Vista Gold Announces Feasibility Study Delivering 7 Million Ounce Gold Reserve Underpinning Large-Scale Production at High Operating Margins over a 16-Year Mine Life

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vista Gold Corp. (“Vista” or the “Company”) (NYSE American and TSX: VGZ) today announced the results of the feasibility study (the “FS”) for its 100% owned Mt Todd gold project (“Mt Todd” or the “Project”) in the Northern Territory, Australia (“NT”). Gold reserves increased 19% to 6.98 million ounces resulting in average annual production of 479,000 ounces of gold during the first seven years of commercial operations. With economics based on Q4 2021 costs, the Project is projected to deliver compelling cashflows over a 16-year mine life.

Highlights of the FS for a 50,000 tonne per day (“tpd”) project include:

• After-tax NPV_5% of $999.5 million and IRR of 20.6% at a $1,600 gold price and a $0.71 Fx rate⁽¹⁾;
• After-tax NPV_5% of $1.5 billion and IRR of 26.7% at a $1,800 gold price and $0.71 Fx rate;
• After-tax cash flow at a $1,800 gold price of $2.1 billion for years 1-7 of commercial operations;
• 19% increase in proven and probable mineral reserves, now estimated to be 6.98 million ounces of gold (280.4 million tonnes at 0.77 grams of gold per tonne (“g Au/t”)) at a cut-off grade of 0.35 g Au/t; life of mine grade to the grinding circuit after ore sorting of 0.84 grams of gold per tonne;
• Average annual life of mine production of 395,000 ounces, including average annual production of 479,000 ounces of gold during the first seven years of commercial operations;
• Life of mine average gold recovery of 91.6%;
• Average cash costs of $817 per ounce (life of mine), including average cash costs of $752 per ounce during the first seven years of commercial operations⁽²⁾;
• Average all-in sustaining cost (“AISC”) of $928 per ounce (life of mine), including average AISC of $860 per ounce during the first seven years of commercial operations;
• Mine life of 16 years (increase of 3 years); and
• Initial capital requirements of $892 million (8% increase), which reflects the use of a third-party owner/operator of the power plant.

Vista’s President and CEO, Frederick H. Earnest, commented, “The FS affirms the strength of Mt Todd’s gold production capacity and ability to deliver solid economic results at a time when inflationary pressures are having significant impacts on operating mines and development projects alike. Completion of the FS represents another major step in de-risking Mt Todd and readying the Project for development. The scale, quality of work completed and location of Mt Todd, together with the completion of the FS and the fact that all major authorizations for development have been obtained, distinguish Mt Todd as a unique development opportunity. We believe the results of the FS will appeal to many potential partners, investors and lenders and allow us to evaluate a broad range of development alternatives as we continue to focus on maximizing shareholder value. (CEO Video)

With Q4 2021 costs, the FS reflects the inflationary pressures being faced currently by all operators in the mining industry. While we believe this inflationary trend is transitory, the resilience of Mt Todd is amply demonstrated by the robust project economics reflected in the FS. Mt Todd’s attributes, together with the deep understanding of the various Project components create valuable optionality in the approach to its development.

Mt Todd’s economic returns benefit from the increase in the gold reserve estimate, favorable results of the power plant trade-off study and slightly lower energy costs in the NT. In view of the current gold price, we increased the gold price used in the reserve estimate from $1,000 to $1,125 and changed the cut-off grade from 0.40 g Au/t to 0.35 g Au/t. These changes, while very conservative, significantly increased the reserve estimate from 5.85 million ounces to 6.98 million ounces. Our power plant trade-off study identified a number of highly-credentialled, well-capitalized power generating companies. Our decision to use a third-party power provider has resulted in important positive impacts to our capital costs and insulates the Project from certain construction and operating risks while maintaining what we believe to be attractive operating costs. While our operating costs have increased as a result of higher labor, reagent, grinding media and over-the-fence power costs, our core energy costs yield some offsetting savings.

In addition to securing the approval of the Mining Management Plan since our last technical report, we have modernized our agreement with the Jawoyn Aboriginal Association Corporation (the “Jawoyn”). We continue to enjoy a close working relationship and their strong support for the Project. The economic returns reflect the increased royalty to the Jawoyn (in lieu of the previous right to a 10% direct Project ownership) as reported in November 2020.”

Mr. Earnest concluded, “Our attention will now focus more intensely on increasing shareholder value and the realization of the intrinsic value of Mt Todd. We believe Mt Todd’s location, scale, economics, permitting status, and extensive technical work represent a unique near-term development opportunity and allow us to evaluate a broad range of development partners, structures and alternatives as we continue to focus on maximizing shareholder value.”

