NovaGold Strongly Endorses Barrick's Comments on the Donlin Gold Project
September 9, 2011 - Vancouver, British Columbia - NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE-AMEX: NG, TSX:NG) During its Investor Day, which took place on September
7, 2011, Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick���) expressed its view
of the Donlin Gold Project ("Donlin
Gold���) located in
Alaska. Donlin Gold is owned equally by a
wholly-owned subsidiary of NovaGold Resources Inc.
("NovaGold��� or "the Company���) and a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Barrick. NovaGold
strongly endorses Barrick's stated position regarding
Donlin Gold. In highlighting Donlin
Gold, Barrick emphasized the following:
- Donlin Gold
is one of the world's largest undeveloped gold deposits and among the
premier projects in Barrick's portfolio;
- Donlin Gold
is located in the United States, one of the world's safest geo-political
jurisdictions and one in which Donlin Gold is
well equipped to permit;
- Over the last five years, Donlin Gold's mineral endowment has more than doubled;
- Donlin Gold
has the potential for a mine life of over 25 years on the basis of present
mineral endowment, with significant exploration upside to extend the mine
life;
- With 38 million ounces of gold
resources already identified (See the attached Appendix for details),
the deposit remains open at depth as well as to the north and east with
strong surface anomalies extending for an additional five kilometers along
strike;
- Building a gas pipeline,
expected to cost approximately US$1 billion, would result in lower power
costs than in a diesel option, and provides the Project with an
environmentally sound, long-term socially responsible alternative;
- The revised feasibility study,
including the natural gas pipeline, is expected to be completed before the
end of the year;
- Permitting is expected to begin
in the first half of 2012.
"With the potential to produce well over a
million ounces of gold a year from one of the safest mining jurisdictions, Donlin Gold is among the most important gold development
projects in the world today. We are pleased that our partner Barrick's presentation highlights this profile. The fact
that the headline capital increase from US$4.5 billion to US$6 billion is
in-line with other projects being developed by Barrick
and other major producers is most encouraging. It should also be recognized
that with the increase in the price of gold from approximately US$900/oz in 2009 when the previous study was conducted, to
US$1,800/oz now, the value of the 38 million ounce
gold resource has increased substantially,��� said Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, NovaGold's President and CEO. "From that standpoint,
the increase in the projected capital cost represents a fraction of the
increase in the intrinsic value of the gold endowment at Donlin
Gold, without regard to the potential expansion of the resource that Barrick referenced. The addition of the gas pipeline is
especially good news, as we believe this will add long-term benefits to the Project.���
Barrick's view on the future development of Donlin Gold
comes on the heels of the successful completion of the Company's Prefeasibility
Study on its 50%-owned Galore Creek project located in northwestern British
Columbia, which the Company announced on July 27, 2011, and the positive PEA on
the wholly-owned Ambler project, which was announced on April 14, 2011. NovaGold believes that the escalating copper price
environment and the increasing value of its copper assets provide a natural
hedge against rising capital and input costs for its projects and indeed should
underpin the share value of NovaGold. To this end, NovaGold retained J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and RBC
Capital Markets to explore various alternatives that could bridge the market
valuation gap for our copper holdings.
"The fact that Barrick
has expressed its desire to proceed with the permitting process to advance the
Project is a major plus for our company and our shareholders. We are proud to
be a partner of Barrick, a company with a solid
operating track record and financial strength,��� concluded Mr. Van Nieuwenhuyse. "We look forward to developing Donlin Gold into one of the largest and best gold mines in
the world.���
The technical information contained in this press
release was reviewed by Kevin Francis, SME Registered Member, VP, Resources for NovaGold and a
Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101.
