NovaGold Resources Inc.: Exhibit 99.1 - Filed by newsfilecorp.com
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NYSE-AMEX, TSX Symbol: NG
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News Release
| NovaGold’s Drilling in Ambler District Continues to
Yield |
| High-Grade Intersections at Bornite Deposit |
| |
| Includes 11.8 Meters Grading 7.5% Copper within
Mineralized Interval |
| of 110.6 Meters Grading 2.6% Copper |
| |
| New South Reef Zone at Bornite Extended for 700 Meter
|
| Strike Length and Remains Open |
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| NovaGold Targets Producing 43-101-Compliant |
| Resource Estimate for Bornite in First Half of 2012
|
December 14, 2011 - Vancouver, British Columbia - NovaGold
Resources Inc. (“NovaGold” or the “Company”) (NYSE-AMEX, TSX: NG) is pleased
to announce significant new drill results from additional exploration drilling
on the Bornite target located on the recently consolidated 180,000-hectare Upper
Kobuk Mineral Project located in the Ambler mining district of Northwest Alaska.
These results complement major intersections achieved in the initial phase of
drilling at Bornite (please see the Press Release dated November 10, 2011).
Highlights of this phase of the drilling campaign are
summarized below:
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RC11-194 intersected two mineralized intervals totaling 110.6 meters
averaging 2.6% copper including 11.8 meters grading 7.5% copper;
-
RC11-185 intersected 18.1 meters grading 3.8% copper. Overall the hole
intersected two mineralized intervals totaling 121.3 meters averaging 1.4%
copper;
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RC11-186 intersected three mineralized intervals totaling 153.1 meters
averaging 1.2% copper including 67.8 meters grading 1.4% copper and 59.2
meters of 1.0% copper; and
-
Receipt of assay over-limits on Hole RC11-187 results in revised
mineralization intervals of 178 meters grading 4.0% copper and a high-grade
intersection of 34.7 meters of 12.0% copper.
In addition to successful confirmation of historic drilling,
exploration drilling to the northeast of the Bornite deposit encountered
significant mineralization in a new area identified as the South Reef.
Specifically, RC11-194 which drilled 110.6 meters of 2.6% copper, including 11.8
meters grading 7.5% copper, intersected the South Reef 700 meters along strike
from RC11-187 which, as previously announced in the news release on November 10,
2011, exhibited a continuous interval of 178 meters grading 4.0% copper and a
very high-grade intersection of 34.7 meters grading 12.0% copper. The South Reef
which remains open is demonstrated in section ‘C-C’ attached and will be a focus
of Bornite exploration drilling in 2012 to enable a resource estimate to be
completed on this highly prospective zone.
NovaGold Resources Inc.
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In reporting RC11-187 in the previous release certain drill
intervals were under-reported because the amount of copper in certain samples
exceeded the upper limits of the analytical method. Samples exceeding 40% copper
have since been re-assayed to account for higher copper values. These over-limit
results have increased the grade of this interval to 178 meters at 4.0% copper
and 34.7 meters at 12.0% copper.
“Management believes that this is one of the most exciting
copper opportunities in the industry and we are planning an increased work
program next year to expand the newly identified South Reef deposit at Bornite
as well as test a number of other VMS (volcanogenic massive sulfide) targets in
the district. These outstanding drill results demonstrate the potential for
Ambler to become one of the highest-grade and most- significant poly-metallic
copper-dominant districts in the world,” said Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, NovaGold’s
President and CEO. “It is a particularly welcome development for NovaGold
shareholders that, at a time of ever-increasing resource nationalism in a number
of the world's copper producing countries, this valuable asset, a company-maker
in its own right, is located in the United States, one of the industry's very
safest jurisdictions. We are encouraged by this season's drilling campaign and
believe that our shareholders will derive significant value from direct
ownership of these valuable and exciting assets.”
For drill results table and figures see Section “Bornite Drill
Results and Sections” at the end of the release.
