Vista Gold Corp. Announces Receipt of the $3 Million First Installment Payment Under Wheaton Precious Metals Royalty

__________________ NEWS _________________

Vista Gold Corp. Announces Receipt of the $3 Million First Installment Payment Under

Wheaton Precious Metals Royalty

Denver, Colorado, December 18, 2023 – Vista Gold Corp. ( NYSE American and TSX: VGZ) ( “Vista” or the

“Company”) is pleased to announce that its wholly -owned subsidiary, Vista Gold Australia Pty. Ltd. (“Vista

Australia”) has received the first installment payment of $3 million (“First Installment”) under the royalty agreement

between Vista Australia and Wheaton Precious Metals (Cayman) Co., an affiliate of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.

(“Wheaton”) dated December 13, 2023 (“Royalty Agreement”), in relation to the Company’s Mt Todd gold project

(“Mt Todd” or the “Project”) located in Northern Territory, Australia. All dollar amounts in this news release are in

US dollars.

The First Installment is part of the $20 million royalty with Wheaton, which will be used to advance Mt Todd and

for general corporate purposes. The remaining two installment payments are expected in the first half of 2024 and

are subject to approval from the Australian government Foreign Investment Review Board. The principal terms of

the Royalty Agreement are as described in the Company’s news release dated December 14, 2023. See News

Release.

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 km 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 necessary to initiate

development of Mt Todd are in place.

Mt Todd benefits from its location in a leading mining jurisdiction and demonstrates multiple opportunities to add

value through growth of mineral resources, staged development, and other value adding and de-risking activities.

For further information about Vista or the Mt Todd Gold Project, please contact Pamela Solly, Vice President of

Investor Relations, at (720) 981-1185 or visit the Company’s website at www.vistagold.com.

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, included in this news release that address activities, events or developments that we expect or anticipate

will or may occur in the future, including such things as our expectation to receive approval from th e Australian government Foreign

Investment Review Board and the remaining two installment payments in the first half of 2024; our belief that 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; our belief

that all major environmental and operating permits necessary to initiate development of Mt Todd are in place; our belief that Mt Todd benefits

from its location in a leading mining jurisdiction; and our belief that Mt Todd demonstrates multiple opportunities to add value through growth

8310 S. Valley Highway

Suite 300

Englewood, CO 80112

Phone: 720-981-1185

Trading Symbol: VGZ

NYSE American and TSX Stock Exchanges

2

of mineral resources, staged development, and other value adding and 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 expectat ions

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 statemen ts 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 February 2023,

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 t o 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.