Mr. Frederick Earnest reports

VISTA GOLD CORP. ANNOUNCES PROCESS FLOWSHEET CHANGES TO GENERATE BETTER GOLD RECOVERIES AND LOWER OPERATING COSTS AT MT TODD

Vista Gold Corp. has released the results of process area optimization studies that have the potential to enhance the project economics for the Mt. Todd gold project in Northern Territory, Australia. The anticipated economic improvements are the result of process flowsheet changes that are expected to produce higher gold recoveries and lower process area operating costs. Testing indicates that these objectives can be accomplished through selectively screening and rejecting subeconomic, coarse crusher product prior to grinding, resulting in opportunities for improved gold recovery through finer grinding and improved operating costs downstream of the grinding circuit.

A conference call with management to discuss the results of the Mt. Todd gold project optimization studies is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, at 2 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.

Summary of process area optimization results

Earlier this year, Vista completed an independent review of the Mt. Todd gold project. The combined input of the independent consultants and the project management team resulted in additional comminution and metallurgical recovery evaluations. These evaluations assessed opportunities to selectively remove below-cut-off-grade material from the process circuit after crushing. This results in less material being processed in the grinding and leaching circuits. The reduction in material results in excess grinding capacity which can be used to achieve a finer grind size in the final product and a corresponding increase in gold recovery for the remaining portion of the leach feed. Achieving the finer grind size is not expected to materially change the total grinding costs. Most importantly, the higher gold recovery is expected to increase cash flow, while the leaching, cyanide detoxification and tailings management costs are expected to decrease as a result of the reduction in the volume of material processed.

The company completed size distribution and assay analysis of the high-pressure grinding rolls (HPGR) crusher product. This indicates that screening the HPGR crusher product at five-eighths inch produces an oversize product that accounts for 15 to 20 per cent of the weight, but contains only 7 to 9 per cent of the gold. Subsequently, the company completed testwork with Tomra Sorting Solutions Inc. at its facilities in Germany to evaluate the recovery of sulphide/quartz/calcite-bearing material using laser reflection/fluorescence and X-ray transmission (XRT) automated sorting techniques. This testwork indicates that approximately 85 per cent of the gold in this oversize fraction can be efficiently recovered with a return of 30 to 40 per cent of the weight. The company expects this to translate into an 11.5-per-cent reduction in material to be processed in the grinding/leaching circuits with a 1.6-per-cent loss in gold coming from the elimination of subeconomic material from the process stream.

If there is an 11.5-per-cent reduction in material passing to the grinding circuit, the company expects to achieve a final grind size of 80 per cent passing (P80) 75 microns, approximately 17 per cent finer than the final grind size used in the company's May, 2013, prefeasibility study of 90 microns. Testwork confirms that at a P80 75-micron grind size, the company can expect to achieve gold recoveries in the range of 83 to 84 per cent, up from the 81.7 per cent reported in the May, 2013, PFS.

Vista's president and chief executive officer, Frederick H. Earnest, commented: "The process improvements that we have identified have the potential to generate lower operating costs and better gold recoveries without adding materially to the capital costs of the project. These improvements, coupled with the current U.S.-dollar-to-Australian-dollar exchange rate have the potential to produce a significant improvement in project economics. We are now evaluating an update of our preliminary feasibility study."

Detailed discussion of metallurgical testing program results

Mt. Todd deposit geology

The Mt. Todd deposit is hosted by a silicified sequence of greywackes, siltstones and shales. This host is crosscut (nearly perpendicular to the bedding planes) by two different series of quartz and calcite veins. The injection of quartz- and calcite-rich solution provided the transportation mechanism for the gold and other sulphide minerals found in the deposit. The gold in the Mt. Todd deposit is associated with the veining and occurrence of sulphide minerals, and is found only in small concentrations (likely the result of microfracturing) in the host rock. The quartz/calcite veining is pervasive throughout the deposit with vein thicknesses running from a couple of millimetres to several centimetres. Vein density can vary from three to four to 10 to 15 veins per metre. Selective assaying was completed to assess the presence of gold exclusively in the veins and/or sulphides compared with the host rock. Selective samples submitted to Pine Creek Labs in Pine Creek, Northern Territory, Australia, indicated that carefully selected veins and sulphide samples contained 0.16 to 41.4 grams per tonne gold of sample compared with 0.05 to 0.46 g/t Au of sample for the host rock. The relatively small proportions of vein/sulphide material account for the average grade of the deposit, and at the same time highlight the value of efforts to separate the host rock from the gold-bearing veins and sulphides.

HPGR product screen size and gold distribution analysis

In 2012, the company prepared two bulk samples representative of the Mt. Todd deposit using metallurgical core dispersed across the deposit (identified as M1 and M3). These two samples were sent to Thysen Krupp Industrial Solutions' HPGR testing facilities in Germany for HPGR crushing tests. A total of approximately two tonnes of material between the two composites was crushed. The HPGR crushed material was returned to Vista for subsequent metallurgical testing. Using HPGR crushed material from these two composites, the company undertook studies to evaluate the amount of material and amount of gold contained in various screen size fractions. The results of this analysis are summarized in the associated table. This work (including the subsequent sample prep) was completed by Resource Development Inc. of Wheatridge, Colo., with assaying completed by Florin Analytical Services in Reno, Nev.

