Novagold Files FY: 2025 Report; Landmark Transaction Positions Donlin Gold As The Next Generational Project Primed For Development.

Vancouver, Canada; January 2026: Novagold Resources Incorporation on 22nd January has filed its 2025 fiscal year-end report and provided an update on its Tier One gold development project, Donlin Gold, which is owned 60% by NOVAGOLD and 40% by DGH. Details of the financial results for the year ended November 30, 2025, are presented in the consolidated financial statements and annual report on Form 10-K filed on January 22, 2026.

As detailed in the above-mentioned filings, NOVAGOLD held approximately $115.1 million in cash and term deposits as of November 30, 2025, and reported net annual cash expenditures of $36.5 million — reflecting $22.5 million to fund NOVAGOLD’s share of the Donlin Gold project and $14.0 million in corporate general and administrative costs. This excludes consideration and closing costs paid to increase NOVAGOLD’s interest in Donlin Gold LLC to 60% and proceeds raised following the exercise of the public offering overallotment option on June 5, 2025.

As NOVAGOLD is a development-stage company with no production, the Company reported earnings of ($94.7) million and earnings per share of ($0.25) for the 2025 fiscal year, primarily due to a non-cash, non-recurring charge of $39.6 million related to warrants issued under a backstop commitment agreement announced during the second quarter as well as $9.0 million of higher Donlin Gold field expenses compared to the prior year. Excluding the impact of this one-time charge, NOVAGOLD’s results for fiscal year ended November 30, 2025 reflect higher expenditures at Donlin Gold due to the 2025 field program and ramp-up of activities to commence the BFS, while remaining in line with our total 2025 guidance, as adjusted during the third quarter to reflect higher corporate general and administrative costs at NOVAGOLD and a 60% Donlin Gold funding obligation commencing June 3, 2025, when NOVAGOLD’s interest in Donlin Gold increased to 60%.

President and CEO Gregory A. Lang has reiterated in his presidential address, that Donlin Gold Ushers in a New Era, Poised to Become the Largest Single Gold Mine in the United States. Further he stated that, “in 2025, NOVAGOLD and the Donlin Gold project had a transformative period marked by milestones that have fundamentally reshaped the Company’s trajectory. So much so that I am not exaggerating when I say that management is fully mobilised, operating with purpose-driven momentum to responsibly advance all project activities”.

President Lang has further asserted, “as most of you know, I was a Barrick Mining Corporation (Barrick) executive, having served for 25 years in multiple postings for Barrick and its predecessor companies across the world. My very last stint there was for 08 years as President of Barrick North America. Running the jewels in the company’s crown was a tremendous privilege. In my position, I was part of the team that tried to take over NOVAGOLD in 2006. We coveted it, regarding Donlin Gold as the best of the best in North America. We didn’t succeed in that first attempt, but my admiration for the asset only grew over time. After overseeing the building of the Cortez Hills Mine, looking at Donlin Gold, I candidly felt more and more that the potential for the project and its land package could be Carlin-like in its scale. Already with a great job, when the time came for me to consider a major change after approximately three decades of service, I knew that there was only one asset compelling enough for me to take that leap”.

Lang further revealed that in 2011, Gil Leathley and Igor Levental, with whom he had worked at Homestake, organised a meeting with Tom Kaplan, whose Electrum Group had rescued NOVAGOLD from bankruptcy and, much to Barrick’s chagrin, turned the company around quite spectacularly.

It was Tom and Greogry Lang who had collaborated immediately, had compared notes about all the attributes that made them perceive Donlin Gold’s traits that have enabled the company to become the single greatest gold development project in the world.

With the two distinct vantage points, Tom as the seasoned natural resources investor, and Lang himself as a miner who had successfully built and operated some of Barrick’s biggest mines, had found that both of them were perfectly in a camaraderie, able to complete each other’s sentences…even if his were considerably longer.

