Vista Gold - Earnings Call - Q2 2025

Executive Summary

• Q2 2025 reflected development-stage fundamentals: no revenue, a net loss of $2.356M (-$0.02 diluted EPS) as feasibility-study and site costs increased; cash declined to $13.2M with no debt.
• The 15,000 tpd Mt Todd feasibility study (announced July 29) materially improves capital efficiency and delivers robust economics: initial capex $425M, NPV5% $1.1B/IRR 27.8% at $2,500/oz, and capital efficiency $93/oz; AISC $1,449/oz (yrs 1–15).
• Northern Territory royalty reform to a 3.5% ad valorem regime materially lowers payable royalties versus the prior net-profits regime, improving project economics (nearly 50% reduction).
• No formal quarterly guidance or Wall Street consensus estimates were available for Q2; management focused investor communications on feasibility outputs, permitting timelines (12–18 months for permit modifications), and funding discipline (ATM flexibility, minimize dilution).

What Went Well and What Went Wrong

What Went Well

• Feasibility study delivered attractive economics at smaller scale: “This Study marks a significant shift... prioritizing higher grade ore... significantly lowering initial capital costs” — Frederick H. Earnest, CEO.
• Balance sheet discipline: cash at $13.2M at quarter-end and no debt; working capital $12.3M supports near-term programs without over-dilution.
• NT royalty reform: shift to 3.5% ad valorem expected to improve economics and shareholder returns; prior regime implied ~$765M lifetime royalties at $1,800/oz.

What Went Wrong

• Higher project/program costs drove operating loss: exploration/property evaluation and holding costs rose to $1.784M (vs $0.629M YoY) as the 2025 FS advanced; Australia segment operating loss widened.
• Cash declined QoQ to $13.211M (from $14.970M in Q1) as net operating cash outflows increased tied to feasibility work.
• Regulatory/legal overhangs: A$162k penalties under NT Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act in May 2025; ongoing Mexico tax litigation may create up to ~$3.7M potential liability if adverse ruling.

Transcript

Speaker 4

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Vista Gold Corp.'s second quarter 2025 financial results and corporate update conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question and answer session. At that time, participants are asked to press star one to register for a question. For assistance during the call, please press star zero on your touch-tone phone. As a reminder, this conference call is being recorded. Today is Wednesday, August 13, 2025. It's now a pleasure to introduce Pamela Solly, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Speaker 5

Thank you, Constantine, and good day, everyone. Thank you for joining the Vista Gold Corp. second quarter 2025 financial results and corporate update conference call. I'm Pamela Solly, Vice President of Investor Relations. On the call today is Frederick H. Earnest, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Doug Tobler, Chief Financial Officer. On August 12, 2025, Vista Gold Corp. reported the corporate financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2025. Copies of the news release and quarterly report on Form 10-Q are available on our website at www.vistagold.com. During the course of this call and the question and answer session, we will be making forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance, or achievements of Vista Gold Corp. to be materially different from results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such statements.

Please refer to our most recently filed Form 10-Q for details of risks and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in our forward-looking statements and the cautionary note regarding estimates of mineral resources and mineral reserves. I will now turn the call over to Frederick H. Earnest.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Pam, and thank you, everyone, for joining us on the call today. During the second quarter, we advanced the 15,000-ton per day Mt Todd feasibility study and announced the results of the feasibility study on July 29. We are very pleased with the strong economic results, the reduced initial capital, increased gold reserve grades, and stable gold production over many years, as reported in this study. The feasibility study represents a major milestone for Vista Gold Corp., highlighting a strategic shift toward a smaller initial scale with near-term development opportunity at Mt Todd while preserving optionality for expansion. I'm pleased to report that we ended the quarter with a solid cash position, which Doug Tobler will discuss shortly. Additionally, we have now achieved 1,369 consecutive days without a lost time accident at the Mt Todd site.

We are committed to prioritizing the efficient use of our cash and creating long-term value for our shareholders through disciplined execution of our strategy for the Mt Todd Gold Project. I will discuss some of these topics in greater detail later in the call, but I will now turn the time over to Doug Tobler for a review of our financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2025.

