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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 02/28/13 -- NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. (TSX: NG)(NYSE MKT: NG) announced today that Tony S. Giardini would step down from its Board of Directors effective March 1, 2013. Mr. Giardini's departure takes place in conjunction with his recent appointment as Executive Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer of Kinross Gold Corporation, one of the largest gold mining companies in the world.

"On behalf of the Board of Directors of NOVAGOLD, I would like to thank Tony for his outstanding five years of service to NOVAGOLD and its shareholders," said Thomas S. Kaplan, the Company's Chairman. "Tony was a highly valued member of the Board and played a significant role as NOVAGOLD completed its reorganization and transitioned into a development company focused on Donlin Gold, its flagship asset. We will all miss Tony's diligence and counsel on many levels and wish him all the best in his new endeavors in the gold industry."

Concurrent with Mr. Giardini's departure, NOVAGOLD instituted a number of changes to the chairmanship and membership of its Committees. Kalidas V. Madhavpeddi will replace Tony S. Giardini as the Chair of the Compensation Committee and Sharon E. Dowdall will replace Tony S. Giardini as a member of the Audit Committee. Gil Leathley will replace Kalidas V. Madhavpeddi as the Chair of the Environmental, Health, Safety and Sustainability and Technical Committee.

About NOVAGOLD

NOVAGOLD is a well-financed precious metals company engaged in the exploration and development of mineral properties in North America. Its flagship asset is the 50%-owned Donlin Gold project in Alaska, one of the safest jurisdictions in the world. With approximately 39 million ounces(1) of gold in the Measured and Indicated resource categories (541 million tonnes at an average grade of approximately 2.2 grams per tonne), Donlin Gold is regarded to be one of the largest, and most prospective known gold deposits in the world. According to the updated Feasibility Study, once in production, Donlin Gold should average approximately 1.5 million ounces of gold per year for the first five years, followed by decades of more than one million ounces per year. The Donlin Gold project has substantial exploration potential beyond the designed footprint which currently covers only three kilometers of an approximately eight-kilometer strike length of the property. Permitting is underway for the Donlin Gold project, a clearly defined process expected to take 3-4 years. NOVAGOLD also owns 50% of the Galore Creek copper-gold-silver project located in northern British Columbia. According to the 2011 Pre-Feasibility Study, Galore Creek is expected to be the largest copper mine in Canada, a tier-one jurisdiction, when it is put into production. NOVAGOLD is currently evaluating opportunities to sell all or a portion of its interest in Galore Creek and would apply the proceeds toward the development of Donlin Gold. NOVAGOLD has a strong track record of forging collaborative partnerships, both with local communities and with major mining companies.

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