Vista Gold Corp. (NYSE American and TSX: VGZ) (“Vista” or the “Company”) today announced that Maria Vallejo Garcia has joined the Company as Director, Projects and Technical Services.
Ms. Vallejo is an accomplished mining professional with a robust background in mineral economics, mining engineering, and optimization technologies. Ms. Vallejo is a registered Professional Engineer (P. Eng) and Fellow of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM). She is also a Qualified Person as defined by Item 1300 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Canadian National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Ms. Vallejo holds a master’s degree in mining engineering from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from National University of Colombia in Medellin, Colombia. Prior to joining Vista, Ms. Vallejo held senior technical and managerial positions with Mining Plus Consulting, Barrick Gold, Waterton Global Resources Management, and AngloGold Ashanti.
Frederick H. Earnest, President and CEO of Vista Gold, stated, “We are pleased to have Maria join our management team. She brings with her 15 years of experience screening, evaluating, optimizing, and developing gold and copper mining assets in the Americas and Asia Pacific. We believe Maria’s technical background and expertise will be invaluable as we continue to evaluate smaller-scale, staged development opportunities at Mt Todd, consider potential strategic transactions, and position Vista for long-term success.”
Ms. Vallejo succeeds John Rozelle who retired on December 31, 2023, and was responsible for the execution and evaluation of the Company’s technical studies for more than 10 years. Following his resignation, Mr. Rozelle has provided consulting services to the Company on an as needed basis, which will continue through an appropriate transition period.
Mr. Earnest added, “John Rozelle was a key member of our senior executive team for more than 10 years and instrumental in the completion of numerous technical studies, including the Mt Todd feasibility study. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank John for his many valuable contributions and wish him well in retirement.”
About Vista Gold Corp.
Vista is a gold project developer. The Company’s flagship asset is Mt Todd, located in the mining friendly jurisdiction of Northern Territory, Australia. Situated approximately 250 km southeast of Darwin, Mt Todd is one of the largest development stage opportunities in Australia and demonstrates compelling economics. All major environmental and operating permits necessary to initiate development of Mt Todd are in place.
Mt Todd benefits from its location in a leading mining jurisdiction and offers opportunities to add value through growth of mineral reserves, alternative development strategies, and other de-risking activities.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, including our belief that Ms. Vallejo is an accomplished mining professional with a robust background in mineral economics, mining engineering, and optimization technologies; our belief that Maria’s technical background and expertise will be invaluable as we continue to evaluate smaller-scale, staged development opportunities at Mt Todd, consider potential strategic transactions, and position Vista for long-term success; our expectation that John Rozelle will continue to provide consulting services on an as needed basis through an appropriate transition period; our belief that Mt Todd is one of the largest development stage opportunities in Australia and demonstrates compelling economics; our belief that Mt Todd offers opportunities to add value through growth of mineral reserves, alternative development opportunities, and other de-risking activities are forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. The material factors and assumptions used to develop the forward-looking statements and forward-looking information contained in this news release include the following: our forecasts and expected cash flows; our projected capital and operating costs; our expectations regarding mining and metallurgical recoveries; mine life and production rates; that laws or regulations impacting mine development or mining activities will remain consistent; our approved business plans, our mineral resource and reserve estimates and results of preliminary economic assessments; preliminary feasibility studies and feasibility studies on our projects, if any; our experience with regulators; political and social support of the mining industry in Australia; our experience and knowledge of the Australian mining industry and our expectations of economic conditions and the price of gold. When used in this news release, the words “optimistic,” “potential,” “indicate,” “expect,” “intend,” “hopes,” “believe,” “may,” “will,” “if,” “anticipate” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, uncertainty of resource and reserve estimates, uncertainty as to the Company’s future operating costs and ability to raise capital; risks relating to cost increases for capital and operating costs; risks of shortages and fluctuating costs of equipment or supplies; risks relating to fluctuations in the price of gold; the inherently hazardous nature of mining-related activities; potential effects on our operations of environmental regulations in the countries in which it operates; risks due to legal proceedings; risks relating to political and economic instability in certain countries in which it operates; uncertainty as to the results of bulk metallurgical test work; and uncertainty as to completion of critical milestones for Mt Todd; as well as those factors discussed under the headings “Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in the Company’s latest Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed in March 2024, subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and other documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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