures the before-tax and after-tax NPV of future cash flow streams. The PEA economic model was based on the following key assumptions:

A gold price of $2,400 per ounce.

Mine production schedule developed by WSP with a nominal average mining rate of 45,000 TPD with higher levels in the first two years and a mill and heap leach process rate totaling 10,000 TPD of mineralized material.

A period of analysis of eleven years that includes one year of investment, years of production, and three years to complete reclamation and closure commencing after cessation of mining activities.

Capital costs as summarized in Table 9 and operating costs as summarized in Table 7 and described in the following sections.

Project economics are based on criteria from the cash flow model that are summarized in Table 5.

Table 5: Economic Analysis Summary

Economic Sensitivity Analysis

At a current market price level of approximately $3,200 per ounce Au, a 33.3% increase over the base price of $2,400, Tonopah returns a post-tax NPV 5% of $363.6 million and an IRR of 43.4%, demonstrating strong leverage to gold price.

Project sensitivity to Au/Ag price, operating and capital costs are shown in the following Figure 1:

Figure 1: Project Sensitivity to Changes in Price, Capital and Operating Cost

Table 6: Project Sensitivity to Gold Price

| Sensitivity to Gold Price | Gold Price | NPV 5% (xUSD 1,000) | | 80% | 1,920 | (38,425) | | 90% | 2,160 | 36,738 | | 100% | 2,400 | 111,617 | | 110% | 2,640 | 186,451 | | 120% | 2,880 | 261,286 | | 130% | 3,120 | 336,120 | | 140% | 3,360 | 410,955 |

Operating Costs

Table 7: Unit Operating Cost Breakdown

Mine operating costs are based on self-mining, non-contractor rates. Mine operating costs and equipment productivity rates were estimated from first principals by WSP using equipment productivity handbooks, reference guides and databased information. The mine is anticipated to operate 365 days per year utilizing two twelve-hour shift per day, with a total of four operating crews working on a four-day rotational schedule.

Process costing is based on the processing design criteria shown in Table 8.

Table 8: Processing Design Criteria Summary

Viva Gold Announces PEA Study Results for its Tonopah Gold Project, Nevada

Earlier from SSR Mining Inc.