NovaGold Reaches
Agreement on Terms of Litigation Settlement
February 16, 2010 -
Vancouver, British Columbia - NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE-AMEX, TSX: NG) today
announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding to settle
outstanding securities class action lawsuits in both the United States and
Canada, in which NovaGold and certain of its directors and officers were named
as defendants.
On December 22, 2008, a
consolidated class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court
for the Southern District of New York consolidating similar complaints of
violations of U.S. Securities laws. On October 14, 2009, a similar notice of
action was filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Canada and on
October 28, 2009, the same parties were named as defendants in a class action
lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. All three actions alleged
misrepresentations, misstatements and omissions in various public statements
and filings concerning NovaGold's Galore Creek Property.
The settlement will be
covered by NovaGold's insurance, and the Company does not anticipate having to
pay out any of its cash under the terms of the settlement. The memorandum of
understanding is subject to agreement on formal documentation and both U.S. and
Canadian court approval after public notice.
Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse,
President and CEO of NovaGold said, "We are pleased to have settled these
proceedings. While we believe we ultimately would have been successful in
defending the allegations, this settlement allows us to focus 100% of our
attention on executing our business plan: advancing our world-class properties
to production and growing our company by exploring and developing new
opportunities.”
About NovaGold
NovaGold is a
growth-focused precious metals company engaged in the exploration and
development of mineral properties in North America. The Company has a portfolio
of mineral properties located in Alaska, USA, and British Columbia, Canada. The
Company's largest projects are being advanced with major mining companies. The
Donlin Creek project is held by a limited liability company owned equally by
NovaGold and Barrick Gold U.S. Inc. The Galore Creek project is held by a
partnership owned equally by NovaGold and Teck Resources Limited. NovaGold owns
a 100% interest in the Rock Creek, Big Hurrah and Nome Gold deposits in Nome,
Alaska and in the Ambler deposit in northern Alaska. NovaGold has one of the
largest reserve/resource bases of any junior or mid-tier level producing gold
company, and trades on the TSX and NYSE-AMEX under the symbol NG. More information
is available by emailing info@novagold.net.
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NovaGold Contacts
Greg Johnson
Vice President, Strategic Development
Rhylin Bailie
Manager, Corporate & Investor Relations
604-669-6227 or
1-866-669-6227
Cautionary Note
Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes
certain "forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United
States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other
than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without
limitation, statements concerning the terms of the settlement, the approval of
the settlement by U.S. and Canadian courts and formal documentation of the
settlement, are forward-looking statements. 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, but are not limited to, the need to reach agreement on final
documentation incorporating the terms of the settlement, uncertainties
regarding the final terms of the settlement, uncertainties regarding the receipt
of approval of the settlement by U.S. and Canadian courts and other risks and
uncertainties disclosed in NovaGold's Annual Information Form for the year
ended November 30, 2008, 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.
info@novagold.net Toll
free: 1-866-669-6227 http://www.novagold.net/