“Wanting NOVAGOLD’s extraordinary leverage at Donlin Gold, I agreed to join the Company as President and CEO if Tom would serve as Chairman. Tom, who hadn’t sat on a public company board for years, quipped that he would accept if I became CEO. That’s how it all came together in 2011” said Lang. While further adding to the resource, “with 2026 marking the 15th anniversary in our respective roles, I know I speak for Tom when I say that we could not be prouder of what has been achieved. Back then, Donlin Gold had not yet commenced permitting and more than a few had their doubts. We didn’t. Neither did Richard Williams, who joined us after having successfully brought Barrick’s Pueblo Viejo mine into production as Project Director. Richard summed up his feelings rather nicely to John Paulson’s analyst, Victor Flores, on the occasion of a site visit to Donlin Gold. Richard literally could have gone anywhere in the industry, yet when Victor asked what prompted him to join NOVAGOLD, Richard replied that he wanted to build what he believed would be the greatest gold mine in the world”.

“By this time, John Paulson was one of NOVAGOLD’s largest shareholders.  In fact, Victor had originally been sent by John to reconnoitre Donlin Gold a year or so earlier. Specifically, he had been tasked with verifying whether Tom’s top geologist, Dr. Larry Buchanan, could even remotely be right when submitting that he could see the potential for 80-100 million ounces in the 5% of the Donlin Gold land package that had been explored. Larry had even added to his assessment that, if anything, the geological setting suggested even greater upside: “the next Donlin could well be at Donlin.” Victor reported to John that he too could see that potential. John called Tom and the next day invested $100 million more. To this day, John Paulson has been our most loyal and longstanding ally. And we could not have been where we are today without him. Thank you, John. Sincerely. We couldn’t be more grateful”, Lang said.

It is noteworthy that, NOVAGOLD’s standout moment came on June 3, 2025[6] with the $1 billion landmark transaction for Barrick’s 50% interest, increasing the Company’s stake in Donlin Gold LLC from 50% to 60% and bringing on a new, fully aligned partner. Throughout the year, NOVAGOLD elevated the project’s profile and advanced initiatives for long-term, sustainable value creation, reinforcing Donlin Gold’s position as one of the world’s most important gold assets. With this strong foundation, and prime location in Alaska, already the second largest gold producing state in the United States, NOVAGOLD is poised to reach yet another critical turning point, the one that is expected to unlock its full potential, is the acquisition of a gold asset since Barrick’s own purchase in 1986 of its company maker: the Goldstrike Mine, on Nevada’s Carlin Trend.

Donlin Gold is now advancing at flank speed toward a construction decision for what is expected to become America’s largest single gold mine, at a particularly opportune moment for such a superlative to take on its fullest meaning. Subsequent to the transaction, NOVAGOLD further strengthened its financial position through a public offering that generated approximately $195.2 million in net proceeds, complemented by $64.4 million from a private placement completed in the second quarter, bringing aggregate financing to approximately $260 million. These funds enabled the Company to finance its share of the acquisition and conclude the year with a strong cash position of $115.1 million to support Donlin Gold’s continued advancement up the value chain.

Donlin Gold’s exceptional combination of scale, high-grade open-pit mineralisation, long mine life, low estimated operating costs, significant exploration upside, and a stable and predictable jurisdiction positions the project in a most exclusive class of global gold assets. With approximately 40 million ounces (4,00,00,000 Kg) of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources at an average grade of 2.22 grams per ton, more than twice the industry average, Donlin Gold already stands apart. Importantly, this resource base represents only a portion of a 08 kilometre mineralised trend that itself comprises less than 5% of the broader land package.

Given the limited exploration completed to date, significant potential remains for resource expansion. As part of the ongoing exploration strategy, Donlin Gold LLC continues to focus district-wide exploration planning towards growing existing resources and identifying new discoveries on the remainder of the property still unexplored systematically consistent with the company’s view of continuous unlocking value and advancing the project forward.

