Viva Gold to Commence PEA Study at Tonopah Project

Viva Gold Corp. (TSX-Venture: VAU; OTCBB: VAUCF) (the “Company” or “Viva”) is pleased to announce that it will initiate a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) of its Tonopah gold project based on receipt of positive preliminary metallurgical column testwork and results from its fall 2019 drilling program. The Tonopah project is located on the prolific Walker Lane mineral trend in western Nevada, near the town of Tonopah.

“Viva is pleased to advise that it intends to retain Gustavson Associates of Lakewood, Colorado to initiate a PEA of the Tonopah gold project. A strong gold price outlook, positive metallurgical test results, and completion of the recent exploration step-out drilling program is driving this decision. The Tonopah project includes a robust core of pit-constrained measured and indicated, plus inferred gold resource, sufficient in size to contemplate an open-pit heap leach recovery operation to produce up to 50,000 ounces of gold per year, which we believe will be supplemented with additional self-funded discovery of additional gold resources over time. The PEA will help Viva to put a solid valuation under its share price and will open potential strategic options for the Tonopah project,” states James Hesketh, President and CEO.

Mineral Resource

As announced on July 16, 2019, Viva has filed a NI43-101 Technical Report on Mineral Resources at Tonopah supporting a pit-constrained measured and indicated gold resource estimate containing 253,000 ounces, plus an additional 123,000 ounces of inferred resource. This estimate was completed utilizing a gold price of $1,250 per ounce and an average gold recovery of 70%. The resource estimate is sensitive to price and recovery and is likely to increase in size with either higher gold price or gold recovery rates.

Metallurgical Testwork

In August 2019, Viva retained McClelland Laboratories Inc. of Sparks, Nevada to initiate 60-day column leach tests on four composite samples derived from drillholes TG1805-TG1815. These holes were drilled as confirmation holes in and around the measured and indicated resource area. Assay reject samples from this program were composited by rock type, sized to a nominal 80% passing 10 mesh size, and agglomerated with cement for testing. These are the first column tests performed on Tonopah project drill samples.

Column leach test results for samples taken from the Palmetto argillite formation, which contains approximately half of the total gold resource at Tonopah, leached quickly and resulted in gold recovery of over 90%, which, if further verified, will provide a significant economic driver to the project. Recovery rates in the overlaying Tertiary volcanics, a complex assemblage of locally silicified rhyolite tuffs, greywacke, air-fall tuffs and siltstone, show slower recovery rates, but with additional time under leach are expected to approximate the 70% recovery range. Incremental gold recovery was still occurring in all of the columns when the tests were terminated. It is anticipated that an additional 2% to 5% recovery may be possible with additional time under leach. Final results are expected within about a month. Preliminary leach results are shown in the following table:

Drillhole Results

Viva completed a total of 10 reverse circulation (RC) drill holes totaling approximately 1,520 meters. Drillhole locations for this step-out exploration program were designed to test undrilled areas along the northwest trending flank of Palmetto Argillite formation at the Tertiary volcanic contact over a distance of about two kilometers around and between the Midway Hills and the Mineral Resource area. Geophysical survey data combined with historic drilling was utilized to predict the locations of structural junctions and splays for drillhole targeting. The Midway Hills area was last drilled in the 1990’s. Significant intercepts within those holes are shown in the attached table.

“All of the drillholes in this program penetrated the Palmetto argillite/Tertiary volcanic contact zone and encountered hydrothermal alteration, silicification, quartz veining and sub-grade gold mineralization. This program was geologically encouraging in that it confirmed the presence of gold bearing mineralization over a large area, demonstrating the significant size potential of the project. The cross cutting structural features that are often associated with high-grade mineralization at the Tonopah project were not encountered in this program. Additional analysis is required to determine the magnitude and direction of structural movements to improve drill targeting in future drill programs,” states Ed Bryant, project geologist.

The Tonopah property contains a near-surface low-sulfidation epithermal gold system which includes near vertical quartz-adularia-gold veins hosted by Ordovician age Palmetto argillite and the overlying Tertiary rhyolitic volcanics all within a low-angle zone of gold mineralization which includes and often parallels an erosion surface discontinuity at the top of the Palmetto argillite. Mineralization has been identified in a series of north-striking extensional structural zones within an overall mineralized trend along the north-northwest Walker Lane trend.

Edward G. Bryant, AIPG-Certified Professional Geologist, and James Hesketh, MMSA QP, are Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101 and are the Qualified Persons responsible for review of technical information in this news release. Mr. Bryant is a contractor with responsibility for geologic and drilling operations at Tonopah. Mr. Hesketh is President and CEO and an insider of the Company with overall project responsibility.

About Viva

Viva Gold is a gold exploration and development company with a focus on Nevada. Viva holds 100% of the Tonopah Gold Project, a large land position with demonstrated high-grade measured, indicated and inferred gold resources, located on the prolific Walker Lane Trend in Nevada, 70 kilometers south-east of the Round Mountain mine of Kinross Gold and 30 kilometers from the Town of Tonopah. Viva’s management team has extensive experience in mining, exploration, development and production and are supported by a Board of Directors and advisors who are proven mine finders, deal makers and financiers. Viva trades on the TSX-V as “VAU”, on the OTCBB in the US as “VAUCF” and on the Frankfurt exchange under “7PB”. For additional information on Viva Gold and the Tonopah Gold Project, please visit our website: www.vivagoldcorp.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 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; 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 mineral resources can be increased in size; 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 U.S. Investors --- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits U.S. mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms in this report, such as "measured," "indicated," "inferred," and "resources," that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit U.S. registered companies from including in their filings with the SEC.

Neither the 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.

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James Hesketh, President & CEO
(720) 291-1775
[email protected]

Valerie Kimball, Director Investor Relations
(720) 933-1150
[email protected]