NOVAGOLD Advances Donlin Gold Permitting Past the Halfway Mark, Strengthens Partnerships and Forges Alliance with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Oct. 7, 2014) – NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. (TSX:NG)(NYSE MKT:NG) today released its third quarter financial results and updates for its flagship 50%-owned Donlin Gold project in Alaska and its 50%-owned Galore Creek copper-gold-silver project in British Columbia.

Details of the financial results for the three and nine months ended August 31, 2014 are presented in the consolidated financial statements and quarterly report filed on Form 10-Q with the SEC that will be available on the Company’s website at www.novagold.com, on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov. All amounts are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated and all resource and reserve estimates are shown on a 100% project basis.

In the third quarter 2014, NOVAGOLD:

• Continued to advance the Donlin Gold permitting process by compiling and submitting all of the outstanding environmental data and analysis to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”), the lead agency for the Donlin Gold EIS
• Launched a collaborative effort with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to protect, conserve and restore Alaska’s fish and wildlife
• Secured an extension of the Donlin Gold Surface Use Agreement with The Kuskokwim Corporation (TKC) which now coincides with the terms of Calista Corporation’s Exploration and Mining Lease and covers the entire projected mine life
• Visited 26 villages and fish camps year-to-date, as part of the Donlin Gold team’s active involvement with the communities of the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) region, where the project is located
• Continued to evaluate, together with its partner Teck Resources Limited, different scenarios for the advancement of the Galore Creek project

President’s Message

The permitting of Donlin Gold advanced past the halfway mark during the last quarter. The process remains on schedule and on budget. Activities during the quarter were mainly focused on the preliminary draft EIS. Outstanding environmental baseline data and analysis, required to complete the preliminary draft EIS, were compiled and provided to the Corps. Once complete, the agencies will review the preliminary draft EIS and provide input which will then be considered and incorporated by the Corps into the draft EIS. The draft EIS is on schedule to be issued for public comment in 2015. The EIS is in large part the determining factor in the overall permitting timeline which, for Donlin Gold, commenced in 2012 and is anticipated to take a total of approximately four years to complete. Donlin Gold continues to work simultaneously with the other permitting agencies on additional major permit applications, such as air quality, water discharge and usage, gas pipeline, rights of way, wetlands and dam safety. It is hard to fully appreciate the amount of work which goes into permitting a large project such as Donlin Gold. Our significant achievement to-date is a testament to great professionalism and hard work and dedication from our group. I am very proud of the headway we have made so far.

As we progress through permitting and move closer to a construction decision, the Donlin Gold project owners are looking to optimize the project by evaluating development scenarios and capital cost sharing opportunities with third-party gas pipeline, power plant and/or port facilities owner-operators. Prior to making a construction decision, we expect to update the operating and capital costs, input parameters and underlying assumptions in the Donlin Gold Second Updated Feasibility Study which was published three years ago.

At the beginning of the third quarter, we announced that Donlin Gold LLC and TKC had reached an updated long-term Surface Use Agreement for the Donlin Gold project. This agreement has been extended to coincide with the term of the Exploration and Mining Lease with Calista Corporation and applies for the entire operating life of the project. This agreement represents an important milestone in the advancement of Donlin Gold toward development and production. It provides direct compensation to TKC through payments for project milestones, annual surface use and mine operation. The agreement includes a coordinated and consultative approach between Donlin Gold and TKC regarding annual project and reclamation planning as well as preparation of a subsistence harvest plan for affected surface lands. Furthermore, it gives preference to TKC for contracts, hiring and training TKC shareholders, as well as funding scholarships and working with federal, state and local entities to help create and fund a training facility in the region. Lastly, the agreement commits to an exclusive contract with TKC for the construction and operation of an upriver port site. During the third quarter, the Donlin Gold team, the Calista Corporation, and TKC held the first meeting of the Donlin Advisory Technical Review and Oversight Committee which will meet quarterly throughout the project life. We truly appreciate our partnership with the Alaska Native Corporations and look forward to a prosperous future for all stakeholders.

Beyond permitting and the extension of the Surface Use Agreement in 2014, we announced that we have partnered with and are investing in the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Alaska Fish and Wildlife Fund conservation initiative designed to protect, conserve and restore fish and wildlife in Alaska. Some of the proposed projects and locally-led efforts will be in the Y-K region where the Donlin Gold project is located. The program will integrate NFWF’s expertise with Donlin Gold’s wealth of baseline data and the regional experience and ecological knowledge of Native Alaskans to enhance fish and wildlife in Alaska for many years to come. This unprecedented alliance is based on both organizations’ unwavering commitment to protect fish and wildlife in Alaska.

In looking at a recent study, we were not surprised to learn that the timeline to bring new discoveries to production had more than doubled, from eight to 18 years. This statistic, projected against the backdrop of very few new discoveries and cancelled or shelved projects, reinforces the notion that high-quality deposits such as Donlin Gold are truly rare. In terms of size, with 39 million ounces of gold resources in measured and indicated category with grade averaging 2.2 grams per tonne, Donlin Gold is in the top 1% of global assets. Its production profile, expected to average greater than one million ounces of gold per year for the life of mine, would be among the largest in the gold industry. Furthermore, Alaska, as the second largest gold-producing state in the U.S., has substantial jurisdictional appeal as a place with a well-established rule of law. Furthermore, the project’s significant exploration potential, manifested by the fact that its current mineral endowment covers only three kilometers of the eight-kilometer-long mineralized corridor, provides sufficient indication that Donlin Gold, once built, should provide tremendous economic benefits to its stakeholders for many decades to come. All these attributes make NOVAGOLD a truly institutional quality investment.

At Galore Creek, the focus in 2014 is to incorporate the drilling results from the 2012 and 2013 programs, including the discovery of the Legacy zone, into a model to advance mine planning and project design. As a follow-up to the workshops conducted in the second quarter, activities in the third quarter focused on narrowing down possible scenarios for an integrated mining, waste disposal and water management plan. We expect this effort to further improve the value and marketability of the Galore Creek project. We continue to look at ways to monetize our share of this project to strengthen our balance sheet and focus primarily on the advancement of Donlin Gold.

NOVAGOLD with the help of Donlin Gold LLC and Galore Creek Mining Company, remains actively engaged in forming partnerships, sponsorship activities at the community level, supporting local youth in leadership endeavors, visiting communities in the region where the projects are located and evaluating ways to enhance opportunities for these regions. Year to date, the Donlin Gold team has visited a total of 26 villages and fish camps in the Y-K region. The village visits included project updates to the communities in English and Yup’ik, as well as school visits to speak to students about education, training, future employment opportunities and overall workforce development needs. The annual fish camp visits form an integral part of our partnership with the State of Alaska and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation in the Kids Don’t Float Campaign, where the Donlin Gold team helps raise safety awareness at the beginning of the fishing season and distributes personal flotation devices to the community. At Galore Creek, we remain active in community undertakings, sponsoring local fundraising events, supporting Tahltan literacy camps, as well as providing assistance and funding for research on the Tahltan language dictionary.

Due to careful management of our financial resources, at the end of the third quarter we had over $170 million in cash and term deposits, representing sufficient cash to execute on our objectives to permit the Donlin Gold project, continue to enhance the value of Galore Creek and meet our current financial obligations.

As always, we are thankful for the guidance provided by our Board of Directors, along with the dedication of our employees and project teams in advancing, de-risking and enhancing the value of both the Donlin Gold and Galore Creek projects. Most importantly, we are forever grateful for the continued interest and support of our shareholders, as well as governments, Native Corporations and First Nations communities of the jurisdictions in which we operate.

Read more: http://novagold.mwnewsroom.com/press-releases/novagold-advances-donlin-gold-permitting-past-the-halfway-mark-strengthens-part-tsx-ng-201410070971692001