Viva Gold hits major high-grade gold discovery at Midway Hills, Tonopah

  Viva  intercepts 0.89 g/t Gold and 6.78 g/t silver over 38.1 meters including 6.1 meters averaging 3.56 g/t Au and 22.45 g/t Ag from 179.8 meters below prior drilling.   Highlights New gold zone discovered at Midway Hills , ~1,400 m northwest of the main Tonopah resource: drillhole TG2616 returned 38.1 m of 0.89 g/t gold and 6.78 g/t silver, including 6.1 m of 3.56 g/t gold and 22.45 g/t silver from 179.8 m depth.   A new target type at Tonopah — the intercept sits entirely within the Palmetto Argillite (OPA), ~27 m below the volcanic contact and beneath historic drilling.   Open at depth and along strike — anomalous gold continues to the bottom of TG2616, with assays pending for two step-out holes ~100 m east and west.   Drill-ready — the target lies within the existing Exploration Plan of Operations, allowing follow-up drilling to be approved on an accelerated basis, while Tonopah advances through a pre-feasibility study.     VANCOUVER, BC – July 1, 2026 – TheNewswire - Viva Gold Corp ( TSXV: VAU; OTCQB: VAUCF ) (the “ Company” or “ Viva” ) is pleased to announce that it has made a major new gold discovery in the Midway Hills portion of its 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.   TG2616 drilled vertically at a dip of minus 90 degrees intercepted 0.89 g/t Gold and 6.78 g/t silver over 38.1 meters including 6.1 meters averaging 3.56 g/t Au and 22.45 g/t Ag from 179.8 meters depth.     This significant intercept was entirely within Ordovician age Palmetto Argillite (OPA), commencing approximately 27 meters below the Tertiary Volcanic (TVL)/OPA contact. Assays are pending for two remaining exploration holes in the Midway Hills, drilled on a line approximately 100 meters to the east and west  of TG2616.  The Midway Hills are located approximately 1,400 meters (~1.0 mile) NW of the main resource pit at Tonopah, which is currently the subject of pre-feasibility study.

Midway Hills is located within the boundaries of the existing Exploration Plan of Operations which will significantly accelerate the approval of additional drilling on this target.   “We are very encouraged with these results. This discovery clearly demonstrates the potential for a new zone of high-grade gold mineralization in an area of the Tonopah Gold Project that had been discounted by prior explorers. This area was originally drilled by Coeur d’Alene Mines in the 1980’s followed by Rio Algom and Kennecott Minerals, with minor follow-up drilling by subsequent companies, all of whom had targeted potential gold mineralization in the overlaying TVL consistent with early geologic targeting concepts for the project.

Numerous gold intercepts were encountered in the TVL, but nothing of any significance. After almost 40 years of effort, Viva made this new high-grade discovery by targeting deeper potential mineralization below prior drilling in the underlying OPA,” stated James Hesketh, President & CEO .   The gold mineralization in TG2616 is located wholly within OPA and is related to Tertiary intrusives (“Tki”) within the argillite, and is associated with pyrite, quartz veining and minor silicification. Quartz veins and veinlets have acted as plumbing for mineralizing fluids, but significant wall rock penetration is evident.