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NOVAGOLD SOLID . SECURE . GOLDEN . NEWS RELEASE NOVAGOLD FILES THIRD QUARTER 2026 REPORT UNLOCKING DONLIN GOLD'S FULL POTENTIAL AND ADVANCING THE PATH TO DEVELOPMENT Donlin Gold Transaction announced : NOVAGOLD and Paulson Advisers LLC and its affiliates entered into a series of definitive agreements on July 21 , 2026 , pursuant to which NOVAGOLD's ownership interest in Donlin Gold LLC will increase from 60 % to 100 % by acquiring Paulson's 40 % ownership interest in an all - share transaction that is expected to close by year - end . Financial Advisors selected : Donlin Gold appointed Endeavour Financial and Macquarie Capital to provide financial advisory services for the development of the Donlin Gold project in Alaska and to support the arrangement of project and infrastructure financing . Robust treasury : Ended the quarter with approximately $ 343.4 million in cash and term deposits - strong financial position to advance the Donlin Gold project . ―a October 8 , 2026 - Vancouver , British Columbia - NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC . ( " NOVAGOLD " or the " Company " ) ( NYSE American , TSX : NG ) today filed its 2026 third quarter report and provided an update on its Tier One¹ gold development project held by Donlin Gold LLC ( " Donlin Gold " ) , which is owned 60 % by NOVAGOLD through NOVAGOLD Resources Alaska , Inc. , a wholly - owned subsidiary of the Company , and 40 % by Paulson Advisers LLC and certain of its affiliates ( collectively " Paulson " ) through Donlin Gold Holdings LLC ( " Donlin Gold Holdings " ) . Details of the financial results for the quarter ended August 31 , 2026 are presented in the consolidated financial statements and quarterly report on Form 10 - Q filed on October 8 , 2026 , that is available on the Company's website at www.novagold.com , on SEDAR + at www.sedarplus.ca , and on EDGAR , the United States Securities and Exchange Commission's ( " the SEC " ) website , at www.sec.gov . All amounts are in thousands of U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated . As detailed in the above - mentioned filings , NOVAGOLD held approximately $ 343.4 million in cash and term deposits as of August 31 , 2026 , and reported net third quarter operational cash expenditures of ― $ 28.1 million reflecting $ 24.8 million to fund NOVAGOLD's share of the Donlin Gold project and $ 3.3 million in corporate general and administrative costs . As NOVAGOLD is a development - stage company with no production , the Company reported earnings of ( $ 36.0 ) million and earnings per share of ( $ 0.08 ) for the third quarter of 2026. NOVAGOLD's results for this quarter reflect incremental expenditures at Donlin Gold due to ongoing Bankable Feasibility Study ( BFS ) activities and higher general and administrative expenses at NOVAGOLD primarily driven by ongoing professional fees related to the pending transactions announced on July 22 , 2026 ( the " Transactions " ) , partially offset by higher interest income . Professional fees are expected to remain elevated for the remainder of fiscal 2026 and into the early part of fiscal 2027 as we work toward the completion of the Transactions , currently expected to occur in the fourth calendar quarter of 2026 . President's Message Unlocking Donlin Gold's Full Potential Through Strategic Ownership and Development NOVAGOLD is strengthening its position as a " go - to " U.S. gold development company , having entered into a series of definitive agreements on July 21 , 2026 with Paulson and NovaGold Corporation ( " New 1 NOVAGOLD defines a Tier One gold development project as one with a projected production life of at least 10 years , annual projected production of at least 500,000 ounces of gold , and average projected cash costs over the production life that are in the lower half of the industry cost curve . ▸ www.novagold.com Page | 1