Results From Core Drilling Program At Tonopah Gold Project

VANCOUVER - Viva Gold Corp. reported on recently completed 6-hole 1,307 meter-oriented core drilling program at the Tonopah gold project, located on the Walker Lane gold trend near Tonopah, Nevada.

"This drilling program, designed to capture geotechnical information, was very successful in significantly expanding the width of the mineralized zone in the center of the western lobe of the resource pit. Additionally, the results demonstrate the potential to convert waste to gold mineralization in poorly drilled areas of the resource pit. A significant amount of structural and geotechnical data was captured that will be utilized in mine design and in locating drillholes for a 3,000-meter reverse circulation drilling program that is slated to commence next month. Tonopah is a covered gold deposit, laying under valley floor gravels with no outcrop exposure, meaning that all geologic and structural information must be captured from either drill holes or by geophysical methods. The data captured in this program provides the information required to complete the geotechnical study needed to initiate pre-feasibility study/feasibility study on the project. It also provides critical insight into the structural controls to mineralization necessary to facilitate future discovery at both the eastern and western extents of the project," said, James Hesketh, President & CEO.

Drill holes TG2204 and TG2201 were drilled to test the north and south extents of mineralization in the center of the western lobe of the resource pit. TG2204 intercepted a total of 17 meters of gold mineralization averaging 0.8 grams/tonne ("g/t") gold ("Au") in the north side of the pit wall, while TG2201 intercepted over 15 meters averaging 0.55 g/t Au mineralization inside the south wall of the pit. These combined results expanded the width of the gold zone to over 200 meters through the center of the west pit, a result that strongly demonstrates the potential to infill poorly drilled portions of the pit that are currently carried as waste in the model.

TG2202 and TG2203, drilled at the west end of the resource pit, intercepted possible north-south trending fault structures, which may have resulted in a potential structural offset of the main mineral trend to the north in this area. TG2203 intercepted 1.5 meters at 19.9 g/t Au and 19.2 g/t silver ("Ag") in a vein structure in the center of the main trend inside the west end of the resource pit.

Holes TG2205 and TG2206 were drilled to penetrate the mineralized horizons to the north and south of hole TG2101 (22.9 meters at 1.5 g/t Au) at the east end of the resource pit. The results potentially describe the north-south limits of a trough of easterly trending gold mineralization.

The oriented core holes in this program were designed to penetrate potential future open pit highwalls to capture data for mine design efforts and to determine structural controls to gold mineralization in those areas. The pit slope locations were defined by the $1,650 resource pit shell used for resource estimation in the NI43-101 Technical Report, Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Tonopah Project. Four holes were drilled on the western end of the principal resource pit and two on the eastern end. Each hole was oriented using teleview techniques and geotechnically logged and assessed for rock quality data. Core samples were taken to perform a total of 67 rock mass and strength tests on the various rock types intercepted in the program. Half core was utilized for assay, while the remaining half core will be utilized for metallurgical testwork.