(TheNewswire)
VANCOUVER, BC – TheNewswire - January1 7 , 2022 – Viva Gold Corp. ( TSX-Venture: VAU; OTCQB: VAUCF ) (the “ Company ” or “ Viva ”) is pleased to provide final assayresults from its 2022 16-hole, 2,457-meter reverse circulation(“RC”) drilling program at its 100%-owned Tonopah gold project(“Tonopah”) and to provide an update on the status of work at theproject. Fourteen of the 16 holes were previously released on November28 and December 8, 2022 (click here to see previous news releases). Tonopah is located on theprolific Walker Lane mineral trend in western Nevada
2022 RC Program Highlights
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TG2221 intercepted 1.5meters (“m”) at 3.0 grams per tonne gold (“g/t Au”) in a zone of lower grade at a depth of 155 m asa step-out to the west of the south pits and south of the main pitarea, indicating the potential presence of a new high-grade zone andextension to the south pit trend.
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TG2219 intercepted 18.3 mgrading 4.1 g/t Au starting at a depth of 73 m
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TG2218, encountered 1.5 m at9.2 g/t Au at 30 m depth
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TG2217; 5.0 g/t Au over 18.2 m,including 4.6 m at 14.7 g/t Au starting at 76 mdepth
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TG2214 hit azone of 4.6 m averaging 21.4g/t Au starting at a depth of 111 m
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TG2212 intercepted 21.3 m at 0.5 g/tAu , including 7.6 m at 1.3 g/t Au
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TG2211 intercepted a zone of 57.9 mat 5.0 g/t Au from 40 meters depth , including 11m at 24.0g/t Au which included 3 m at 53.6 g/t Au
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TG 2010 intercepted three zones totaling 38 m at 0.8 g/t Au starting at 18m depth
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TG2209; 86.9 m at 1.3 g/tAu starting at 87m depth, including 3.0 m at 13.5 g/t Au, and 1.5 m at 9.2 g/tAu
“In 2022, we were able to significantly advanceViva’s Tonopah Gold project towards feasibility. We discovered newareas of high-grade (+1.0 g/t Au) gold mineralization at shallowdepths within the perimeter of the 2022 resource pit shell limits, andextended existing zones of high-grade mineralization both inside andoutside the 2022 resource pit limits. This work demonstrated that themain deposit remains open in several north-south mineralized corridorsalong its 1.5 kilometers strike length. New discoveries in our recentdrill program increased the width of mineralization up to 200 metersin some areas. Our work in 2022 substantially enhanced ourunderstanding of the structural and lithologic controls of thedeposit, which has allowed us to significantly improve our drilltargeting success rate. Significant progress has also been made onoptimizing gold recovery and we can now demonstrate a process route toincrease gold recovery from our high-grade gold mineralization. Ourbaseline environmental study work is also well advanced and we believethat we have substantially de-risked the project for futuredevelopment. In these programs we have already completed a number ofcritical steps required to complete feasibility study. Our plan for2023 is to conduct additional drilling to follow-up on our successful2022 drill programs, determine the limits of mineralization in themain pit area, and to rapidly move the project into feasibilitystudy, ” stated JamesHesketh, President & CEO.
Update On Resource Modelling
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The resource model for the Tonopah deposit is presentlybeing updated to include results from 22 drill holes completed in2022. This information includes six core holes totaling 1,307 metersand 16 RC holes totaling 2,457 meters
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The resource model has been significantly improved byconsolidating lithologic codes for the entire drillhole database andthe inclusion of structural information captured from over 35 orientedcore holes. These enhancements to the model were instrumental inhelping to improve drill-hole targeting and resulted in a verysuccessful RC drill program.
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Previous iterations of the Tonopah resource model onlyincluded gold assays. The database has now been improved with theaddition of total gold and silver assays, as well as cyanide solublegold and silver assays. The additional metal assays were extractedfrom assay sheets produced by Rio Algom, Kennecott, Newmont, MidwayGold and Viva. This additional assay data will help to quantify silvercontent in the deposit, as well as aid in quantifying potentialrecoverable gold and silver values in the deposit.
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Tonopah was flown by drone in 2022 to produce detailedtopographic mapping of the project for use in resource modelling,feasibility study and permitting efforts.
Update on Metallurgy
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Initial pulp agglomeration testwork was completed,which demonstrated a gold recovery of 91% from high-grade (+1.0 g/tAu) mineralization in the deposit. This increased gold recovery may beapplicable to approximately 50% of gold resource at Tonopah. Thisprocess incorporates three-stage crushing for all gold mineralizationmined including low-grade (+0.15 g/t Au to 1.0 g/t Au) mineralizedmaterial. High-grade goes through an extra grinding and tank leachstep for initial gold recovery. Dewatered pulp from the tank leach,where up to 70% of the gold is recovered, is blended with low-gradecrushed material and agglomerated with cement for final placement onthe leach pad to complete the gold recovery process. Gold recovery forlow-grade mineralized material is estimated from testwork to beapproximately 70%.
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Additional crushing, tank leach, and column leach testsare underway to further confirm and validate these results.