                                                      M1 sample                                          M3 sample
                               Per cent               Au (g/mt)                   Per cent               Au (g/mt)
                Wt      Au distribution  Cumulative   in screen    Wt     Au  distribution  Cumulative   in screen
               (%)  (g/mt)           Au  Au passing   undersize   (%) (g/mt)            Au  Au passing   undersize

Feed           100    0.92          100          --          --   100   0.79           100          --          --
Plus 7/8"      6.6    0.71          5.1        94.9        0.93   4.3   0.67           3.7        96.3        0.79
7/8" x 5/8"   13.1    0.53          7.5        87.4        1.00  11.7    0.4             6        90.3        0.85
5/8" x 3/8"   19.8    1.19         25.8        61.6        0.93  17.2   0.87          19.1        71.2        0.84
3/8" x 1/4"   12.6    0.92         12.7        48.9        0.93  12.7   0.72          11.7        59.5        0.87
Minus 1/4"    47.9    0.93         48.9          --          --  54.1   0.87          59.5          --          --

Based on these data and with some understanding of the minimum size requirements for selective automated sorting the company determined that the five-eighths-inch screen oversize provided a meaningful volume of material for the company's testing to evaluate selective sorting and rejection. This size was also selected because it is reasonable to expect that screening can be effectively achieved at this size in a full-scale operation. Physical observation of the plus-five-eighths-inch material indicated visually identifiable portions of vein material and sulphide material. It was noted that the majority of the five-eighths-inch material showed no visual indications of veining or sulphides.

Automated sorting testing

Automated sorting is employed by many industries, and in the gold sector the Coeur Kensington mine is successfully operating an automated sorting circuit to recover higher-grade ore before wasting the rejects. Many different sensors are used today in sorting, including but not limited to: optical, laser, XRT, near infrared, visible light, electromagnetic and colour. A sample of plus-five-eighths-inch oversize material was sent to Tomra's mining sorting division for testing. Testing was performed under the supervision of Outotec personnel using XRT and laser sorting sensors. Testing indicates that a combination of XRT and laser sorting methods could effectively identify the material containing quartz/calcite veining and/or sulphide material for subsequent removal using automated air sorting technology. A larger sorting test is planned to verify the promising indicative results. The associated table summarizes the results of testwork completed by Tomra under Outotec supervision at Tomra's mining sorting division in Germany.

  
                                                       Grade Per cent distribution
                              Wt        Gold   Total sulphur       Gold    Sulphur
                             (%)   (g Au/mt)             (%)        (%)        (%)

Average feed (calculated)   100%        1.98            0.84       100%       100%
Average product            35.6%        4.80            2.10      86.1%      88.6%
Average waste              64.4%        0.43            0.15      13.9%      11.4%

Grind size/recovery testing

As part of the comprehensive metallurgical testing completed in 2012, the company completed grind size optimization studies. Those studies indicated that a P80 of 90 microns was the optimum grind size. At that time the company recognized that finer grinding could result in higher gold recoveries, but the additional capital (for instance, larger mills) and power could not be justified to achieve the incremental increase in gold recovery. With the successful completion of the screening and automated sorting tests, the company evaluated the relative advantages of downsizing the mills to match the expected throughput compared with maintaining the mill size and grinding to a finer size.

As part of the recent testing, the company completed grinding tests to achieve an initial product with a P80 of 90 microns. This product was subsequently screened to assess the relative proportion of material at size fractions from 100 mesh to minus 400 mesh. This screen analysis indicated that 40 to 50 per cent of the ground material was minus 400 mesh and 10 to 20 per cent of the material was plus 200 mesh. RDi completed an analysis of the energy requirements to grind to a finer size and determined that the ball mills selected for the project in the 2013 PFS, operating with 11.5-per-cent-less feed from the crushers would be able to successfully produce a product with a P80 of 75 microns without any additional power demand. Based on grind size and leach recovery work completed in 2012 and work recently completed by RDi, the company expects that total recoveries in the range of 83 to 84 per cent can be achieved with mill product with a P80 of 75 microns.

Evaluation of potential to incorporate two-stage HPGR crushing

In addition to the foregoing work, the company prepared additional core composite samples and sent them to KCA in Reno, Nev., for additional HPGR testing. The company conducted a testing program to evaluate the potential to achieve significant additional size reduction through two-stage HPGR crushing. The objective of the program was to evaluate the potential to achieve sufficiently fine ball mill feed that even finer grinding, and hence higher gold recoveries, could be achieved. At this time the company is not convinced that the additional capital and operating costs of two-stage HPGR crushing can be justified by the results, but additional testing is contemplated.

Qualified person

Dr. Deepak Malhotra, of Resource Development Inc., is a qualified person as defined under Canadian National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed the scientific and technical information in this news release.

Management conference call

A conference call with management to discuss the results of the Mt. Todd gold project optimization studies is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2016, at 2 p.m. MST.

Event title:  Vista Gold's Mt. Todd gold project optimization update

Toll-free in North America:  1-866-233-5249

International:   416-642-3300

This call will also be webcast and can be accessed on-line.

This call will be archived and available at the company's website after Nov. 29, 2016. Audio replay will be available for 21 days by calling toll-free in North America: 1-888-203-1112, pass code 1698128.

If you are unable to access the audio or phone in on the day of the conference call, please e-mail questions to Connie Martinez, manager -- investor relations, and the company will try to address these questions prior to or during the conference call.

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