Sabry Abdel Hafez, Ph.D., P.Eng., Rex Bryan, Ph.D., Amy Hudson, Ph.D, CPG, SME REM, April Hussey, P.E., Chris Johns, M.Sc., P.Eng., Max Johnson, P.E., , Vicki Scharnhorst, P.E., and Keith Thompson, CPG, member AIPG, on behalf of Tetra Tech, Thomas Dyer, P.E., SME REM, on behalf of Respec, Dr. Deepak Malhotra, Ph.D., SME REM on behalf of Pro Solv, LLC, Zvonimir Ponos, BE, MIEAust, CPeng, NER on behalf of Tetra Tech Proteus, are each a Qualified Person as defined under subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“S-K 1300”) and an independent Qualified Person as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”), and prepared or supervised the preparation of the information that forms the basis for the scientific and technical information disclosed herein and have reviewed this press release and consented to its release. Dr. Deepak Malhotra has verified the metallurgical testing program and data in respect of the process improvements. For additional information applicable to the FS, including data verification, quality assurance and control, and key assumptions; and for other matters relating to the Project, see Vista’s most recent Annual Report Form 10-K as filed on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Overview

The technical aspects of the FS are underpinned by extensive metallurgical testing and stringent design criteria that continue to reflect Vista’s rigorous approach to ensuring Mt Todd will meet design and operating specifications. This includes utilizing modern, proven technologies and oversizing processing equipment to best ensure throughput capacity. The FS also incorporates provisions of the recently approved Mt Todd Mine Management Plan, which will subsequently be amended to align with design changes in the FS.

A summary of the FS results is presented in the table below.

Sensitivity Analysis

The following table provides additional details of the Project’s after-tax economics at variable gold prices and exchange rate assumptions. The Project economics are robust at the FS gold price of $1,600 per ounce and an Fx rate of $0.71 and even more compelling at today’s market conditions. Using a gold price of $1,800 per ounce and an Fx rate of $0.71, the after-tax NPV_5% is $1.5 billion and the IRR is 26.7%. For every $100 increase in gold price, the Project NPV_5% increases by approximately $230 million.

Note: NPV_5% values in $ millions. Changes in Fx rates are only applied to operating costs and not applied to either initial or sustaining capital costs.

Capital Costs

Management placed a high priority on controlling capital costs while maintaining the operating cost benefits of a large-scale project. Initial capital costs increased 8% and benefited from savings associated with a favorable trade-off study that supports using a third-party power provider to build, own and operate the power plant at only modestly higher power costs to the Project.

Capital expenditures for initial and sustaining capital requirements are summarized in the following table.

Note: Components may not add to totals due to rounding.

Operating Costs

Operating costs continue to benefit from the economies of scale associated with a 50,000 tonne per day process plant, a low 2.5:1 stripping ratio (unchanged from the last technical report), and a locally-based labor force. Operating costs were impacted by the additional royalty granted to the Jawoyn in exchange for their prior right to a 10% participating interest in the Project.

Note: Jawoyn royalty and refinery costs calculated at $1,600 per ounce gold and $0.71 exchange rate. May not add to totals due to rounding.

Mining and Production

The mine plan contemplates that 280.4 million tonnes of ore, containing an estimated 6.98 million ounces of gold at an average grade of 0.77 g Au/t, will be processed over the life of the Project. Total recovered gold is expected to be 6.31 million ounces with average annual gold production expected to be 395,000 ounces. Average annual production over the first seven years of commercial operations is expected to be 479,000 ounces. The Company expects commercial production to commence after two years of construction and six months of commissioning and ramp-up.

The table below highlights the FS production schedule. The shaded portion of the table demonstrates the benefit of sorting that reduces the tonnage processed by 10%, increases the processed grade by a similar percentage, and results in cost savings for grinding, leaching and tailings handling.

As demonstrated in the accompanying chart, the 19% increase in gold reserves sustains a strong production profile over the first seven years with an average of 479,000 ounces of gold per year. The Project also benefits from three additional years of mine life. This reserve growth successfully offsets much of the inflationary pressure on capital and operating costs currently affecting the entire mining sector. The Company believes resource conversion and exploration during the early years of the Project will contribute to improved gold production in years 9 through 11 and further extend the life of the Project.

Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves

The tables below present the estimated mineral resources and mineral reserves for the Project. The effective date of the mineral resources and mineral reserves estimates is December 31, 2021. The following mineral resources and mineral reserves were prepared in accordance with both S-K 1300 standards and Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum definition standards.

Project Description

Gold mineralization in the Batman Deposit occurs in sheeted veins within silicified greywackes/shales/siltstones. The Batman deposit strikes north-northeast and dips steeply to the east. Higher grade zones of the deposit plunge to the south. The core zone is approximately 200-250 meters wide and 1.5 kilometers long, with several hanging wall structures providing additional width to the deposit. Mineralization is open at depth as well as along strike, although the intensity of mineralization weakens to the north and south along strike.

The Project is designed to be a conventional, owner-operated, open-pit mining operation that will utilize large-scale mining equipment in a drill/blast/load/haul operation. The Company continues to evaluate the potential use of contract mining and/or autonomous truck haulage. Ore is planned to be processed in a comminution circuit consisting of a gyratory crusher, two cone crushers, two high pressure grinding roll crushers with primary grinding by two ball mills and secondary grinding by 10 FLSmidth VXP mills. Vista plans to recover gold in a conventional carbon-in-pulp recovery circuit.

Opportunities for Adding Value

Additional resources are predominantly at depth and lateral along strike. A portion of the Inferred Mineral Resources are contained within the existing pit design and are currently included in the mine plan as waste material. Potential to convert part of the mineral resources to mineral reserves represents an opportunity to improve existing LOM economics and extend mine life.

The Company also has known mineral resources at the Quigleys Deposit, which is close to the planned processing plant. The estimated grade of the Quigleys Deposit is higher than the estimated average grade of the Batman Deposit and could provide a source of higher-grade feed in the mid years of the Project when the average grade of feed to the plant is expected to decrease. Additional drilling and metallurgical testing are required to develop mine plans and ultimately establish proven and probable mineral reserves at the Quigleys deposit.

Growth through exploration represents additional opportunity to add value at Mt Todd. Both the Batman Deposit and Quigleys Deposit remain open. Recent drilling demonstrates the continuity of mineralization between these two deposits. In addition, Vista controls over 1,500 sq. km of contiguous exploration licenses at the southeast end of the Pine Creek Mining District. Various gold targets have been identified through early-stage, grass roots exploration programs along the Cullen-Australis and Batman-Driffield structural corridors, the latter of which is the host to the Batman Deposit. To-date, Vista’s exploration efforts have primarily focused on the Batman Deposit.

The FS uses a natural gas price comparable to other facilities that self-generate power in the NT. Due to the location of the Project and its close proximity to the main NT natural gas transmission line, the Company believes that there is significant opportunity to achieve a lower natural gas price upon commitment to a long-term gas delivery contract. This belief is in part based on local expectations of significantly increased gas reserves in the Beetaloo Basin south of Mt Todd.

Conference Call Details

A conference call and webcast to discuss highlights of the FS will be held Wednesday, February 9, 2022 at 4:00 p.m. EDT (2:00 p.m. MDT).

Toll-free in North America: 844-898-8648 International: 647-689-4225 Confirmation Code: 5074108

To participate in the webcast and view the slide presentation, please follow the steps below at least 15 minutes prior to the start time:

Step 1 – Registration Page: https://onlinexperiences.com/Launch/QReg/ShowUUID=803ED6AB-ABDC-4C7F-B282-A98D4DCB25D7

Step 2 – Login Page: https://onlinexperiences.com/Launch/Event/ShowKey=187237

This call will be archived and available at www.vistagold.com after February 9, 2022. Audio replay will be available for 14 days by calling toll-free in North America: 855-859-2056 or (404) 537-3406.

Detailed Report

A technical report for the FS prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 disclosure standards will be filed on SEDAR and a technical report summary prepared in accordance with S-K 1300 will be filed on EDGAR with our annual report on Form 10-K, in each case, within 45 days of the date hereof and will be available on our website at that time.

About Vista Gold Corp.

Vista is a gold project developer. The Company’s flagship asset is the Mt Todd gold project located in the Tier 1, mining friendly jurisdiction of Northern Territory, Australia. Situated approximately 250 km southeast of Darwin, Mt Todd is the largest undeveloped gold project in Australia. All major environmental permits have now been approved. The recently approved Mine Management Plan will be amended to align with the design changes in the FS.

For further information, please contact Pamela Solly, Vice President of Investor Relations, at (720) 981-1185.

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Pamela Solly, Vice President of Investor Relations (720) 981-1185