Aurvista Completes Detailed Targeting, to Commence Core Drilling Program

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Dec 12, 2016) - Aurvista Gold Corp. ("Aurvista" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:AVA)(OTC PINK:ARVSF)(FRANKFURT:AV2) is pleased to announce the completion of the Phase 1 Detailed Targeting Program (the "Phase 1 Program") on the Douay Gold Project ("Douay") which started in June 2016 and previously reported in Company news releases. At this time, Aurvista continues compiling and interpreting all of the geological, geochemical, assay and geophysical databases that will eventually be used in constructing a 3-D model of the gold mineralization at Douay slated for completion in Q1-2017.

In addition, the Company finalized the priority targeting of an initial 7 core drill holes totaling 3,700 meters of the Phase 2 drilling campaign. Targets were selected on the basis of their potential to prove up new and additional higher grade gold mineralization in the Douay West - Northwest - Adam Porphyry - Central Zones sector.

Highlights of the Phase 1 Program include:

Re-logging of 300 historic core drill holes totaling 98,135 meters from all 28 of the planned N-S Douay-wide sections, as well as additional holes from the mineralized zones. These sections included the 11 known gold zones that included the "Main", "Douay West", "NW", "10", "Central", "531", "Adam-Porphyry", "Central", "Main Porphyry", "South Porphyry" and "Contact" zones, as well as non-mineralized segments for stratigraphic correlation. To date, half of the 28 sections have been compiled and interpreted using the re-logged drill holes, the known mineralization corridors and the new geology.

A total of 4,000 samples have been taken from re-logged and un-analyzed mineralized drill cores, and have been shipped to the ALS Group Laboratory in Val-d'Or (Quebec) for gold-copper-zinc assay, whole-rock analyses of major and trace oxides, rare earth and trace elements analysis. In addition, the drill core was analyzed geochemically using a hand-held XRF with more than 27,000 readings taken at 3-meter core intervals. A total of 895 individual drill core samples were taken for control analysis of the XRF readings, and will be analyzed for the same elements as the drill core assay samples. Some 178,000 readings were taken at 0.5-meter core intervals to measure the magnetic susceptibility and conductivity of drill core as part of the field validation of EM-INPUT™ and airborne TDEM conductors.

Some 205 rock samples were taken for petrographic work for rock type identification. The various minerals identified permitted the classification of 5 major rock types such as basalts, cherts, clastic sediments, felsic to intermediate volcanic breccias and lavas, as well as a magnetite-rich "iron formation"; sericite, carbonate and quartz alteration assemblages; and micro-fracturing in brittle rocks hosting narrow veinlets of quartz-carbonate with pyrite and disseminated pyrite along sericite foliation planes, both of which are associated with higher gold values generally above 5 g/t gold over multi-metric intervals. Fractured syenites containing fine fracture filling pyrite in addition to disseminated pyrite, encompassing altered basalt fragment and magnetite-rich "iron formation" contains 100 ppb to 1 g/t gold over decametric to hectometric intervals.

Aurvista also initiated a Douay-wide field mapping campaign, primarily focused on an E-W trending corridor within the western extension of the now defined 10 km by 3 km Adam Creek Gold Deposit, that encompasses the former Douay-Style Mineralization sector containing the higher and lower grade gold zones associated with the nine individual E-W shear zones and three subparallel structural domains. A total of 58 grab samples were taken west of the deposit for gold-copper-zinc assay, whole-rock analyses of major and trace oxides, rare earth and trace elements.

About AurVista Gold Corp.

Aurvista Gold Corp. is a junior gold exploration and development Company with 130,689,121 shares outstanding trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and OTC Pink Sheets in the US. Aurvista's only asset is the Douay Gold Project, consisting of a 100% owned interest in 250 contiguous claims totaling 133.1 km2, plus a 90% interest in 5 contiguous claims totaling 0.2 km2 and a 75% interest (25% held by SOQUEM) in 32 contiguous claims totaling 11.9 km2. In total there are 287 claims covering 145.3 km2 located along a 20 km segment of the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone in the prolific Abitibi Belt of northern Quebec. Douay is located 40 km SW of the Matagami Zinc Base Metal Camp and 150 km N of the Val-d'Or-Malartic Gold Camp (both in Quebec).

In August, 2012, Aurvista updated the Mineral Resources estimates that included all drilling completed to the end of March 2012, for the now termed Adam Creek Gold Deposit. The deposit contains Mineral Resources estimates of 2.7 million tonnes of Indicated Resources at 2.76 g/t gold for 238,000 ounces (above a 0.3 g/t gold cut-off grade) or 2.5 million tonnes grading 2.98 g/t gold (at a 0.5 g/t gold cut-off grade) for 235,500 ounces. There were additional Inferred Resources of 115 million tonnes at 0.75 g/t gold for 2.75 million ounces (above a 0.3 g/t gold cut-off grade) or 62 million tonnes grading 1.06 g/t gold for 2.1 million ounces (above a 0.5 g/t cut-off grade). Details can be viewed on the Company's website at www.aurvistagold.com.

The technical contents in this news release have approved by Mr. Jean Lafleur, M. Sc., P. Geo., President and CEO for Aurvista Gold Corp., a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS PRESS RELEASE.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on assumptions, uncertainties and management's best estimate of future events. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations and projections. Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. When used herein, words such as "anticipate", "will", "intend" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. For a more detailed discussion of such risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, refer to Aurvista Gold Corp.'s filings with Canadian securities regulators available on www.sedar.com or the Company's website at www.aurvistagold.com.

Contact

Aurvista Gold Corp.
Mr. Jean Lafleur, P. Geo.
President and CEO, Director
Cell: +1 514 927 3633
Aurvista Gold Corp.
Mr. Keith C Minty, P. Eng., MBA
Chief Operating Officer
+1 416 682 2671
www.aurvistagold.com