Viva Gold Corp. provided an updated NI43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate for the Tonopah gold project, located near Tonopah, Nevada, on the prolific Walker Lane gold trend. The new resource estimate is based on the addition of 19 new drill holes completed in 2020 and 2021, updated geologic modelling and statistical analysis.

Mineral resources are tabulated at a cutoff grade of 0.15 g/t gold for argillite and 0.20 g/t for volcanic hosted mineralization, which constitutes a reasonable prospect for eventual economic extraction based on a comparison with similar gold deposits in Nevada, and constrained within a USD 1,650 gold price pit shell using a 45-degree average pit slope in all rock types and a 35-degree pit slope for gravels overburden. The new model uses three modelled domains; lower Palmetto argillite zone (OP), a weathered argillite zone of 10 meters thickness at the argillite/volcanic contact (OP-W), and a lower tertiary volcanic (TVL) zone. Estimates were interpolated using ordinary kriging and a 20 g/t grade cap.

With additional drilling in 2020, it became apparent that the mineral continuity at Tonopah is controlled by multiple factors, which are different in the TVL than in the underlaying OP. The OP exhibits local north-north-west continuity, along a regional east-south-east trend, while mineralization in the lower volcanics exhibit the dominant east-south-east trend with limited expression on the north-north-west trend. Previously, all mineralization had been modelled along the north-north-west trend.

Based on drill results, it can also be observed that the primary mineralized trend follows the OP/TVL contact in a zone ranging between 30- and 60-meters width. A zone of +/- 10 meters around the OP/TVL contact was treated as a separate domain in the model. These modifications to the mineral trends and the addition of lithologic domains developed clean variography and resulted in a well-supported resource model.

Step-out holes were drilled in 2021 to test these observations and were highly successful in intercepting high-grade mineralization. These holes contributed to an increase in inferred mineralization and helped to extend the pit shell to the east-south-east along the principal (110 azimuth) trend of the deposit. The pit also extended to the west along trend based on new drill intercepts from the 2020 drill program.

The new model also developed a small pit in the Midway Hills area of the project, located approximately 1.0 kilometers west from the main pit on trend, indicating that the revised geologic model is doing a better job of correlating and connecting existing assay intercepts in that area. In addition, the new model also indicates the possibility of two additional parallel trends to the south of this main zone. The previously modelled south zone currently develops three small interconnected pit bottoms along the east-south- east trend and the third most southerly zone is potentially identified by three drillholes.