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Mineral Properties | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2016
Mineral Properties [Abstract] |
Mineral Properties | 4. Mineral Properties
|  | At December 31, 2016 |  | At December 31, 2015 |
Mt Todd, Australia |  | $ | 2,146 |  | $ | 2,146 |
Guadalupe de los Reyes, Mexico |  |  | 1,728 |  |  | 1,728 |
|  | $ | 3,874 |  | $ | 3,874 |
Guadalupe de los Reyes During April 2014, Minera Gold Stake S.A. de C.V. (“MGS”), Vista’s wholly-owned subsidiary, entered into a definitive option agreement (the “Option Agreement”) to option a 70% interest in the Guadalupe de los Reyes gold/silver project in Sinaloa, Mexico to Great Panther Silver Limited (formerly Cangold Limited) (“Great Panther”) for consideration of $5,000 in five payments over a three-year period, with payments totaling $1,000 in the first year ($500 received in 2014 and $496 net of legal costs was received in March 2015), $1,500 due in February 2016 (postponed from January 2016) and $2,500 due in January 2017. The Option Agreement provided that all cash payments are non-refundable and optional to Great Panther, and in the event Great Panther failed to pay any of the required amounts on the scheduled dates or failed to comply with its other obligations, the Option Agreement would terminate and Great Panther would have no interest in the Guadalupe de los Reyes gold/silver project. On February 25, 2016 Vista received notification from Great Panther that it was terminating the Option Agreement and the $1,500 option payment due in February 2016 was not made. Pursuant to the terms of the Option Agreement, Vista retains all amounts already paid by Great Panther and 100% of the Guadalupe de los Reyes gold/silver project. Although the termination of the Option Agreement indicates the potential for impairment of the carrying value of Guadalupe de los Reyes mineral property, our review has concluded that the $1,728 carrying value should not be impaired considering the quantity of mineral resources contained in the concessions, and the strategic value that these resources represent. Los Cardones In October 2013, we sold our 100% debt and equity participation in the Los Cardones gold project located in Baja California Sur, Mexico (“Los Cardones Sale”) to Invecture and RPG Structrued Finance S.a.R.L. (the “Purchasers”) for a total of $13,000 ($7,000 of which was paid in October 2013 and $6,000 was originally payable January 2014 (the “Subsequent Payment”) subject to the Purchasers’ option to elect to not make the Subsequent Payment). In 2014, the due date for the Subsequent Payment was extended to January 30, 2015 for additional consideration of $500. In October 2014, Invecture announced that the Los Cardones gold project, had been suspended because the conditions for its development were not favorable at that time, which introduced substantial doubt that the Subsequent Payment would be made. After making this announcement, there were no apparent significant favorable changes to incentivize Invecture to lift the suspension. In January 2015, we agreed to amend the payment terms (the “Amendment”) of the Los Cardones Sale. Under the Amendment, t he Company received a payment of $2,994 net of legal costs from the Purchasers as final payment for 100% of the Company’s interest in the project. This resulted in a realized gain of approximately $1,958. Long V alley We acquired the Long Valley gold project in 2003. During 2014, we completed a review of the permitting process and probable impediments to developing the project, and concluded that the permitting process could consume significant resources and last for a protracted period of time. Accordingly, we do not plan to advance this project in the foreseeable future. As a result, an impairment amount equal to the $750 carrying value has been included in our Consolidated Statements of Income/(Loss) and Comprehensive Income/(Loss) for the year ended December 31, 2014. Utah Claims During 2016 we sold unpatented mining claims located in Utah for $150 and a 2% net smelter return royalty on any future production from said claims. This resulted in a realized gain of $150.

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