Transformation to Execution: Advancing the Next Phase of Development:

Against this backdrop of significant upside, 2025 marked a clear shift from transformation to execution. The Company advanced critical next steps towards development, including the issuance of RFPs for a BFS to leading engineering firms with the expertise required to design what is expected to be the largest single gold mine in the United States. Proposals were received in October, and a Prime Contractor is expected to be selected in the first quarter of 2026.

In addition to the Prime Contractor, RFPs have been issued to specialist contractors for the power plant, pipeline, and pressure oxidation and oxygen plant scopes of work which will be incorporated into the BFS. Once contractors are selected, a detailed timeline and budget for completion of the BFS will be established.

To support advancement of the BFS and move the project toward construction and ultimately commercial operation, management has identified key project requirements and commenced recruiting for critical positions. As part of this effort, Donlin Gold LLC has hired Frank Arcese as Project Director. Frank brings more than four decades of global project leadership, with deep experience executing large-scale mining capital projects in both the U.S. and internationally. Most recently, he served as Capital Projects Business Leader for North American mining operations at WSP Global Inc., an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Management (EPCM) firm. Previously, he served as Project Director on multiple large mining and power plant projects for Rio Tinto across the U.S., Mongolia, and Argentina, and  has extensive expertise in managing projects in remote environments, such as Teck Resource’s original Quebrada Blanca in Chile, BHP’s Escondida Phase 3 and SX-EW Plant in Chile, and recently Rio Tinto’s Rincon 3000 Lithium Project in Argentina where he set-up the project.

The Company retained Wood Group USA, Inc. (Wood) and Geosyntec Consultants International, Inc. (Geosyntec), unaffiliated third-party firms comprising mining experts, to update content in its previously filed “NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Donlin Gold Project, Alaska, USA”, with an effective date of June 1, 2021 (the “2021 Technical Report”), and the “S-K1300 Technical Report Summary on the Donlin Gold Project, Alaska, USA,” with an effective date of November 30, 2021 (the “2021 Technical Report Summary”).

Wood and Geosyntec’s Qualified Persons (QP’s) completed an exercise to update the reports with the latest information. Updated content in the new reports includes legal agreements, drill hole database, geologic model, mineral resource estimates, mine plan, mineral reserve estimates, production schedule, operating costs, capital costs, tax rates, long term gold price, and the economic analysis.

Additionally, work done on the property since 2021 with respect to exploration, drilling, permitting, and minor mine design changes as a result of recent permitting activities are summarized in the updated content. A data verification exercise was also completed by each Wood and Geosyntec QP co-authoring the report. This included an August and September 2025 site visit by six of the report QPs; review of the drill and assay data, geologic data, geologic model, and resource model; review of metallurgical test work; review of designs for processing and infrastructure, including minor design updates; update of capital and operating cost estimates utilizing a combination of cost indices and vendor quotations; and updated mine designs, production schedule, and economic analysis.

The Wood and Geosyntec review determined that there was no material change to the mineral resources or mineral reserves as increases in mining costs since the 2021 Technical Report were generally offset by the increase in the long-term gold price used in the study.

Furthermore, mine planning and resource conversion advanced through the completion of an 18,454-meter drill program that returned high-grade intercepts across multiple zones, including standout intervals of up to 26.22 g/t gold.

The work targeted three core objectives:

• grid drilling to refine mine planning parameters;

• in-pit exploration to strengthen geological modelling and resource conversion; and

• geotechnical drilling — covering pit wall stability and material site assessments, to inform the updated resource model, mine planning and assess sites for the planned port access road.

The program was successfully executed by a site team of approximately 80 locally hired staff and external contractors, with results providing critical inputs for engineering, mine planning, and resource modelling, hence representing a significant milestone toward completion of the BFS. Together, these accomplishments reflect both the momentum achieved and the Company’s disciplined approach, now rigorously focused on the next phase of value creation.

