(TheNewswire)
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Viva intercepts 35.1 m at Midway Hills averaging 1.62 g/t Au and 16.7 g/t Ag, including 1.5 m at 18.4 g/t Au and 76.9 g/t Ag, and bottoming in strong mineralization
VANCOUVER, BC – July 8, 2026 – Viva Gold Corp (TSXV: VAU; OTCQB: VAUCF) (the “Company” or “Viva”) has received the final assays for the last three drill holes in its 2026 spring reverse circulation (RC) drill program totaling 3,210 meters in nineteen drill holes at its 100% owned Tonopah Gold Project (“Tonopah,” or the “Project”). Tonopah is located on the prolific Walker Lane Mineral Trend in western Nevada, approximately a 30-minute drive south of Kinross Gold’s Round Mountain Mine. These final assays complete a program that has materially expanded the gold footprint at Tonopah, both within and beyond the 2025 resource pit, and the results are now being incorporated into an updated resource model to underpin the Company’s ongoing pre-feasibility study.
Highlights
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Nineteen holes totaling 3,210 m were completed in the 2026 spring RC program, with all results now being incorporated into an updated resource model to underpin the Company’s pre-feasibility study (PFS).
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New Midway Hills discovery: TG2617 intercepted 35.1 m @ 1.62 g/t Au and 16.7 g/t Ag (including 1.5 m @ 18.4 g/t Au and 76.9 g/t Ag) and bottomed in strong mineralization.
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A three-hole fence at Midway Hills cut a major new gold zone in the Ordovician Palmetto Argillite (OPA), with grade and thickness increasing to the west; the discovery remains open in all directions.
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Resource growth: 16 holes were drilled in the main pit area – 12 with significant intercepts and all returning anomalous gold above 0.15 g/t Au – developing a new zone of continuous mineralization on the southeast side of the pit.
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New high-grade intercepts were returned in areas previously classed as waste or inferred, supporting the conversion of inferred material to measured and indicated resources, and ultimately reserves, in the PFS.
“Our 2026 drill program was an outstanding success. This program resulted in major new gold intercepts within the 2025 PEA resource shell in areas previously categorized as either waste or inferred mineralization. In the western portion of the resource pit, drilling returned one of the strongest holes drilled to-date in this area. These combined results will potentially add to high-grade mineralization that can be mined early in mine life and are likely to convert inferred mineralization to measured and indicated status while also adding new zones of inferred mineralization. In the Midway Hills prospect area of the project a three-hole fence of drilling discovered a major new zone of mineralization that is showing both increased thickness and gold grade to the west and remains open in all dimensions. These results are currently being rolled into our resource model to support our continuing PFS work on the project. This program demonstrates the robust nature of the Tonopah gold resource along with the potential for increasing overall gold resources,” stated James Hesketh, President & CEO.
Program Highlights
Midway Hills Discovery Area
Three vertical exploration holes totaling 628 meters were drilled in the Midway Hills prospect area that intercepted a major gold zone in OPA below prior drilling that had primarily targeted mineralization in overlaying tertiary volcanics (TVL):
TG2617 - 56.5 m @ 1.13 g/t Au and 11.3 g/t Ag in three zones commencing at 157 meters depth including 35.1 m @ 1.62 g/t Au and 16.7 g/t Ag, which included 1.5 m at 18.4 g/t Au and 76.9 g/t Ag starting at 202.7 meters depth in the OPA. This hole bottomed at 238 meters depth in strong mineralization;
TG2616 (reported July 1, 2026) - 38.1 m @ 0.89 g/t Au and 6.78 g/t Ag, including 6.1 m @ 3.56 g/t Au and 22.45 g/t Ag from 179.8 m depth in OPA;
TG2618 – intercepted anomalous gold in the range of 0.1 to 0.2 g/t Au, including 1.5 m at 1.2 g/t Au. TG2618 intercepted OPA at 56 meters depth.