Speaker 1

Thanks, Fred. I'll begin today's discussion with a summary of our results of operations for the three and six-month period ended June 30, 2025, compared to the same periods in 2024. If you'd like additional details, our full financial statements and our MD&A are included in our Form 10-Q that we filed yesterday. For the three-month period, we reported a net loss of $2,356,000 for Q2 2025, compared to a net income of $15,633,000 for Q2 of 2024. The net loss for the 2025 period was in line with our expectations. The change between the 2024 period and the 2025 period resulted mostly from the $16.9 million gain on grant of royalty interest that was recognized back in June of 2024, and an increase in exploration and property evaluation expenses during the 2025 quarter.

The gain reflected payments received from Wheaton Precious Metals, totaling $20 million, net of the associated mineral property carrying value of $3.1 million at the time. Higher exploration and property evaluation expenses resulted from Vista Gold Corp. having expensed $850,000 during Q2 of 2025 for the feasibility study, while the drilling costs in Q2 of 2024 mostly qualified as development costs and were capitalized. For the six-month period, we recorded a net loss of $5,664,000 for the 2025 period and net income of $14,560,000 for the 2024 period. The reasons for the change between periods are similar to those discussed for the three-month period. Again, the six-month period for June 30, 2024, included the $16.9 million gain, and this period also included an $800,000 gain on sale of a portion of the company's used mill equipment.

Exploration and property evaluation expenses were also higher for the six-month period ended June 30, 2025, because the company recognized $1.6 million for the 2025 feasibility study, compared to the same period in 2024, when our drilling costs were largely capitalized as development costs. Turning to our financial position at June 30, 2025, we continue to maintain a strong cash position to support our ongoing work at Mt Todd. We ended the second quarter of 2025 with $13.2 million cash on hand. This compares to $16.9 million cash on hand that we had at December 31, 2024. The reduction in cash resulted primarily from expenditures for the feasibility study and costs of a recurring nature, which included Mt Todd holding costs and corporate G&A. I'd also highlight that we continue to have no debt.

Now, looking forward, we expect our recurring costs and other expenses to remain largely in line with expectations. For the 12-month period ending June 30, 2025, the estimate going forward for the next year is that our recurring costs will be approximately $6.8 million, plus about $1.8 million related to ongoing and currently planned work at Mt Todd. Thank you. That concludes my remarks for the day. Fred, I'll turn the call back to you.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Fred. As I mentioned earlier, we announced the results of the 15,000-ton per day Mt Todd feasibility study on July 29. The study demonstrates strong economics and provides a favorable development alternative to Vista Gold Corp.'s previous feasibility study, which was completed in 2024 at a throughput rate of 50,000 tons per day. For those of you who may not have participated in our conference call following the announcement of the feasibility study results, I will provide a few highlights. The feasibility study demonstrates a 59% reduction in initial capital costs to $425 million. When divided by the total ounces produced, this represents a very competitive capital efficiency of $93 per ounce of gold produced. The study also reports an average ore grade of 1.04 grams of gold per ton over the first 15 years of operations and 0.97 grams per ton over the life of mine.

These are both improvements from the previous studies. Average annual gold production is estimated to be 153,000 ounces of gold per year during the years 1 through 15 and 146,000 ounces of gold per year over the 30-year life of the mine, with life of mine average gold recovery of 88.5%. The plant is designed with three stages of pressing, single-stage sorting, two stages of grinding, and a carbon-in-take recovery circuit. To minimize capital expenditures and operational risks, we have utilized contract mining and third-party power generation in this study. While this study does not assess potential expansion opportunities, we have preserved the optionality for future expansion by incorporating expansion considerations into the designs and layouts. The economics of the study are strong, and we recorded an after-tax NPV (5%) of $1.1 billion, an IRR of 27.8%, and a 2.7-year payback, all at a $2,500 per ounce gold price.

