NovaGold: Donlin Gold Permits Advance, Cash Intact

NovaGold Resources posted second-quarter results June 24 with no earnings surprise or cash burn. The call became a status update on the Donlin Gold project, which CEO Greg Lang framed around the 20-year drill program that has steadily expanded reserves since the company staked the Alaska deposit.

Lang told analysts the resource base now supports a mine life long enough to justify the upfront capital. That debate has defined the stock for years. The Donlin deposit sits on private land in Alaska's Kuskokwim region and holds roughly 39 million ounces of measured resource, all in one contiguous body. That scale is rare among gold developers. The problem has always been the construction tab. All-in sustaining costs would run toward the high end of the industry curve given the remote location. At current gold prices above $2,300 an ounce the margin math works, Lang said. The question is whether NovaGold's partners – Barrick Gold and a local Native corporation – can agree on funding and the split of capital calls.

CFO Peter Adamek pointed to a cash balance of about $105 million at quarter-end with no debt. That gives NovaGold a runway measured in years, not quarters, to keep moving permits and engineering through state and federal reviews. The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are still reviewing the project's environmental impact statement. The document will determine whether construction can start in 2027 or later.

Analysts pressed for a specific construction window. Lang did not offer one. He described the permitting stage as "predictable" in structure but not in timing, a phrasing that left room for delays. The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has issued several key permits. The federal layer remains the gating factor.

The stock traded flat on the session.

Morgan Stanley's Carlos de Alba asked about the cost of mobilizing construction equipment and labor to a site with no road access. Lang acknowledged that winter ice roads and barge transport along the Kuskokwim River would add upfront logistics costs. The company had modeled those in its feasibility work, he said. The project design includes an on-site power plant and airstrip. The camp operates year-round. All are capital items that must be committed before any gold is poured.

The call lacked the kind of catalyst the market typically wants from a pre-production developer: a formal board vote on construction or a new offtake deal. Instead, NovaGold offered continuity. Permits are advancing. Cash is sufficient. Barrick has not signaled a change in its commitment. NovaGold shares closed flat on June 24.

For context on gold's price backdrop, see the gold profile.