NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC

None

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. By: /s/ Gregory A. Lang Name: Gregory A. Lang Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

Date: January 24, 2024

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

To the Board of Directors of Donlin Gold LLC

Opinion

We have audited the accompanying financial statements of Donlin Gold LLC (the “Company”), which comprise the** balance sheets **as of November 30, 2023 and November 30, 2022, and the related statements of loss and comprehensive loss, of cash flows and of equity for each of the three years in the period ended November 30, 2023, including the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”).

In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of November 30, 2023 and November 30, 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended November 30, 2023 in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAS”). Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors’ Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements section of our report. We are required to be independent of the Company and to meet our other ethical responsibilities, in accordance with the relevant ethical requirements relating to our audit. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.

Responsibilities of Management for the Financial Statements

Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, and for the design, implementation, and maintenance of internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, management is required to evaluate whether there are conditions or events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for one year after the date the financial statements are available to be issued.

Auditors’*** Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements***

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors’ report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not absolute assurance and therefore is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with US GAAS will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. Misstatements are considered material if there is a substantial likelihood that, individually or in the aggregate, they would influence the judgment made by a reasonable user based on the financial statements.

In performing an audit in accordance with US GAAS, we:

We are required to communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit, significant audit findings, and certain internal control-related matters that we identified during the audit.

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Chartered Professional Accountants

Vancouver, Canada

January 19, 2024

BALANCE SHEETS

STATEMENTS OF LOSS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

STATEMENTS OF EQUITY

NOTE 1–** NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND ECONOMIC DEPENDANCE**

On December 1, 2007, Barrick Gold U.S. Inc. (“Barrick”) and NOVAGOLD Resources Alaska, Inc. (“NOVAGOLD”), formed Donlin Gold LLC, a Delaware limited liability corporation, (the “Company”) to advance the Donlin Gold Project in Alaska. Barrick and NOVAGOLD each own a 50% interest in the Company. Donlin Gold LLC has a board of four directors, with two nominees selected by each company. All significant decisions related to Donlin Gold LLC require the approval of both companies. The Company currently depends on Barrick and NOVAGOLD for all of its funding and has received commitments from its shareholders that they will fund the Company for the next twelve months. These financial statements have been prepared pursuant to Rule 3-09 of SEC Regulation S-X for inclusion in NOVAGOLD Resources Inc.’s 10-K, as the Company is an equity investee of NOVAGOLD Resources Alaska, Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of NOVAGOLD Resources Inc.

The Company’s Board of Directors approved the Project's Updated Feasibility Study in July 2012. The Company subsequently initiated the permitting process. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) issued the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on April 27, 2018. On August 13, 2018, the Corps and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a joint Federal Record of Decision (ROD) for the Donlin Gold Project along with their respective federal permit authorizations. Several major State of Alaska authorizations have also been issued, including the approval of the Donlin Gold Reclamation and Closure Plan, Waste Management Permit, Water Discharge Permit, Permit to Appropriate Water, Title 16 Fish Habitat Permits for the mine area and right of way agreements with the State and BLM. At the end of 2023, four appeals remained active in both the State of Alaska and U.S. Federal courts concerning permits granted for the project. These include: the appeal of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (ADEC) Clean Water Act Section 401 Certificate of Reasonable Assurance at the State Superior Court level; appeals regarding the state pipeline right-of-way and the water rights in the State’s Supreme Court; and one appeal concerning the EIS, ROD, and associated federal permits in the U.S. Federal Court.

NOTE 2–** SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES**

Presentation

These financial statements are presented in United States dollars ($) and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP).

Use of estimates

The preparation of the Company’s financial statements requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the Financial Statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The more significant areas requiring the use of management estimates and assumptions relate to environmental, reclamation and closure obligations. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Accordingly, actual results will differ from amounts estimated in these financial statements.

Plant and equipment

On initial recognition, plant and equipment are recorded at cost subject to a ten-thousand-dollar threshold for capitalization. Plant and equipment are subsequently measured at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is recorded over the estimated useful life of the assets at the following annual rates:

Computer equipment – 5 years straight-line;

Computer software – 5 years straight-line;

Furniture and equipment – 5 years straight-line; and

Leasehold improvements – straight-line over the lease term.

Depreciation methods, useful lives and residual values are reviewed at each financial year-end and adjusted if appropriate.

Leases

The Company reviews all contracts and determines if the arrangement represents or contains a lease, at inception. Operating leases are included in Right of use assets and Lease obligations (current and long-term) in the Balance Sheets. The Company does not have any finance leases.

Operating lease ROU assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. ROU assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the estimated present value of lease payments over the lease term. The Company uses its estimated incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the lease commencement date in determining the present value of future payments. The operating lease ROU asset also includes any upfront lease payments made and excludes lease incentives and initial direct costs incurred. The Company’s lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Lease expense for minimum lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Leases with a term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet. The Company’s lease agreements do not contain any residual value guarantees.

