Mr. Frederick Earnest reports

VISTA GOLD CORP. ANNOUNCES SECOND QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS AND CORPORATE UPDATE

Vista Gold Corp. has released its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, with reported cash totalling $6.0-million. All dollar amounts in this news release are in United States dollars.

The second quarter of 2023 was marked by the extension of Vista's agreement with the government of the Northern Territory of Australia (the NT), which sets out the rights and obligations of both parties with respect to site care and maintenance and potential future development of the company's Mt. Todd gold project, and positive recommendations and actions from the NT's mineral development task force (NT task force).

Frederick H. Earnest, president and chief executive officer of Vista, stated: "The extension of our agreement with the NT government is an important achievement as we continue our activities to derisk Mt. Todd and reflects a clear commitment by the NT government. Our amended agreement extends the term to Dec. 31, 2029, with an option for an additional three-year extension. We believe the amended agreement demonstrates the strength of our relationship with the NT government and their desire to achieve shared goals and objectives.

"Recent recommendations of the NT task force aim to increase mining investment in the NT. The NT government is moving forward to implement recommendations to update its current royalty regime to make it more competitive with other leading mining jurisdictions and to develop local skills to support a growing mining industry. These initiatives demonstrate that the NT government is actively working to attract more mining-related investment. We believe these changes will result in significant economic benefits for Vista, other mining companies, and the NT."

Summary of financial results

At June 30, 2023, cash and cash equivalents totalled $6.0-million compared with $8.1-million at Dec. 31, 2022. The company continued to have no debt.

Vista reported a consolidated net loss of $1.5-million, or one cent per common share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, compared with a consolidated net loss of $1.4-million, or one cent per common share for the quarter ended June 30, 2022. The loss for the current quarter was in line with management's expectations and reflects a 16-per-cent reduction of operating expenses compared with the same period in the prior year, offset by lower non-recurring other income.

The company's consolidated unaudited financial statements and management's discussion and analysis together with other important disclosures can be found in the company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR and with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR+.

Management conference call

Management's conference call to review financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, and to discuss corporate and project activities is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, at 10 a.m. MT (12 p.m. ET).

Participant toll-free:  888-396-8049

Participant international:  416-764-8646

Conference ID:  35574396

This call will be archived and available at the company website after Aug. 3, 2023. An audio replay will also be available through Aug. 17, 2023, by calling toll-free in North America 877-674-7070 or 416-764-8692 using passcode 574396 followed by the pound key.

If you are unable to access the audio or phone in on the day of the conference call, please e-mail your questions to ir@vistagold.com.

About Vista Gold Corp.

Vista is a gold project developer. The company's flagship asset is the Mt. Todd gold project located in the mining friendly jurisdiction of Northern Territory, Australia. Situated approximately 250 kilometres southeast of Darwin, Mt. Todd is one of the largest and most advanced undeveloped gold projects in Australia and has the potential to be one of the top five gold producers in Australia. All major environmental and operating permits have now been approved.

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