Greg Lang and Sharon Dowdall
Join the Board of Directors of NovaGold
April 18,
2012 - Vancouver, British Columbia - NovaGold Resources Inc. (TSX, NYSE-AMEX: NG) ("NovaGold��� or "the Company���)
is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr.
Gregory A. Lang and Ms. Sharon Dowdall to NovaGold's Board of Directors, effective immediately.
Mr. Lang is NovaGold's President
and Chief Executive Officer. He has over 30 years of
diverse experience in mine operations,
project development, and evaluations. Prior to joining NovaGold earlier in 2012, he served
as President of Barrick
Gold of North America, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick
Gold���), the largest gold producer in the world. In that capacity, Mr. Lang had executive responsibility for Barrick Gold's nine operations in the United
States, Canada and the Dominican Republic,
including the Donlin Gold project, equally owned by wholly-owned subsidiaries of NovaGold and Barrick Gold. Prior to Barrick
Gold, Mr. Lang served in senior executive
positions with Homestake Mining Company and International
Corona Corporation, both now
part of Barrick Gold. He holds
a Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla and is a Graduate of the Stanford University Executive Program.
In her 30-year career in the mining industry, Ms. Dowdall served in senior legal capacities for
Franco-Nevada Corporation ("Franco-Nevada���), a
major gold-focused royalty company; and Newmont Mining Corporation, one of the world's
largest gold producers. During her 20-year tenure as Chief Legal Officer
and Corporate Secretary with Franco-Nevada, Ms. Dowdall was one of the principals who transformed an industry pioneer into one of the most successful precious metals enterprises in the world.
Prior to joining Franco-Nevada, she
practiced law with a major Canadian legal firm specializing in natural resources. Ms. Dowdall is the recipient of the 2011 Canadian General Counsel
Award for Business Achievement.
She currently serves on several Boards of Canadian
exploration and development companies.
Ms. Dowdall holds a B.A. (Hons.) from the University of Calgary and an LL.B, from
Osgoode Hall at York University.
"On behalf of the Board of Directors, I would like to welcome both Sharon and Greg to the Board
of NovaGold,��� said Thomas Kaplan, Chairman of the Board.
"Greg is already leading NovaGold toward successful development of its flagship 50%-owned Donlin Gold project in Alaska. His exceptional track record of building some of
the largest gold mines in the world, on budget and on
time, is particularly
important for the Company as it
advances Donlin Gold up the
value chain. Sharon's
extensive experience in building significant
shareholder value at
Franco-Nevada is also highly fitting for NovaGold, where we deeply share
Franco-Nevada's well-documented
philosophy and practice of wealth
creation.���
About
NovaGold
NovaGold is
a precious metals company engaged in the
exploration and development of mineral
properties primarily in
Alaska, U.S. and British Columbia, Canada. The Company
is focused on advancing its 50%-owned flagship property, Donlin Gold, one of the
world's largest known undeveloped gold deposits, which offers superior leverage to gold. NovaGold is also committed
to maximizing value of its
non-core assets and is currently exploring
opportunities to sell all
or part of the Company's interest
in the Galore Creek copper-gold-silver project in British Columbia,
Canada. NovaGold has a strong
track record of forging
collaborative partnerships, both
with local communities and with major mining companies.
NovaGold Contact
M�lanie Hennessey
Vice President, Corporate
Communications
Ariadna D. Peretz
Analyst, Investor Relations
604-669-6227
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