Vista Gold Hits High-Grade Gold in Mt Todd Drilling

Vista Gold Corp. (NYSE American and TSX: VGZ) ("Vista" or the "Company") today announced additional results from Phase 2 of its 2024 drilling program at the Company's Mt Todd gold project ("Mt Todd" or the "Project") located in Northern Territory, Australia. Phase 2 drilling continues in the South Cross Lode zone (the "SXL"), a narrower mineralized structure with high-grade intercepts that is adjacent to the Batman deposit and presently extends up to 400 meters northeast.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241030238882/en/

Figure 1: Plan view of the Mt Todd terrain showing Phase 2 drill hole locations with respective orientation to date, including the six holes announced in this release. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Drilling Highlights

VB24-025 - Returned multiple mineralized intervals, including

• 8.0 meters at 1.20 grams of gold per tonne ("g Au/t) from 22.5 meters downhole
• 20.8 meters at 1.96 g Au/t from 142.5 meters downhole, including
  • 1.0 meter at 9.19 g Au/t from 155.0 meters downhole

VB24-027 - Returned multiple mineralized intervals near surface

• 15.0 meters at 0.77 g Au/t from 37.0 meters downhole
• 2.3 meters at 2.09 g Au/t from 59.7 meters downhole
• 23.0 meters at 0.93 g Au/t from 68.0 meters downhole

VB24-028 - Returned multiple mineralized intervals near surface

• 12.0 meters at 0.96 g Au/t from 25.0 meters downhole
• 4.0 meters at 2.49 g Au/t from 71.2 meters downhole, including
  • 1.2 meters at 6.82 g Au/t from 74.0 meters downhole

Phase 2 drilling is focused on the shallow portion of the SXL. The six holes reported in this release have intercepts with gold grades up to 6.82 g Au/t near surface. Results to date indicate potential for expansion in the northeast portion of the current resource shell, including an area previously classified as waste. Additionally, drilling continued to intersect mineralization at depth with intercepts ranging from 3.06 to 9.19 g Au/t and confirm the presence of several high-grade sub-structures within the SXL.

Frederick H. Earnest, President and CEO, commented, "Results from the ongoing drilling program continue to indicate that the SXL is a narrower mineralized structure with well-defined packages of high-grade quartz-sulfide veins. Today's results continue to demonstrate encouraging mineralized intervals near surface and at depth. We are currently working to better understand the geometry of the mineralization in the SXL as we assess a possible extension of the resource shell. Phase 2 of the drilling program is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

"At the conclusion of the 2024 drilling program, we plan to update the Mt Todd mineral resource estimate and anticipate moving forward with a feasibility study targeting daily throughput in the range of 12,000 - 17,000 tonnes per day (4-6 million tonnes per annum), 150,000 to 200,000 ounces of annual gold production with an initial capex of less than $400 million, and a reserve grade of approximately 1 gram of gold per tonne. A decision to commence the feasibility study is expected by year end."

Figure 1 illustrates the Phase 2 drill hole locations and orientations to date. Figure 2 shows the locations of the drill holes relative to the 2024 Feasibility Study (as defined below) resource shell and the current pit design. Figure 3 is a photo of core from hole VB24-025 displaying an example of the high-grade mineralization encountered in the recent drill holes. Table 1 summarizes assay results and highlights multiple vein intercepts with grades above 5.0 g Au/t for the six holes announced in this press release.

Table 1. Summary of Phase 2 Drill Holes VB24-025 through VB24-030 - highlighting intercepts greater than 5.0 g Au/t.

QA/QC Protocols and Sampling Procedure

All sampling was conducted under the supervision of the Company's geologists and the chain of custody from Mt Todd facilities to the independent sample preparation facility at North Australian Laboratories Pty Ltd. ("NAL") in Pine Creek, NT was continuously monitored.

• The core is marked, geologically logged, geotechnically logged, photographed, and sawn into halves using diamond saws. One-half is placed into pre-numbered sample bags as per industry standards with sample lengths between a minimum of 0.2 meters to a maximum of 1.2 meters. The other half of the core is retained for future reference by the Company. The only exception to this is when a portion of the remaining core has been flagged for use in metallurgical testwork.
• Following common industry practices, blanks and standards are also placed in plastic bags for inclusion in the shipment. A reference blank or a standard is inserted at a minimum ratio of 1 in 10 and additional blank samples are added at suspected high-grade intervals. Standard reference material is sourced from Ore Research & Exploration Pty Ltd and provided in 60-gram sealed packets. When a sequence of four samples is completed, they are placed in a shipping bag and tied closed. All of these samples are kept in a secure area on-site until crated for shipping.
• Vista employees ship and transport the samples to the NAL. At the lab, the samples are pulverized and split down to 50-gram assay samples prior to assaying. The industry-standard 3 assay-ton fire assay is followed by an atomic absorption (AA) finish.
• For the purposes of this release, mineralized intervals are defined as runs of mineralization with a maximum internal waste of 4.0 meters.
• NAL is independent of Vista.

It is the opinion of the QP (as defined below) that the sample preparation methods and quality control measures employed before the dispatch of samples to an analytical or testing laboratory ensured the validity and integrity of samples taken.

Maria Vallejo, Vista's Director of Projects and Technical Services, a Qualified Person ("QP") as defined by Item 1300 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Canadian National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has verified the data underlying the information contained herein and has approved this press release. The information contained in this press release is provided to inform the reader of the advancement of the 2024 drilling program for the Mt Todd project.