Denver, Colorado, February 9, 2022 – 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 NPV5%of $999.5 million and IRR of 20.6% at a $1,600 gold price and a $0.71 Fx rate(1);
After-tax NPV5%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.
(1) All dollar amounts stated herein are in U.S. currency and are expressed as $ unless specified otherwise. All foreign exchange (“Fx") rates are in U.S. dollars per Australian dollar.
(2) Cash costs per ounce and AISC per ounce are non-GAAP financial measures. See “Note Regarding Non-GAAP Financial Measures” below for a discussion on non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation to U.S. GAAP measures.

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 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.
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https://vistagold.com/news/news-2022/739-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