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VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 2005--(All figures in US dollars except where noted) - Northgate Minerals Corporation (TSX:NGX)(AMEX:NXG) today reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2005. Cash flow used in operations before changes in working capital was $975,000 or $0.00 per common share for the first quarter of 2005. The loss for the quarter was $10,393,000 or $0.05 per share.


First Quarter 2005 Highlights

- A new three-year collective agreement was ratified by Kemess Mines hourly employees on February 24, ending a brief two-day labour disruption that resulted in five days of lost production.

- Gold production in the quarter of 50,540 ounces was only slightly below Northgate's plan projection, despite the February production disruption. As previously announced, the Kemess mine is forecast to have lower metal production and higher net cash costs during the first half of 2005 as mining operations migrate to the higher-grade west end of the mine.

- Copper production at 14.7 million pounds was about 10% below plan due to the February production disruption and slightly lower than plan copper ore grades.

- Kemess North formally entered the harmonized Federal-Provincial Panel Review process on March 14. The Panel Review is expected to be completed in about twelve months.

Ken Stowe, President and CEO, stated; "As expected, Northgate's operating and financial results for the first quarter were poor due to the planned mining sequence and the labour disruption. However, the short term pain we are experiencing in the first half of 2005 as we mine out the harder, lower-grade ore in the east end of the Kemess South pit and strip waste to expose higher-grade ore in the west end, is a necessary investment in the future of the Kemess mine. By mid-year, as ore from the west end becomes available, gold production at Kemess will increase dramatically to a rate of 330,000 ounces per year at a cash cost of less than $150 per ounce and production will continue at this elevated rate until the end of 2007. Late in the quarter, we were very pleased by the news that the Kemess North Project had entered a harmonized Federal-Provincial Panel Review process with clearly defined timelines and look forward to receiving the panel recommendation in early 2006."

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Northgate recorded a loss of $10,393,000 or $0.05 per share in the first quarter of 2005 compared with earnings of $39,000 or $0.00 per share during the corresponding quarter of 2004. The decrease in earnings in the most recent quarter compared with the same quarter one year ago was predominately the result of productivity losses caused by the two day labour disruption in February, a lower net realized gold price (due to a significant increase in the number of hedged gold ounces closed out), and higher operating costs resulting from higher fuel and steel costs and a stronger Canadian dollar. Cash flow used in operations before changes in working capital for the current quarter was $975,000 or $0.00 per common share compared with $11,801,000 or $0.06 per share fully diluted in the same period one year ago. Cash flow from operations after changes in working capital was $4,750,000 in the first quarter of 2005 compared with $11,309,000 in the corresponding quarter of 2004. The less favourable financial results recorded in the current quarter resulted from milling lower-grade ore from the eastern section of the Kemess South pit while waste stripping in the western area of the pit continued at a rate that was 2.5 times the life-of-mine average. Once the higher-grade ore in the western area of the pit is exposed at the end of the second quarter, gold production is expected to rise to an average of 84,000 ounces per quarter (a rate of 330,000 ounces per year) and remain at that elevated level until the end of 2007.

Kemess Mine Performance

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