Barrick Gold Corporation – Donlin Gold Announces Final Assay Results for 2022 Drill Program

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Donlin Gold LLC (“Donlin Gold”), owned 50:50 by Barrick Gold Corporation (“Barrick”) (TSX: ABX) (NYSE: GOLD) and NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. (“NOVAGOLD”) (TSX, NYSE American: NG), is pleased to report the release of the final set of assay results from the 2022 drill program. The assay results for the final 44 drill holes and full 2022 drill program are reported in Table 2 in the Appendix.

Statements by the Owners

Mark Bristow, Barrick’s President and CEO, said: “As a successful 2022 drill program comes to a close, we are now well positioned to begin our 2023 work, which will consist of reviewing a series of key trade-off studies, assessing mining scenarios, and continuing with permitting and regulatory engagement, along with our community partners.”

Greg Lang, NOVAGOLD’s President and CEO, said: “We could not be happier with the outcome of this season’s drill program, Donlin Gold’s largest campaign in 15 years. From the earliest to the very last results, the assay labs returned some of the best intercepts since the project’s inception — and indeed among open-pit gold projects. With this highly successful exercise behind us, followed by the completion of the resource model and trade-off studies, the owners look forward to supporting the Donlin Gold team and its partners Calista and TKC in positioning the project for the next steps in taking Donlin Gold up the value chain for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Dan Graham, General Manager of Donlin Gold added, “The 2022 drill campaign was a resounding success in which all involved can take great pride. It represents the product of the exceptional spirit of teamwork exhibited by Donlin Gold, Calista and TKC. Our collective dedication to the highest standards of safety, social responsibility, and environmental stewardship is why the 2022 drilling was completed ahead of schedule but also without any lost-time incidents.”

Most Important Drill Program in Over a Decade Progresses the Donlin Gold Deposit and Advances Key Project Efforts

Donlin Gold’s 2022 drill program was completed in September with 141 holes drilled for a total of 42,331 m. The final set of results released today include assays for 37 complete and 7 partial holes, encompassing the remaining 12,762 m of length drilled. Drilling in 2022 returned some of the best assay results seen to date at Donlin Gold. The success of this program is due to the exceptional dedication of the Donlin Gold team in Anchorage and at site, the majority of which were local hires from 24 different communities in the Y-K region, who all share the goal of protecting the health and safety of their colleagues and environmental stewardship.

As part of the key focus area for the drill program, tight-spaced grid drilling in the representative areas within the main structural domains of the deposit (Lewis – further infilled to 10m x 10m, West ACMA and Divide areas) confirmed recent geological modelling at wider drill-spacing in the immediate area surrounding the grids. It also identified additional short-scale controls that will be incorporated in an update to improve the geological domains used for global resource estimation, which will be used for strategic mine planning work. In addition, the 14 geotechnical drill holes provided results for advancing efforts to complete the application for the Alaska Dam Safety Certifications.

With the receipt of the final assay results for the 2022 drill program (which returned significant high-grade intercepts and continued to demonstrate important grade continuity), an update of the resource model, and completion of trade-off studies, the owners expect to take the next steps in bringing Donlin Gold up the value chain.

Five of the top intervals received from the final set of 2022 assay results released today include:

Stakeholder and Government Engagement

The Donlin Gold project continues to work with Calista and TKC in all aspects of outreach and engagement throughout the Y-K region. Crooked Creek, the closest community to the project site in the Y-K region formally expressed their support of Donlin Gold. Three additional Shared Value Statements were also signed with villages in the Y-K region in the last three months for a total of 11. These formalize current engagement with key local communities, expand upon the long-term relationships already established with them, and address specific community needs including water, sewer, and solid waste projects; the ice road that connects remote villages in the Y-K region; salmon and other aquatic life studies; and suicide prevention and public safety programs. Local hires from the 2022 drill program will continue to support Donlin Gold’s engagement efforts through the Community Liaison program in five Y-K villages.

Calista and Donlin Gold continued their proactive, bipartisan outreach in Alaska and with the Administration and Congress in Washington, D.C. to highlight the thoroughness of the project’s environmental review and permitting processes, in addition to the considerable benefits that the project would deliver to all Native Alaskans. Alaska U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski and Governor Michael Dunleavy were re-elected in the November 2022 United States mid-term elections, and along with U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, have all been long-term supporters of the Donlin Gold project. We also recognize the historic re-election of U.S. Representative Mary Peltola for a full term as the first Alaska Native to join Congress and look forward to our continued outreach to her regarding Donlin Gold in the coming year.

Environment and Social Investments

Environmental stewardship, education, community wellness, and cultural preservation constitute key focus investments for Donlin Gold in the Y-K region. The project supports these initiatives through fishery studies and other environmental activities, subsistence and cultural preservation efforts, and educational grants. A wide range of activities and projects were carried out in collaboration with Calista and TKC in the fourth quarter. Donlin Gold supported various search and rescue teams in the region, provided funding to the Healthy Alaska Natives Foundation and Bethel Community Services Foundation, as well as sponsored and participated in the Alaska Safe Riders initiative, which promotes safety for year-round outdoor sports. Donlin Gold fostered education, community wellness and cultural preservation through a variety of interventions including several river studies, supporting the local school district and educational organizations, funding and participating in youth sporting activities, and backing initiatives led by Traditional Councils and Native…