Agreement On Next Steps Toward Advancement Of Donlin Gold

ANCHORAGE, AK - Donlin Gold LLC, owned 50/50 by Barrick Gold Corporation, and NovaGold Resources Inc. reported on progress made during the executive management workshop and site visit in early September between senior representatives from Barrick and NovaGold, as well as the Donlin Gold management team.

The 2021 drill program was completed in September with 79 holes drilled for a total of 24,264 meters. To date, Donlin Gold has reported assays for 36 complete holes and 22 partial holes, encompassing 15,700 meters of length drilled. The last core was logged in mid-October with final samples sent off site to laboratories for further processing. The camp was closed at the end of October and is expected to reopen in January 2022 for a winter drill program. Final results from the 2021 drill program are expected to be disclosed in 2022.

The primary objective of the 2021 drill program was to complete the work necessary to validate and increase confidence in recent geologic modeling concepts to support future feasibility work. The logging and assay results will be incorporated into a geologic model update, followed by a shift in focus to feasibility study work, subject to a formal decision by the Donlin Gold Board.

Barrick President and Chief Executive, Mark Bristow said, “Getting together in Alaska, visiting the Donlin project site and sitting down with stakeholders drove home the significance and importance of Donlin to both partners. We have a unique opportunity to progress a world-class project in both a jurisdiction and with local partners that recognize the contribution such an asset can bring to the lives of future generations of Alaskans. Our priority is to do that responsibly and sustainably and it is an illustration of Barrick’s and NovaGold’s strong partnership that we were able to have such a productive workshop and come away with next steps to move the project forward.”

Greg Lang, NovaGold’s President and CEO, said, “The successfully concluded site visit and the meetings that followed with our Alaskan constituencies provided an excellent lead-in to Barrick’s and NovaGold’s onward progression for the Donlin Gold project. The identification of key work plans represents a most welcome and important achievement in taking Donlin Gold up the value chain and is the natural extension of confirmation work carried out with our partners at Barrick, which includes the recently completed drill campaign. This campaign is not only yielding high-grade intercepts in the future open-pit areas; Donlin Gold’s 2021 drill program is producing some of the best drill results seen lately in the gold mining industry, from juniors to majors. I’m sure I speak for both Barrick and NovaGold when I say we are grateful to our local and state partners, who have worked with us to reach these important milestones.”