These three holes were drilled on a 240-meter line trending in an east-west direction at an azimuth of approximately 110 degrees. In sequence, these three holes display increasing gold grades and thicknesses in a westerly direction. TG2617 and TG2616 are offset by 100 meters demonstrating potential continuity of mineralization in this area of the OPA. Other than sporadic reconnaissance drilling, TG2617 is the most westerly drill hole in the Tonopah database. The width of the Midway Hills discovery zone was not defined by this drilling, and mineralization remains open to depth and in a westerly dimension.
The next phase of work for Midway Hills will include a compilation of all existing geophysical and drilling data, including CSAMT data collected in early 2026, to determine potential follow-up targets. This work will include identification of areas where the underlying OPA have been uplifted to better define shallow target potential.
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2025 Resource Pit Area
A total of 2,582 meters was drilled in 16 holes in the main pit area with twelve of these holes reporting significant drill intercepts and all holes producing anomalous gold intercepts above 0.15 g/t Au. This program was designed to expand and infill gold mineralization, with the goal of upgrading inferred resources to a level that supports conversion to mineral reserves in the PFS. A new zone of continuous mineralization along the southeast portion of the main pit area was developed. These sixteen holes have been added to the resource model and resource development work is underway.
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Quality Assurance/Quality Control
Viva Gold utilizes a well-documented system of inserting blanks and standards into the assay stream and has a strict chain of custody for samples taken by the Company. Assays taken by the Company are completed at independent laboratories which have internal quality assurance and quality control systems and procedures. Assays were performed by American Assay Laboratories Inc. of Reno, Nevada, by fire assay and ICP methods with gravimetric finish.
Qualified Person
James Hesketh, MMSA-QP, has approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this press release. Mr. Hesketh is not independent of the Company; he is an Officer and Director.
About Viva Gold Corp:
Viva Gold’s 100%-owned Tonopah Gold Project is located within a large land position in established gold-mining country on the prolific Walker Lane Structural Trend in western Nevada, approximately a 30-minute drive south of Kinross Gold’s Round Mountain Mine. Viva has defined a high-confidence gold mineral resource and has demonstrated the potential for an economically viable open-pit, heap leach/mill gold project through its 2025 preliminary economic assessment (PEA). PFS has been initiated on the project with a final report due in fourth quarter of 2026. Viva Gold is committed to advancing the Tonopah Gold Project in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, consistent with management’s core values.
Viva Gold is led by CEO James Hesketh, a 40-year mining industry veteran who has led the development and construction of eight mines globally. The Board and management team include experienced mining professionals with expertise in exploration, project development, construction, and mine operations.
Viva Gold trades on the TSX Venture Exchange (VAU), the OTCQB (VAUCF), and the Frankfurt Exchange (7PB). Viva currently has approximately 172 million shares outstanding. The Company is advancing its Tonopah Gold Project in mining-friendly Nevada with the support of institutional shareholders. More information is available on https://www.sedar.com and at www.vivagoldcorp.com.
For further information please contact:
James Hesketh, President & CEO
(720) 291-1775
Graham Farrell, Investor Relations
(416) 842-9003
graham.farrell@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 and estimates of gold mineral resource 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, inflationary pressures, pandemics, and issues and delays related to permitting activities; 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 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 Investors --- Investors are cautioned not to assume that any "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources", or "inferred mineral resources" that the Company reports in this news release are or will be economically or legally mineable. United States investors are cautioned that while the SEC now recognizes "measured mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "inferred mineral resources", investors should not assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into a higher category of mineral resources or into mineral reserves. These terms have a great amount of uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. Under Canadian regulations, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in limited circumstances. Further, "inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that any part or all of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. The mineral reserve and mineral resource data set out in this news release are estimates, and no assurance can be given that the anticipated tonnages and grades will be achieved or that the indicated level of recovery will be realized.
Neither 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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