Driving Meaningful Engagement Across Government, Regional, and Stakeholder Levels:

Donlin Gold LLC has engaged extensively with communities, stakeholders, and government representatives across the Y-K region, Alaska, and Washington, D.C., supporting project development and permitting. Decades of outreach with 62 Y-K region communities have strengthened relationships, fostered knowledge sharing, reinforced the project’s social license, and built considerable trust. The Donlin Gold team remains committed to advancing the project responsibly through transparent and respectful engagement.

Supporting Communities, Culture, and Environmental Stewardship in the Y-K Region:

Throughout 2025, NOVAGOLD and Donlin Gold actively supported a wide range of programs and community events that fostered cultural preservation, strengthened stakeholder relationships, promoted economic and social well-being, and encouraged youth engagement across the Y-K region. These efforts included disaster recovery efforts with the Alaska Community Foundation following Typhoon Halong.

Maintaining Key Permits While Supporting Strong Regulatory Oversight:

In 2024, Donlin Gold submitted the preliminary design packages for the Dam Safety Certificates to ADNR. Comments from ADNR on these packages are anticipated in 2026. BGC Engineering has been appointed as the contractor for the Detailed Design Packages. The Detailed Design Packages are anticipated to be completed by the end of 2026/early 2027 with potential issuance of the Dam Safety Certificates in 2028.

On November 14, 2025, Donlin Gold welcomed the Alaska Supreme Court’s decision affirming the Department of Natural Resources’ issuance of the project’s water rights permits for the mine and the ROW for the state-owned lands portion of the proposed 316-mile natural gas pipeline. The ruling validates the State of Alaska’s thorough review process and reinforces that the project can move forward in a manner that safeguards the lands, waters, and communities of the Y-K and southcentral regions.

NOVAGOLD continues to support the State of Alaska in defending the Department of Environmental Conservation’s (ADEC) Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Water Quality Certification (401 Certification), which is the only remaining challenge to Donlin Gold’s permits in State court. On May 6, 2025, the Alaska Superior Court upheld ADEC’s issuance of the 401 Certification. Earthjustice filed an appeal in the Alaska Supreme Court and filed their opening brief on September 16, 2025. Donlin Gold’s and the State of Alaska’s briefs were filed on November 25, 2025, and Earthjustice’s reply brief was filed on January 09, 2026.

In 2025, the U.S. Alaska District Court directed the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to supplement the current Environmental Impact Statement with an analysis of a larger theoretical tailings dam release, while leaving Donlin Gold’s Federal permits in place. The USACE, in consultation with BLM, will lead the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) process to conduct this analysis. The CWA permits and BLM ROW remain in place during this supplementation, which is being undertaken under the Fixing America’s Transportation Act (“FAST-41”) program and coordinated by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (“Permitting Council”). The Corps has submitted a schedule for completing the supplemental analysis by mid-2027 to the Permitting Council.

These milestones highlight the project’s solid regulatory foundation, the successful defense of its permits by Federal and State agencies, and the ongoing progress toward future development.

2026 Activities and Next Steps –

With the new ownership structure in place and the project’s future in focus, we enter the next phase of development with excellent momentum to maximize Donlin Gold’s value proposition and exceptional leverage to gold. Donlin Gold’s board approved a 2026 budget of $131.4 million ($78.8 million NOVAGOLD’s share) which includes advancing the BFS, maintaining and securing outstanding permits, supporting government affairs activities, and strengthening community relations, workforce development, environmental initiatives, and ongoing exploration.

2025 was a breakthrough year for NOVAGOLD, from a pivotal transaction on the Donlin Gold project to achieving meaningful progress toward a construction decision, maintaining permits in good standing and advancing key permitting activities, and enhancing stakeholder engagement as well as investment initiatives across Alaska. Close collaboration with state agencies, Alaska Native Corporation landowners, and government representatives, has guided each stage of development with transparency and shared purpose. This progress has elevated awareness of NOVAGOLD, made possible by the strong support of shareholders, the investment community, financial institutions, stakeholders, and our board of directors. We are profoundly grateful for this trust, which continues to drive our commitment to excellence and produce meaningful results.

Team Maverick.