Mineral properties

All direct costs related to the acquisition of mineral property interests are capitalized. Mineral property exploration expenditures are expensed when incurred. When it has been established that a mineral deposit is commercially mineable, an economic analysis has been completed and permits are obtained, the costs subsequently incurred to develop a mine on the property prior to the start of mining operations are capitalized. Capitalized costs will be amortized following commencement of commercial production using the unit of production method over the estimated life of proven and probable reserves.

Asset retirement obligations

The Company records a liability based on the best estimate of costs for site closure and reclamation activities that the Company is legally or contractually required to undertake. The liability is estimated using expected discounted cash flows based on engineering and environmental reports and accreted to full value over time through periodic charges to income. Adjustments to the reclamation obligation arising from changes in estimates are recorded as a component of the mineral property.

Income taxes

The Company is not a taxable entity for income tax purposes. Accordingly, no recognition is given to income taxes for financial reporting purposes. Tax on the net income (loss) of the Company is borne by the owners through the allocation of taxable income (loss). Net income for financial statement purposes may differ significantly from taxable income for the owners as a result of differences between the tax basis and financial reporting basis of assets and liabilities and the taxable income allocation requirements under the shareholders agreement.

Impairment of long-lived assets

Management assesses the possibility of impairment in the carrying value of its long-lived assets whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the asset or assets group may not be recoverable. Management calculates the estimated undiscounted future net cash flows relating to the asset or assets. When the carrying value of an asset exceeds the related undiscounted cash flows, the asset is written down to its estimated fair value, which is usually determined using discounted future cash flows. Management’s estimates of mineral prices, mineral reserves, foreign exchange rates, production levels and operating capital and reclamation costs are subject to risk and uncertainties that may affect the determination of the recoverability of the long-lived asset. It is possible that material changes could occur that may adversely affect management’s estimates.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less which are considered to be cash equivalents. The fair value of the Company’s financial assets, which includes cash, approximates their carrying values due to their short-term nature.

Trade payables

The fair value of the Company’s financial liabilities, such as accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximates their carrying values due to their short-term nature.

Due to related parties

The amounts due to Barrick and NOVAGOLD are non-interest bearing, unsecured and without specified terms of repayment.

NOTE 3–** LEASES**

The Company leases office space under a non-cancelable operating lease with an original lease term of 3.25 years. The lease requires monthly lease payments that are subject to annual increases throughout the lease term. The lease also includes a renewal option at the election of the Company to renew or extend the lease for an additional four years. The optional periods have not been considered in the determination of ROU assets or lease liabilities associated with the lease as management did not consider it reasonably certain it would exercise the option. The Company also leases land, however, since the non-cancelable lease terms do not exceed 12 months, these are quantified below as short-term leases and are not recorded in the Balance Sheets.

The Company performed evaluations of its contracts and determined its identified leases are operating leases and short-term leases. No variable leases with non-cancelable terms greater than one month were identified.

Operating lease expenses are included on the Statement of Loss inGeneral and administrative expenseandMineral property leases and include the following components for the year ended November 30, 2022:

There are no future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases as of November 30, 2023.

Other information regarding leases for the year ended November 30, 2023 includes the following:

NOTE 4–** PLANT AND EQUIPMENT**

NOTE 5–** MINERAL PROPERTY**

The Donlin Gold Project is located in the Kuskokwim region of southwestern Alaska on private, Alaska Native-owned mineral and surface land and Alaska state mining claims. The property is under lease for subsurface mineral rights from Calista Corporation and surface land rights from The Kuskokwim Corporation, two Alaska Native corporations. The mineral property was jointly owned by Barrick and NOVAGOLD through an unincorporated joint venture prior to the formation of the Company. Upon formation of the Company, the mineral property contributed was recorded based on the predecessor accounting values of Barrick and NOVAGOLD. As such, mineral property includes the historic acquisition cost as the partners’ initial contribution to the Company.

NOTE 6–** RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS**

The Company received management and administrative services from Barrick for $332 in 2023, $1,288 in 2022, and $774 in 2021, and received from NOVAGOLD management and administrative services for 923 in 2023, $681 in 2022 and $nil in 2021. Both Barrick and NOVAGOLD amounts are included in General and Administrative, and drilling, studies and engineering expense.

The Company has accounts payable to Barrick at November 30, 2023 of $474 (2021: $425) for reimbursement of management and administrative services and to NOVAGOLD an of $243 (2022: $574) for reimbursement of third party contracted services on behalf of the Company.

NOTE 7–** RECLAMATION AND REMEDIATION**

Significant reclamation and closure activities include rehabilitation and decommissioning of the camp and drill sites. Although the ultimate amount or timing of reclamation costs cannot be predicted with certainty, the estimated discounted cash flows required to settle the Company’s obligations for work undertaken at the site to date is $1,482.

NOTE 8–** MINERAL PROPERTY LEASES**

The Company leases certain assets, such as mineral property leases, that are an exception to applying lease accounting under ASC 842. These mineral property leases coincide with the currently projected Donlin Gold mine life, with provisions for a further extension, should production continue beyond that. Future minimum annual mineral property lease payments are $2,548 in 2024, $3,548 in 2025, $3,548 in 2026, $3,548 in 2027, and $3,548 in 2028 totaling $16,740.