NovaGold's Rock Creek Permit to be Reinstated

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Re: News Release - Thursday, March 01, 2007
NovaGold's Rock Creek Permit to be Reinstated
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March 1, 2007 - Vancouver, British Columbia - NovaGold Resources Inc.
(TSX/AMEX: NG) today announced that after an extensive three-month
review, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will reinstate the wetlands
permit for NovaGold's Rock Creek project on March 13th.

The permit was suspended pending review in December 2006, following a
lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, challenging the
Corps' issuance of the Clean Water Act wetlands permit for NovaGold's
Rock Creek project near Nome, Alaska. Neither NovaGold nor its
subsidiary, Alaska Gold Company, was named as a defendant. The lawsuit
was based on allegations that the Corps issued the permit in violation
of the governing legislation. NovaGold believed the lawsuit to be
without merit and that the process undertaken by the Corps, along with
the voluntary public consultation and information process undertaken by
NovaGold, complied with applicable laws and gave ample opportunity for
all stakeholders to be heard prior to final permits being issued on
August 21, 2006.

The Corps completed an extensive review of the permitting process and
concluded that the permit was consistent with applicable laws and
regulations. The Corps reached a "finding of no significant impact" in
an environmental assessment for the project. Accordingly, the Corps has
filed notice of its intention to reinstate a modified permit on March
13th. The modified permit includes additional stipulations that cover
reporting and mitigation.

Construction at Rock Creek continued throughout the winter in upland
areas and areas previously disturbed. Issuance of the air permit in
December allowed the construction crew to start forming and pouring the
foundation for facilities within the plant site and equipment service
areas. Work at the plant site is proceeding on schedule, and NovaGold
continues to add experienced people to the Rock Creek operations team.
NovaGold expects, however, that the permit is likely to be challenged
again, and notes that construction may be impeded if the court enters
an order in the litigation temporarily or permanently enjoining the
project. Should the permit be challenged, NovaGold will once again
support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and ask to intervene in the
lawsuit.

"We are pleased with the Corps' decision to reinstate the permit, and
have appreciated the support expressed for the project by the community
of Nome, and in particular the Bering Straits and Sitnasuak Native
Corporations," said Peter Harris, Senior Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer at NovaGold. "NovaGold has a corporate policy of open
and transparent communication for all stages of mine development. We
held numerous public information sessions and published weekly articles
in the Nome Nugget to keep the community informed as the project
advanced toward construction. The result of the permit review supports
our belief that both NovaGold and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
followed all necessary procedures when permitting Rock Creek.

"Construction at the plant site has continued as allowed, and to this
point there have been no significant impacts to the schedule. With the
permit reinstated, we can now resume work at other areas on site, and
anticipate that production will begin at Rock Creek in Q3-2007."

About NovaGold

NovaGold is one of the fastest growing gold and copper companies in the
industry. The Company owns 70% of the Donlin Creek gold project in
Alaska and 100% of the Galore Creek copper-gold project in British
Columbia, two of the world's largest gold and copper deposits. The
Company is rapidly moving to production at its 100%-owned Nome
Operations in Alaska, which includes Rock Creek, Big Hurrah and Nome
Gold. Also in Alaska, NovaGold is earning a 51% interest as manager of
the high-grade Ambler copper-zinc-silver-gold project in partnership
with Rio Tinto. NovaGold is well financed with no long-term debt, and
has one of the largest reserve and resource bases of any exploration or
development-stage precious metals company. NovaGold trades on the TSX
and AMEX under the symbol NG. More information is available online at:
www.novagold.net or by e-mail at: info@novagold.net.

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 regarding
litigation concerning the Rock Creek mining project and related
permits, are forward-looking statements. 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 uncertainties involved
in disputes and litigation, including disputes and litigation
concerning the Rock Creek mining project; uncertainties in the
litigation process, such as effects of newly discovered evidence or new
legal theories and the inherent difficulty in predicting the decisions
of judges or the actions of other parties; fluctuations in gold and
other commodity prices and currency exchange rates; uncertainties in
interpreting drill results and the geology, continuity and grade of
mineral deposits; uncertainties of estimates of capital and operating
costs, recovery rates, production estimates and estimated economic
returns; the need for cooperation of government agencies and First
Nation groups in the exploration, permitting and development of
NovaGold's properties; the possibility of adverse developments in the
financial markets generally; the possibility of delay in permitting,
exploration or development programs and uncertainties as to permit
requirements; and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the
heading "Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in NovaGold's
Annual Information Form for the year ended November 30, 2005, filed
with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, in NovaGold's
annual report on Form 40-F filed with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission and in other NovaGold documents.




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Contacts

Greg Johnson
Vice President, Corporate Communications and Strategic Development

Don MacDonald, CA
Senior Vice President & CFO

Rhylin Bailie
Manager, Corporate & Investor Relations

604-669-6227 or 1-866-669-6227

Associated File:
http://www.novagold.net/i/pdf/NGPR1Mar07RockCreekPermit.pdf
Link to a PDF version of this news release.
36 KB in size, approx. 8 seconds to download at 56.6Kbps

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reserved. For more information visit our website at
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Message sent on Thu Mar 1, 2007 at 6:31:28 AM Pacific Time
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