Update on Baseline EnvironmentalStudies
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Wildlife and plant studies were completed and submittedto the BLM for review. We believe that no material red-flag issues forthe project were discovered in this work;
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Quarterly baseline water sampling and analysis havebeen consistently performed at the project over the last two years;
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Four quarters of baseline study have now been completedon water samples from natural seeps and springs within a 10-mileradius of the project;
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One water well and two upstream monitoring wells weredrilled and completed and 5 wireline piezometers were installed inabandoned exploration drillholes on the property for use in aquifersampling and modeling around the Tonopah deposit;
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In December 2022, a seven-day aquifer pump test wascompleted to test hydraulic flow rates in the valley floor alluvialformation over the deposit. Pump down tests were previously completedin the hard rock formations, below the alluvial cover. Thisinformation will be utilized in baseline hydraulic aquifer modelling.
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Geochemical studies of potential ore and wastematerials is 80% to 90% complete. A total of 10 Humidity Cell Testswere initiated to test for release of acid and other deleteriouselements and 8 of the 10 tests have been declared complete andreleased by the BLM. The two remaining tests are expected to becompleted in early 2023. No unusual deleterious results have beenseen.
Other Work Completed
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A total of six oriented core holes (TG2201 to TG2206)were completed and geotechnically logged and over 65 core samples fromthat program were submitted for strength testing. This information,combined with information from over 30 prior oriented core holes willallow the completion of geotechnical slope study to define working pitslope angles in feasibility study.
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A 40-acre lot of private surface over existing federalmineral claims at Tonopah was acquired. This lot has existing highwayaccess, power and land-line phone service. It is currently being used for storage and will be useful for lay-downyards and the possible siting of warehouse, process, and officefacilities.
Qualified Person
James Hesketh, MMSA-QP, has approved the scientific andtechnical disclosure contained in this press release. Mr. Hesketh isnot independent of the Company; he is an Officer and Director.
About Viva Gold Corp:
Viva Gold Corp’s (TSX-V: VAU; OTCQB: VAUCF; Frankfurt:7PB) principal asset is its 100% ownership in the Tonopah Gold Project (Tonopah), a large land position onthe world class Walker Lane Mineral Trend in western Nevada, locatedabout 30 minutes’ drive southeast of the Kinross Round Mountain goldmine. The project is well advanced with a positive PreliminaryEconomic Assessment (PEA 1 ) describing a potential open pit, heap leachgold recovery operation and a pit confined measured and indicated goldmineral resources containing 394,000 ounces at 0.78 grams/tonne and206,000 ounces of Inferred resource at 0.87 grams/tonne. The Companyhas identified open extensions to mineralization and has developed atrack record of steadily increasing the gold resource over the lastfour years. Viva is building market awareness as it advances Tonopahtowards feasibility study and permitting and has made a significantcommitment to ESG and de-risking the project through open communitydisclosure and near completion of a number of baseline environmentaland technical studies.
Viva has a solid capital structure with 91.6 millionshares outstanding and a strong management team and board who canclaim both gold exploration and production experience. Foradditional 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
Anne Hite, Director InvestorRelations
(303) 519-5149
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1) 2022 PEA: NI43-101Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment of the TonopahProject (amended April 12, 2022) authored by Gustavson Associatesincluding Donald E. Hulse, P.E., SME-RM; Christopher Emanuel, SME-RM;Deepak Malhotra, Ph.D., SME-RM; and Edward Bryant, AIPG, CPG
Forward-Looking Information:
This news release contains certaininformation that may constitute forward-looking information orforward-looking statements under applicable Canadian securitieslegislation (collectively, “forward-looking information”),including but not limited to drilling operations and estimates of goldmineral resource at the Tonopah Gold Project. This forward-lookinginformation entails various risks and uncertainties that are based oncurrent expectations, and actual results may differ materially fromthose contained in such information. These uncertainties and risksinclude, but are not limited to, the strength of the global economy,inflationary pressures, pandemics, and issues and delays related topermitting activities; the price of gold; operational, funding andliquidity risks; the potential for achieving targeted drill results,the degree to which mineral resource estimates are reflective ofactual mineral resources; the degree to which factors which would makea mineral deposit commercially viable are present; the risks andhazards associated with drilling and mining operations; and theability of Viva to fund its capital requirements. Risks anduncertainties about the Company’s business are more fully discussedin the Company’s disclosure materials filed with the securitiesregulatory authorities in Canada available at www.sedar.com . Readers are urged to read thesematerials. Viva assumes no obligation to update any forward-lookinginformation or to update the reasons why actual results could differfrom such information unless required by law.
Cautionary Note toInvestors --- Investors are cautioned not to assume thatany "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineralresources", or "inferred mineral resources" that theCompany reports in this news release are or will be economically orlegally mineable. United States investors are cautioned that whilethe SEC now recognizes "measured mineral resources","indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineralresources", investors should not assume that any part or all ofthe mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into ahigher category of mineral resources or into mineral reserves. These terms have a greatamount of uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. Under Canadian regulations, estimates of inferred mineral resourcesmay not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies,except in limited circumstances. Further, "inferred mineralresources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to theirexistence and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannotbe assumed that any part or all of an inferred mineral resource willever be upgraded to a higher category. The mineral reserve and mineralresource data set out in this news release are estimates, and noassurance can be given that the anticipated tonnages and grades willbe achieved or that the indicated level of recovery will be realized.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor itsRegulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policiesof the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacyor accuracy of this release.
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