Viva Gold Announces Drill Results at Tonopah Project Including 45 meters at 2.2 g/t and 3.0 meters at 46.1 g/t

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 29, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Viva Gold Corp. (((TSX-Venture: VAU, OTC:VAUCF) (the "Company" or "Viva") is pleased to announce assay results for the first four drillholes in its 2018-2019 winter reverse circulation ("RC") drill program at its Tonopah Gold Project located near Tonopah, Nevada.

For further information please contact:

James Hesketh, President & CEO
(720) 291-1775
jhesketh@vivagoldcorp.com

Valerie Kimball, Director Investor Relations
(720) 933-1150
vkimball@vivagoldcorp.com

Drill Hole Locations

Drill Result Highlights

TG 1816:  4.6 meters from 108.2 to 112.2 meters depth at 6.05 grams/tonne ("g/t") including 1.5 meters at 16.4 g/t. TG 1816 was drilled between the Discovery and 121 structural zones in an undrilled gap between the zones.

TG 1817: 45.7 meters from 143.3 to 189 meters depth at 2.2 g/t including 13.7 meters at 5.1 g/t. TG1817 was drilled as a western extension of the 121 structural zone.

TG 1818:  12.2 meters from 21.3 to 33.5 meters depth at 0.9 g/t and 3.0 meters from 71.6 to 74.7 meters depth at 46.1 g/t, including 1.5 meters at 84.9 g/t. TG1818 was drilled to the east across the south extension of the Discovery fault, further extending the known strike of that structure.

TG 1819: 18.6 meters intercepted mineralization between 53.3 meters and 100.6 meters depth in three zones at an average grade of 0.8 g/t including 3 meters at 1.9 g/t. TG1819 was drilled at the north end of a gap between the Dauntless zone and the 63-77 zone.

Viva has now completed 8 drill-holes in its current RC drill program.  Samples for the remaining four holes have been submitted for assaying.  

"We are extremely pleased with the results of these initial four drill holes. The goal of this program is to infill known gaps in the existing drilling at the Tonopah project and to confirm extensions to known mineralized structures. These four holes have been successful in meeting this goal. We believe that the successes we are seeing in this overall program will significantly improve confidence in the resource and should add a substantial number of contained ounces to our estimated resource base, ultimately increasing the Tonopah gold resource to our goal of 1.0 million contained ounces," states James Hesketh, President & CEO.

The Tonopah property contains a near-surface low-sulfidation epithermal gold system which includes near vertical structurally controlled quartz-adularia-gold veins and breccia's in Tertiary volcanics within a low-angle zone of mineralization which includes and often parallels an erosion surface discontinuity at the top of the Palmetto argillite. Mineralization has been identified in a series of north-striking extensional structural zones within an overall mineralized trend along the regional north-northwest Walker Lane trend, covering an area over 2,000 meters long and 300 meters wide. The interaction between high angle and low angle mineralization geometries is difficult to decode for individual drillholes.  However, the holes drilled in this program were targeted to crosscut the low-angle mineralized zones while remaining as perpendicular as possible to high-angle extensional zones. Downhole lengths are believed to be representative of true thickness for the low-angle zones.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/27b19746-b4cb-450e-8d7e-097b0027f901

All technical information which is included in this statement has been reviewed and approved by Thomas C. Matthews of Gustavson Associates LLC. Mr. Matthews is independent of the Company and a qualified person, pursuant to the meaning of such terms in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. The basis for the 0.25 g/t cutoff grade utilized for this release are based on technical analysis documented in the March 27, 2018 NI43-101 Technical Report on Mineral Resources, Tonopah Project, Nye County, Nevada. 

Viva Gold is a gold exploration and development company with a focus on Nevada. For additional information on Viva Gold and the Tonopah Gold Project, please visit our website: www.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 gold resources 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; 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 U.S. Investors --- The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits U.S. mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We use certain terms in this report, such as "measured," "indicated," "inferred," and "resources," that the SEC guidelines strictly prohibit U.S. registered companies from including in their filings with the SEC.

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.