About NovaGold
NovaGold is a precious metals company engaged in the exploration and development
of mineral properties located principally in Alaska, U.S.A. and British
Columbia, Canada. The Company is focused on advancing its two core properties, Donlin Gold and Galore Creek, with the objective of
becoming a low-cost, million-ounce-a-year gold producer, and offers superior
leverage to gold and copper with one of the largest mineral reserve and mineral
resource bases of any junior or mid-tier gold company. NovaGold
has a strong track record of expanding deposits through exploration success and
forging collaborative partnerships, both with local communities and with major
mining companies. The Donlin Gold project in Alaska,
one of the world's largest undeveloped gold deposits, is held by a limited
liability company owned equally by wholly-owned subsidiaries of NovaGold and Barrick Gold
Corporation. The Galore Creek project in British Columbia, a large copper-gold-silver
deposit, is held by a partnership owned equally by wholly-owned subsidiaries of
NovaGold and Teck Resources
Limited. NovaGold also owns a 100% interest in the
high-grade Ambler copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver deposit in northern Alaska and
has other earlier-stage exploration properties. NovaGold
trades on the TSX and NYSE-AMEX under the symbol NG. More information is
available at www.novagold.net or by emailing info@novagold.net.
# # #
NovaGold Contact
Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse
President & CEO
Greg Martin
Vice President, Business Development & Treasurer
604-669-6227 or 1-866-669-6227
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain
"forward-looking statements��� and "forward-looking information��� within the meaning of the applicable securities legislation industry
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements,
other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without
limitation, statements relating to NovaGold's future
operating or financial performance, are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words
such as "expects���, "anticipates���, "believes���, "intends���, "estimates���, "potential���, "possible���, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or
results "will���, "may���, "could���, or "should��� occur or be achieved. These forward-looking statements may include
statements regarding perceived merit of properties; exploration results and
budgets; mineral reserves and resource estimates; work programs; capital
expenditures; timelines; strategic plans; completion of transactions; market
prices for precious and base metals; or other statements that are not
statements of fact. Forward-looking statements involve various risks and
uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be
accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from
those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially from NovaGold's
expectations include the uncertainties involving the need for additional
financing to explore and develop properties and availability of financing in
the debt and capital markets; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of
drilling results and geological tests and the estimation of reserves and
resources; the need for continued cooperation with Barrick
and other third parties for development of the Donlin
Gold Project; the need for cooperation of government agencies and native groups
in the development and operation of properties; the need to obtain permits and
governmental approvals;; risks of construction and mining projects such as
accidents, equipment breakdowns, bad weather, non-compliance with environmental
and permit requirements, unanticipated variation in geological structures, ore
grades or recovery rates; unexpected cost increases, which could include
significant increases in estimated capital and operating costs; fluctuations in
metal prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties and risks regarding
permitting for the Project and permitting and construction of the proposed
natural gas pipeline and other risk and uncertainties disclosed in NovaGold's Annual Information Form for the year-ended
November 30, 2010, filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities,
and NovaGold's annual report on Form 40-F filed with
the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and in other NovaGold reports and documents filed with applicable
securities regulatory authorities from time to time. NovaGold's
forward-looking statements reflect the beliefs, opinions and projections on the
date the statements are made. NovaGold assumes no obligation
to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or
other factors, should they change.
Cautionary Note Regarding Reserve and Resource
Estimates
This press release has been prepared in accordance
with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ
from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all
resource and reserve estimates included in this press release have been
prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure
for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101��) and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum
Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. NI 43-101 is a
rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes
standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical
information concerning mineral projects. Canadian standards, including NI
43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission ("SEC���), and resource and reserve information contained herein may not be
comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular,
and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the term "resource��� does not equate to the term "reserves���. Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve��� unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be
economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve
determination is made. The SEC's disclosure standards normally do not permit
the inclusion of information concerning "measured mineral resources���, "indicated mineral resources��� or "inferred mineral resources��� or other descriptions of the amount of mineralization in mineral
deposits that do not constitute "reserves��� by U.S. standards in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors
should also understand that "inferred mineral resources��� have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great
uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed
that all or any part of an "inferred mineral resource��� will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules,
estimated "inferred mineral resources��� may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies except
in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an
"inferred mineral resource��� exists or is economically or legally mineable. Disclosure of
"contained ounces��� in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations;
however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that
does not constitute "reserves��� by SEC standards as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit
measures. The requirements of NI 43-101 for identification of "reserves��� are also not the same as those of the SEC, and reserves reported by the
Company in compliance with NI 43-101 may not qualify as "reserves��� under SEC standards. Accordingly, information concerning mineral
deposits set forth herein may not be comparable with information made public by
companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards.