NOVAGOLD Announces Appointment of New Director

Company Overview - NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. has appointed Ali Erfan to its Board of Directors, filling the vacancy left by Diane Garrett's departure [1][2] - Ali Erfan is a long-standing Vice-Chairman of The Electrum Group, which is NOVAGOLD's largest shareholder and a leader in precious metals mining [2] - The company is focused on the development of the Donlin Gold project in Alaska, which is recognized as one of the largest and highest-grade open-pit gold deposits globally [4] Board Member Background - Mr. Erfan has extensive experience in capital markets and has been with Electrum since 2007, contributing to significant investments in the mining sector [2] - He was a founding board member of Leor Energy, which was sold to Encana for $2.6 billion in 2007 [2] - His previous roles include being a senior partner at 3i Group plc and involvement in several early-stage technology companies that achieved successful IPOs and M&A exits [3] Donlin Gold Project Details - The Donlin Gold project has approximately 39 million ounces of gold in the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource categories, with Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves of 541 million tonnes at an average grade of approximately 2.24 grams per tonne [4][7] - Once in production, the project is expected to produce over one million ounces of gold annually over a mine life of 27 years [4] - The project possesses Proven Reserves of approximately 8 million tonnes grading 2.32 grams per tonne and Probable Reserves of approximately 497 million tonnes grading 2.08 grams per tonne [8]