At a gold price that's closer to spot, we use $3,300 per ounce gold price, and the after-tax NPV (5%) at the same discount rate is $2.2 billion at that gold price, with an IRR of 44.7% and a payback of 1.7 years. After-tax free cash flow at the $2,500 gold price is $1.6 billion for the first 15 years of commercial operations. All-in sustaining costs were estimated to be just under $1,450 per ounce for the first 15 years of the project and just under $1,500 per ounce for years 1 through 30. For additional information on the feasibility study results, I invite you to refer to our news release dated July 29, 2025, and the feasibility study presentation, both of which can be found on our company website. Changing topics, during the second quarter, we maintained our focus on safety, environmental stewardship, and stakeholder interests.

Mt Todd achieved zero lost time accidents, and as I reported, has now achieved almost 1,370 days without a workplace incident. We remain committed to our health and safety programs and are focused on building on this achievement. Site personnel continue to successfully manage Mt Todd's environmental initiatives, and management continued its proactive engagement with the Jawlin Association Aboriginal Corporation and other key stakeholders. Looking forward, we believe the results of the study demonstrate a very attractive development opportunity for Mt Todd. It positions Mt Todd as a project with technical and economic parameters that are comparable to several highly valued Australian gold producers. We continue to focus on advancing Mt Todd in ways that demonstrate the underlying value of the project and position it for near-term development.

We believe the results of the feasibility study position Mt Todd as one of the most attractive development-stage projects in the gold sector. In conclusion, Vista Gold Corp. is committed to seeing Mt Todd developed in compliance with the highest mining and ESG standards and will work diligently toward that goal. For a more comprehensive review of the work completed by Vista Gold Corp. on the Mt Todd project, I refer you to our corporate presentation, which can be found on our website at www.vistagold.com. We believe that Vista Gold Corp. represents an exceptional investment opportunity and that current prices represent a tremendous opportunity to establish a position or increase one's holding in Vista Gold Corp. This concludes our formal remarks, and we will now respond to any questions from participants on the call.

Speaker 4

Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Should you have any questions, please press star followed by the number one on your touchstone phone. You will hear a prompt that your hand has been raised. Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press star followed by the number two. If you are using a speakerphone, please make sure to lift your hands up before pressing any keys. One moment while we prepare the Q&A roster. Ladies and gentlemen, again, if you would like to ask a question, please press star followed by the number one on your touchstone phone. If you are using a speakerphone, make sure to lift your hands up before pressing any keys. Your first question comes from the line of Matthew Gianelli, a private investor. Please go ahead.

Speaker 3

Thank you for taking the time out to talk with us. I just had a question. Let's say you do decide to finance the project through a lender or participate in a joint venture. What would you do? Do you guys have any idea what you guys would do with the profits? Would you use it to expand operations or do you just intend to distribute the funds through dividends? I'm just curious to hear what your thoughts are on that.

Speaker 2

Matthew, thank you for that question. That's a very important question, and certainly, it's not possible at this point in time to give a definitive answer to your question. We did indicate that the project has been designed with a long life. Presently, it will preserve the opportunity for expansion. Whether an expansion would happen or at what scale that expansion would happen would depend on the economics at the time. I believe that there would be, at all times, a part of the profits that would be returned to investors. We feel very strongly that investors deserve a return. Whether all of those profits will be returned to shareholders or whether we'll be seeking opportunities at that stage in the life of the company to make other acquisitions or expand Mt Todd will be determined based on market factors at the time.

I would feel comfortable saying that the board would place a high priority on returning part of the profits that are generated back to shareholders in the form of dividends.

Speaker 3

Thank you. Can you still hear me? I just had a follow-up question on that. This is a quick question. Would you be able to tell us if you had any increased interest from investors or signed any new confidentiality agreements?

Speaker 2

We don't disclose who we've signed the confidentiality agreements with, but I can say that we have signed new confidentiality agreements in the last several months. Doug Tobler and I were in Australia last week for a conference called Diggers and Dealers, and we met with a number of potential partners or transaction partners, and there will be additional confidentiality agreements signed as a result of our participation in that conference.

Speaker 3

Awesome. Thank you.

Speaker 4

Ladies and gentlemen, as a reminder, for questions, hit star one, and if you'd like to review your question, hit star two. Your next question comes from the line of Tony Serdaun, private investor. Please go ahead.