Spin-Off of NovaCopper is Proceeding with Preparation of
Filings Being Completed
NovaGold recently announced a major re-organization of its
asset and management structure whereby, among other measures, Mr. Van
Nieuwenhuyse will move from his current role to the new position of President
and Chief Executive Officer of NovaCopper Inc. (“NovaCopper”). It is proposed
(please see Press Release dated November 16, 2011) that the shares of NovaCopper
will be distributed to shareholders of NovaGold as a return of capital by way of
a Plan of Arrangement (the “Plan”) under the Companies Act (Nova Scotia). The
Plan will be voted on at a Special Meeting of Shareholders of NovaGold (“Special
Meeting”), which NovaGold anticipates holding in February 2012. The Plan will be
subject to multiple conditions including securityholder and Court approval,
approval by, and listing of the NovaCopper shares on TSX and AMEX and completion
of all regulatory filings. NovaCopper owns the Ambler project and will have a
100% interest in any mining project in the recently consolidated 180,000-hectare
property located in the Ambler district of northwestern Alaska subject to the
rights of NANA Regional Corporation, Inc. (“NANA”), an Alaska Native Corporation
headquartered in Kotzebue, Alaska.
Ambler is a Highly Prospective and Valuable Asset in a
Tier-One Jurisdiction
The Ambler district consists of two contemporaneous and
adjacent mineralized belts, the Devonian Ambler poly-metallic Volcanogenic
Massive Sulfide ("VMS”) belt hosting the Arctic deposit and the Devonian Bornite
carbonate-hosted copper-cobalt belt hosting the Bornite deposit. The trend of
the mineralized district extends for approximately 110 kilometers along strike.
The Bornite target is located approximately 26 kilometers
southwest of NovaGold’s Arctic VMS deposit which hosts significant high-grade
copper and zinc mineral resources. NovaGold announced the completion of a
Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA”) on the Arctic deposit in a press release dated April
14, 2011. Based on the PEA, mining of the Arctic deposit is envisioned as an
underground operation processing up to 4,000 tonnes of material per day.
NovaGold Resources Inc.
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The current resource base of 16.8 million tonnes of indicated
mineral resources grading 4.1% copper and 6.0% zinc and 12.1 million tonnes of
inferred mineral resources grading 3.5% copper and 4.9% zinc conceptually
support a 25-year mine life. The PEA, completed before the new drilling at
Bornite, yielded the following Net Present Values (“NPVs”) for the Arctic
Deposit alone:
Parameter (1,2)
|
Units
(US$) |
Base Case
Prices3
|
Recent Metal
Prices4
|
| Before Tax NPV8% |
Millions of Dollars |
718 |
2,200 |
| After Tax NPV8% |
Millions of Dollars |
505 |
1,600 |
(1) The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred
mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the
economic conditions applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as
mineral resources. There is no certainty that the PEA will ever be realized.
Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated
economic viability.
(2) See NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment Ambler
Project dated May 9, 2011 prepared by SRK Consulting and filed on SEDAR on May
10, 2011
(3) Using base case metal prices for copper, zinc, lead, gold and
silver of US$2.50/lb, US$1.05/lb, US$1.00/lb, US$1,100/oz, and US$20/oz,
respectively.
(4) Using recent metal prices for copper, zinc, lead, gold and
silver of US$4.31/lb, US$1.20/lb, US$1.20/lb, US$1,425/oz, US$36/oz,
respectively.
Bornite Drill Results and Sections
Fourteen holes totaling approximately 5,800 meters were drilled
in 2011. During this drilling campaign, verification drilling has been
successful in validating the previous drill results by Kennecott Exploration
Company and Kennecott Arctic Company, which are subsidiaries of Rio Tinto, and
exploration drilling intersected mineralization in previously untested zones. Of
the results in this release, RC11-185 and RC11-186 were verification drill
holes. RC11-192, RC11-194 and RC11-187 were exploration drill holes of which
RC11-187 was a previously released hole and the receipt over-limit assay results
has increased the grade. RC11-188, RC11-189 and RC11-190 were abandoned in poor
ground before intersecting the target zone. RC11-191 and RC11-193, which drilled
two separate targets to the North and West, had no significant intersections.
NovaGold Resources Inc.
