Novagold Resources Inc.

Thank you for standing by. This is the conference operator. Welcome to the NOAA Gold 2023 First Quarter Financial Results Conference Call and Webcast. As a reminder, all participants are in listen-only mode, and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. To join the question queue, you may press star, then 1 on your telephone keypad. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star and zero. Webcast viewers may submit questions through the text box in the lower right corner of the webcast frame. Should you need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star and zero. I would now like to turn the conference over to Melanie Hennessy. Vice President, Corporate Communications. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Shia. Good morning, everyone. We are pleased that you've joined us for Novogold's 2023 first quarter financial results and also for an update on the Donald Gold Project. On today's call, we have Dr. Thomas Catlin, Novogold's Chairman, Greg Lang, Novogold's President and CEO, and David Otterwell, Novogold's Vice President and CFO. At the end of the webcast, we will take questions by phone and by email. Additionally, we will respond to other questions received subsequent to the call by email. I would like to remind our webcasts and call participants that as stated on slide three, any statements made today may contain forward-looking information such as projections and goals, which are likely to involve risks detailed in our various EDGAR and CEDAR filings and forward-looking disclaimers included in this presentation. I now have the pleasure of turning the presentation over to our president and CEO, Greg Lang, right?

Thank you, Melanie, and good morning, everyone. All of us at Novogold take great pride in the fact that we have been laser-focused and very successful on executing the strategy set forth by our chairman and myself over a decade ago, namely to unlock Novogold's high-quality assets for our shareholders and dedicate our energy to creating the maximum leverage from a pure gold play on the unique endowment that is the Donnelly Gold Project. This has been a foundation of our investment thesis. As shown on slide five, we have been steadily advancing Donnelly Gold up the value chain in various areas over the past decade. These areas include the completion of the 43-101 technical report on the update to the second feasibility study, the receipt of a joint record of decision from the Army Corps of Engineers and the Bureau of Land Management, as well as other major federal permits. And most recently, we completed the largest drill program at Donovan. in over 15 years. We believe that the Diamond Gold Project is truly best in class in its combination of attributes, which are shown on slide six. Possessing the unique combination of industry-leading size, grade, and excellent exploration potential, which would move the needle in our gold industry and all of this in a safe and time-tested jurisdiction. Alaska is a great location to develop, build, and operate a mine for many generations to come. In my view, it really is the ultimate company maker. As currently envisioned, Donlon would average over a million ounces per year of production for 27 years. When looking at the other developer groups, as shown on slide seven, Donlon is by far and away the largest in gold production, continuing to decline for most of the top producers. It is clear the industry needs projects with scale, grade, and longevity to sustain themselves. As shown on slide eight, with twice the industry average grade for an open kit, once in production, Donlan would be one of the lowest cost producers in the gold industry. Turning to slide nine, The leverage to a higher gold price is exceptional at Donovan. The after-tax NPV at today's gold price is over $7 billion and a 5% discount rate for $22 billion undiscounted. The great exploration potential is another remarkable attribute. Backman Lewis deposits, as shown on slide 10, occupy less than half of an 8-kilometer mineralized gold bill, which itself is located on less than 5% of Donovan's land position. A testament to the excellent exploration potential were the results from last year's program. As shown on slide 11, the top 20 intersects returned some of the best assay results seen to date at Donlin and among the best reported in the entire industry last year. For example, well 2068 in the divide grid returned 42 meters and over 30 grams, including a sub-interval of 23 meters at 54 grams. As highlighted on slide 11, credible upside exists to increase houses and extend the mine life. Location is truly key. Having great leverage in a place where you can keep the fruits of your leverage is worth the investment in time and in resources. On the map included on slide 12, We feature some of the top three gold-producing operations in the world and the five largest gold development projects. As private landowners, both Chalista and TKC are dedicated to developing foundling gold in a way that remains consistent with the elders' vision of responsible development while creating jobs and economic benefits for the surrounding communities, as well as protecting the local culture. A few of the quotes are provided on slide 13 from the leaders of both Alaska Native corporations. Their knowledge, guidance, and engagement are extremely valuable in ensuring responsible and sustainable economic development throughout all phases of the Diamond Gold Prize. I will now touch on some of the milestones that were achieved and the key activities of the first quarter. The Downwind Gold 2023 Field Program commenced early in the year to complete the necessary field work and geotechnical drilling required for the Alaska Dam Safety Certificates applications. Additional work included on-site hydrological drilling to further define the flow of groundwater in the areas that the plan dominant pit and surrounding infrastructure to support mine planning and design. Founding Gold prioritizes local hiring and invests in supporting the communities throughout the Waikato region. During the first quarter of our 2023 field program, We had a total workforce of 44 direct hiring employees, most of which are from the project region. This is a continuation of the success of Donlan's local hiring program, which was initiated very early on during the exploration phase. Our focus off-site is four key areas, as shown on slide 16. First, mine optimization. We are finalizing the updated geologic and resource models with the drill results from the last two years, and we are incorporating those into the key project assumptions, inputs, and design components for optimization. Ultimately, this supports the decision to proceed with an updated feasibility study. Community engagement is also a very active area of ours. working alongside with our Alaska Native Corporation partners. Permanently, we continue to advance our permits through the regulatory process and supporting the state in maintaining the existing permits. We're also very active with bipartisan outreach to the Biden administration, members of the U.S. Congress, and the state administration up in Alaska. Assisting and partnering with local communities in the region has been a constant focus at Donnelly. Working in concert with Chalista and TKC to provide critical support. As shown on slide 17, Donnelly was premier sponsor of the Iron Dog Race and is part of the Alaska Safe Riders program. Also, in collaboration with Covenant House and Bethel Community Services, Donlin is developing an action plan to help address the chronic and ongoing youth and other issues, just to name a few. In partnership with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Donlin is advancing efforts to improve the overall health and safety standards of water and sewer services in the middle of Kuskokwim villages. In collaboration with TKC and the village of Crooked Creek, Donovan provided financial support for the construction and maintenance of ice roads that allow winter travel between remote communities. On average, a total of 300 miles of ice road is constructed and maintained thanks to this program. Advancing educational opportunities in Alaska is another priority for the company. We recently awarded the first Molden Gold Scholarship at the University of Alaska to an undergraduate student studying geological engineering. We also support the Alaska Excel Program, a nonprofit providing educational support for rural youth across the region. In March of this year, we released our 2022 Annual Report. which features a special conversation between Dr. Kaplan and Daniela Cambone, editor-at-large and host of the Daniela Cambone Show on Stansberry Research, as shown on slide 18. Their discussion covers a broad range of topics, including geopolitics, history, markets, and opportunities in the gold space, and central banks are the largest buyers of gold, both presently and historically. and the corresponding upside for the premier development stimulus. The interview is recorded at the New York Stock Exchange, and a full transcript is available in our annual report. Those interested in watching the video can access the interview on our website, Novogold.com. With that, I will now turn the call over to our CFO, David Otterwell. Dave?