Speaker 0

Hey guys, I appreciate you holding this call here. We're very excited about the future with Vista Gold Corp. Kind of piggybacking on the last question, on the second part there, in terms of the confidentiality agreements you guys have recently signed and have upcoming, what counterparties are showing the most interest in the Mt Todd Gold Project? Strategic miners, private equity, or any additional royalty companies? How are you evaluating potential joint ventures versus M&A options in the current environment? I mean, gold is really soaring here, so it'd be interesting to hear more on this.

Speaker 2

Yeah, and I might ask Doug Tobler to comment when I finish, but the confidentiality agreements have been signed with strategic investors right now, other producing mining companies. We view the M&A space right now as a very interesting space. We've been facing a little bit of headwind over the last several years with producers being more interested in merging or acquiring other producers than looking at development-stage assets. We think that we see some changes happening in that space with regards to whether we would pursue a joint venture, an asset level or corporate level sale of the project and the company, or whether we would ultimately decide to develop Mt Todd on our own. Our decisions that will be made at some point in the future. At this time, our focus is on raising awareness of the Mt Todd project.

With this new evaluation, the value of the project in particular is very strong. We think that this is a great selling point for the project at this point in time. The economics at conservative gold prices are very, very solid. Right now, we're focused on meeting, talking with, increasing the understanding of a wide group of potential partners. Once we have confidentiality agreements signed, beginning that process of due diligence. Ultimately, we hope that many of these will lead to site visits and further serious discussions. Doug, anything that you would add to that?

Speaker 1

I guess the only thing I'd emphasize is, at this point in time, we're open to any of these alternatives. It all hinges around what's the most proximate and the best value for our shareholders. You know, if somebody comes in and wants to do a joint venture, we're not going to say no if they also bring to the table the right types of skill sets in terms of development, putting the asset online quickly, and so forth. A similar company might come in and say, "We don't want to do a joint venture. We'd be interested in owning the whole thing." We're going to be open to that as well because that might generate a more rapid realization of value for shareholders. We're not closing the door on any of these options at this point in time.

Speaker 3

Well said.

Speaker 0

All right. Perfect. Thank you, guys. I appreciate it and send positive energy to the team.

Speaker 3

Thank you.

Speaker 4

Thanks, Tony. Thank you very much. If there are no further questions at this time, I'd like to turn the call back over to Mr. Frederick H. Earnest for closing comments. Please go ahead.

Speaker 2

Constantine, thank you. All of you who have been on the call today, thank you very much for taking time out of your morning or early afternoons to join us. We're very excited about the future for Vista Gold Corp. and the Mt Todd Gold Project. Very pleased with the results of the feasibility study that were announced last month. Again, I just highlight a couple of key achievements of the study. The significant reduction in initial capital expense is monumental. The improvement in gold reserve grades that's come about as a result of raising the cutoff grade was another significant target for this study. Very happy with the economics of the study at close to current gold price, $2.2 billion after-tax NPV (5%) and almost 45% IRR. We're very pleased with those numbers.

I think they speak to the strong leverage that we continue to enjoy with regards to the Mt Todd Gold Project, and it speaks to the robustness of the project. I'm very pleased with these results. I can't give enough thanks and acknowledgment to the team that has worked on this feasibility study. We're very happy with the contributions of all of the consultants and the Australia-centric experience that many of them bring and have brought to this study. Maria Vallejo, our Director of Projects and Technical Services, has done, I feel, an exceptional job in managing this study. I'm very, very thankful for her efforts in shepherding this study to this positive result. I'm very optimistic about the future of Vista Gold Corp. and the Mt Todd Project. I invite all of you to follow closely. We will be attending some conferences in the next month.

We're very excited for additional opportunities to sit down and meet with the companies that we may have already signed agreements or confidentiality agreements with or that we believe would potentially be interested in the Mt Todd Project. We invite you to follow us. We thank you for your time today, and we wish all of you a very pleasant day. With that, we'll close this call. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's conference call. Thank you very much for your participation. You may now disconnect.