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Details of the most recent holes are shown below:
Table 1: Bornite Significant Drill Intervals
|
from
|
to
|
Drill Interval
(meters) |
Drill Interval
(feet)
|
Cu
% |
Co
% |
Au
gpt |
Ag
gpt |
| DDH RC11-185 |
122.7 |
204.2 |
81.5 |
267.3 |
1.64 |
- |
- |
- |
| including |
*173.74 |
191.8 |
18.1 |
59.4 |
3.78 |
- |
- |
- |
| |
280.2 |
320.0 |
39.8 |
130.6 |
0.89 |
- |
- |
- |
| 2 intervals totaling |
|
|
121.3 |
398.0 |
1.39 |
- |
- |
- |
| DDH RC11-186 |
12.9 |
38.9 |
26.1 |
85.6 |
1.20 |
- |
- |
- |
| |
148.1 |
207.3 |
59.2 |
194.2 |
1.05 |
- |
- |
- |
| |
279.4 |
347.2 |
67.8 |
222.6 |
1.43 |
- |
- |
- |
| 3 intervals totaling |
|
|
153.1 |
502.3 |
1.24 |
- |
- |
- |
| DDH RC11-187** |
408.0 |
586.0 |
178.0 |
584.1 |
4.01 |
- |
- |
- |
| including |
*458.7 |
493.4 |
34.7 |
113.8 |
12.03 |
0.10 |
0.16 |
5.4 |
| 1 interval totaling |
|
|
178.0 |
584.1 |
4.01 |
- |
- |
- |
| DDH RC11-192 |
396.1 |
480.7 |
84.6 |
277.4 |
1.54 |
|
|
|
| 1 interval totaling |
|
|
84.6 |
277.4 |
1.54 |
- |
- |
- |
| DDH RC11-194 |
629.6 |
639.2 |
9.6 |
31.5 |
3.53 |
- |
- |
- |
| |
661.1 |
762.1 |
101.0 |
331.4 |
2.56 |
- |
- |
- |
| including |
*750.33 |
762.1 |
11.8 |
38.7 |
7.51 |
0.05 |
0.36 |
- |
| 2 intervals totaling |
|
|
110.6 |
362.9 |
2.64 |
- |
- |
- |
| Assumptions: |
| 1. |
Significant interval defined as a minimum
20%meter Cu interval (Cu% grade x interval length) |
| 2. |
Cutoff grade of 0.5 % Cu |
| 3. |
Internal dilution up to 6 continuous meters of
<0.5% Cu |
| 4. |
Intervals of <0.1gpt Au, <0.05% Co and
<5.0 gpt Ag not reported |
| 5. |
Significant quantities of Au, Ag, and Co are
reported in high-grade intervals |
| 6. |
Some rounding errors may occur |
| 7. |
Intervals >2.0% Cu are highlighted |
| 8. |
Though mineralization is tabular and shallowly
dipping - no true thicknesses are implied in the results |
| * Internal higher grade interval |
| **Previously reported without final overlimits
from three samples totaling 2.39 meters and grading 54.35, 55.34 and
42.62% Cu, respectively |
NovaGold Resources Inc.
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NovaGold Resources Inc.
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NovaGold Resources Inc.
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Quality Control
The drill program and sampling protocol were managed by
qualified persons employed by NovaGold. The diamond drill holes were typically
collared at HQ diameter drill core and reduced to NQ diameter during the
drilling process. Samples were collected using a 0.5 -meter minimum length,
three-meter maximum length and 1.5 -meter average sample length. Drill core
recovery averaged 95%. Three quality control samples (one blank, one standard
and one duplicate) were inserted into each batch of 20 samples. The drill core
was sawn, with half sent to ALS Chemex in Fairbanks for sample preparation and
the sample pulps forwarded to ALS’s North Vancouver facility for analysis. ALS
Minerals in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada, is a facility certified as ISO
9001:2008 and accredited to ISO / IEC 17025:2005 from the Standards Council of
Canada. NovaGold will also be submitting 5% of the assay intervals from
prospective lithologies to an independent check assay lab.
Qualified Person
Heather Brown, P.Geo, GIS Database Geologist for NovaGold, and
a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the
results of the drill program and confirmed that all procedures, protocols and
methodologies used in the drill program conform to industry standards.
About NovaGold
NovaGold is a precious metals company engaged in the
exploration and development of mineral properties primarily in Alaska, U.S.A.
and British Columbia, Canada. The Company is focused on advancing its flagship
property, Donlin Gold, and offers superior leverage to gold with one of the
largest reserve/resource bases of any junior or mid-tier gold exploration
company. The Company is also committed to maximizing the value of its non-core
assets, including its interest in the Galore Creek copper-gold-silver project.
