Replies to post #16565 on Mostly: Classical

[basserdan]

*** NG Updates Resource Est at its Nome Gold Deposit ***


NovaGold Updates Resource Estimate at its Nome Gold Deposit

Thursday August 31, 8:42 am ET

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(MARKET WIRE)--Aug 31, 2006 -- NovaGold Resources Inc. (TSX:NG.TO - News)(AMEX:NG - News) is pleased to announce that based on an updated resource estimate for its Nome Gold deposit in Alaska, NovaGold's Measured and Indicated Resource base for all projects now totals 21.0 million ounces of gold, 117.1 million ounces of silver and 8.5 billion pounds of copper. The Company has an additional Inferred Resource of 16.3 million ounces of gold, 66.0 million ounces of silver and 3.4 billion pounds of copper, as well as historical resources of 1.2 million ounces of gold, 32.7 million ounces of silver, 1.6 billion pounds of copper and 2.2 billion pounds of zinc.
Nome Gold Project Updated Resource Estimate

An updated independent National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") compliant resource estimate for NovaGold's Nome Gold alluvial project has been completed based on a 0.18 grams/cubic meter (g/m3) gold cut-off grade using holes drilled by Alaska Gold Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NovaGold.

 
 Nome Gold Alluvial Resources(1) 
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
                                                   Contained     Average 
 Resource Category       Cubic Meters     Gold   Gold Ounces   Thickness 
                            (Millions)   (g/m3)   (Thousands)    (Meters) 
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
  Measured                       79.1     0.32           802          20 
  Indicated                      83.8     0.28           763          22 
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Measured & Indicated           162.9     0.30         1,565          21 
 Inferred(2)                     30.6     0.27           253          21 
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 Note: 
 

(1) Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. Resource estimates are tabulated on criteria provided within this release; 85,000 ounces contained within the reported resources may be subject to a royalty. See "Cautionary Note Concerning Resource Estimates".

(2) Inferred Resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and whether they can be mined legally or economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the Inferred Resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category.

From 1900 to 1998, production attributed to the Nome Gold alluvial deposits exceeded 4 million ounces of gold. The Nome Gold resource is based on a total of 7,249 individual drill holes covering the 6,270 hectare (15,491 acre) property, typically spaced between 30 and 60 meter intervals (100 and 200 feet). The drillholes are primarily churn holes drilled through the unconsolidated gold-bearing sand and gravel material into the underlying bedrock. Drillhole depth averages 17 meters (55.7 feet) and ranges from 1.2 to 48 meters (4 to 156 feet). Grades were interpolated into a block model to determine mineralized volume (m3) and grades (g/m3) using a 0.18 g/m3 cut-off grade that is reasonable for the alluvial operation.

The NI 43-101 compliant resource was estimated by Bruce Davis, Ph.D. FAusIMM, and Robert Sim, P.Geo., of Norwest Corporation, who are both Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101. An NI 43-101 compliant technical report of the resource estimate will be filed on SEDAR not less than three business days prior to the expiry of Barrick Gold Corporation's hostile take-over bid (the "Barrick Offer"). Bruce Davis determined that the historical assays are appropriate for resource estimation by comparing primary assay documents to the electronic database, and reviewing historical reports comparing production reconciliation to churn hole assays.

Since 1999 the Company has generated a considerable portion of its revenue from sand-and-gravel aggregate sales taken from existing stockpiles of material that were the by-product of historic mining operations. NovaGold's current business plan for the Nome Gold project envisions completing engineering studies to evaluate the viability of restarting mining operations at the property using modern mining and milling techniques.

NovaGold Updated Resource Base

NovaGold's projects are located in the resource-rich region of Alaska and Western Canada, an area with a long history of mining, a stable political environment and a favourable investment climate that encourages resource development. NovaGold holds interests in several of the largest undeveloped gold and copper deposits in North America. Incorporating the updated Nome Gold resource estimate, NovaGold's total resource base is as follows:

NovaGold's Gold, Silver and Copper Resources (Net Share)(1)

Continued at:

http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/060831/0158990.html