NovaGold has a strong track record of expanding deposits through exploration
success and forging collaborative partnerships, both with local communities and
with major mining companies. The Donlin Gold project in Alaska, one of the
world’s largest known undeveloped gold deposits, is held by a limited liability
company owned equally by wholly-owned subsidiaries of NovaGold and Barrick Gold
Corporation. The Galore Creek project in British Columbia, a large
copper-gold-silver deposit, is held by a partnership owned equally by
wholly-owned subsidiaries of NovaGold and Teck Resources Limited. NovaGold,
through its wholly-owned subsidiary, NovaCopper Inc., also owns a 100% interest
in the high-grade Ambler copper-zinc-gold-silver deposit in northern Alaska and
has other earlier-stage exploration properties. NovaGold trades on the TSX and
NYSE-AMEX under the symbol NG. More information is available at www.novagold.net
or by emailing info@novagold.net.
NovaGold Contact
| Neil MacRae |
| Director, Investor Relations |
| neil.macrae@novagold.net |
604-669-6227 or 1-866-669-6227
# # #
NovaGold Resources Inc.
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes certain “forward-looking
statements” and “forward-looking information” (collectively “forward-looking
statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities legislations including
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All
statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including,
without limitation, statements relating to NovaGold’s future operating or
financial performance, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as
“expects”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “potential”,
“possible”, and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or
results “will”, “may”, “could”, or “should” occur or be achieved. These
forward-looking statements may include statements regarding perceived merit of
properties; exploration results and budgets; mineral reserves and resource
estimates; work programs; capital expenditures; timelines; strategic plans;
completion of transactions; market prices for precious and base metals; or other
statements that are not statements of fact. Forward-looking statements involve
various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements
will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from NovaGold’s expectations
include the uncertainties involving the need for additional financing to explore
and develop properties and availability of financing in the debt and capital
markets; uncertainties involved in the interpretation of drilling results and
geological tests and the estimation of reserves and resources; the need for
continued cooperation with NANA for the continued exploration and development of
the Ambler district lands; the need for cooperation of government agencies and
native groups in the development and operation of properties; the need to obtain
permits and governmental approvals; risks of construction and mining projects
such as accidents, equipment breakdowns, bad weather, non-compliance with
environmental and permit requirements, unanticipated variation in geological
structures, ore grades or recovery rates; unexpected cost increases, which could
include significant increases in the capital and operating costs estimated in
the preliminary economic assessment; fluctuations in metal prices and currency
exchange rates; and other risk and uncertainties disclosed in NovaGold’s Annual
Information Form for the year-ended November 30, 2010, filed with the Canadian
securities regulatory authorities, and NovaGold’s annual report on Form 40-F
filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and in other
NovaGold reports and documents filed with applicable securities regulatory
authorities from time to time. NovaGold’s forward-looking statements reflect the
beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made. NovaGold
assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs,
opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required
by law.
Cautionary Note Regarding Reserve and Resource Estimates
This press release has been prepared in accordance with the
requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the
requirements of U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource
and reserve estimates included in this press release have been prepared in
accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects (“NI 43-101”) and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and
Petroleum Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. NI
43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which
establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific
and technical information concerning mineral projects. Canadian standards,
including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and resource and reserve
information contained herein may not be comparable to similar information
disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality
of the foregoing, the term “resource” does not equate to the term “reserves”.
Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a “reserve” unless
the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically
and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made.
The SEC’s disclosure standards normally do not permit the inclusion of
information concerning “measured mineral resources”, “indicated mineral
resources” or “inferred mineral resources” or other descriptions of the amount
of mineralization in mineral deposits that do not constitute “reserves” by U.S.
standards in documents filed with the SEC. U.S. investors should also understand
that “inferred mineral resources” have a great amount of uncertainty as to their
existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It
cannot be assumed that all or any part of an “inferred mineral resource” will
ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimated “inferred
mineral resources” may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility
studies except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or
any part of an “inferred mineral resource” exists or is economically or legally
mineable. Disclosure of “contained ounces” in a resource is permitted disclosure
under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to
report mineralization that does not constitute “reserves” by SEC standards as
in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. The requirements
of NI 43-101 for identification of “reserves” are also not the same as those of
the SEC, and reserves reported by the Company in compliance with NI 43-101 may
not qualify as “reserves” under SEC standards. Accordingly, information
concerning mineral deposits set forth herein may not be comparable with
information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S.
standards.
NovaGold Resources Inc.
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