PRESS RELEASE March 1, 2012 Texas boy’s Iditarod wish comes true with help from Donlin Gold March 1, 2012 – Anchorage, Alaska – Donlin Gold continues its tradition of helping make wishes come true. Three thousand miles from his physical therapist and doctors, Nathan, a nine-year-old boy living with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, will experience the role of Alaskan musher and the immense power and speed behind a sled dog team in the Iditarod. With the help of his friends at the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Alaska & Washington and Donlin Gold, Nathan will live a week-long Alaskan experience, including the highly coveted role of IditaRider. As an IditaRider, Nathan will travel the first leg of the race, approximately 11 miles through Anchorage, with musher Bill Pinkham of Colorado. “Donlin Gold is proud to honor the Alaskan tradition of gold mining and mushing in support of the Iditarod,” says Donlin Gold General Manager Stan Foo. “The Iditarod is a competitive race like no other in the world. And a fitting partnership for us, given that Donlin Gold strives to be like no other mining project in the world, creating economic opportunities for the Yukon-Kuskokwim region while embracing a long-term commitment to health and safety, environmental protection and community development. ” IditaRider opportunities are granted each year by the Iditarod Trail Committee through an auction-style fundraiser and to sponsors. Donlin Gold, which is owned equally by wholly owned subsidiaries of Barrick Gold and NovaGold Resources, joined as a principal sponsor in 2011 and has donated its IditaRider honor to the Make-A-Wish Foundation both years. “The Make-A-Wish Foundation has been partnering with Iditarod for more than 15 years granting wishes for children all over the United States from Hawaii to Pennsylvania and everywhere in-between,” says Nicole Sheldon, Regional Director, Alaska, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Alaska & Washington. “For the Make-A-Wish Foundation to have the chance to be involved in the last great race is amazing, we are thankful that Donlin Gold is now able to help grant these children’s true heartfelt wish!” In addition to its principal sponsorship, Donlin Gold also sponsors musher Mike Williams Jr., an outstanding role model in Alaska for sobriety and living a healthy lifestyle. Sponsoring his entry into the 2012 Iditarod sled dog race supports Mike’s commitment to the Take Pride in Sobriety and Youth for Sobriety campaigns with a donation to the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation. Donlin Gold, 4720 Business Park Blvd., Suite G-25, Anchorage, AK 99503 Tel (907) 273-0200 Fax (907) 273-0201 www.DonlinGold.com Spectators at the ceremonial start can have their own mushing experience at the Donlin Gold Photo Booth with 2011 Junior Iditarod champion, Jeremiah Klejka of from Bethel, AK,who will have a mushing sled and one of his race-winning dogs on hand. # # # About Donlin Gold Donlin Gold is aiming to build a gold mining project in the Yukon Kuskokwim (YK) Region that will enrich the lives of residents. The deposit is located 10 miles north of the middle Kuskokwim River village of Crooked Creek and about 280 miles northwest of Anchorage, on Native lands owned by The Kuskokwim Corporation (surface estate) and Calista Corporation (subsurface estate). Donlin Gold, if put into production, would be among the world's most-significant, low-operating-cost and long-lived gold mines over its projected 27-year mine life. Donlin Gold is equally owned and supported by wholly owned subsidiaries of NovaGold Resources and Barrick Gold Corporation. For more information about the project, go to: www.DonlinGold.com For more information, please contact: Kurt Parkan External Affairs Manager 907.569.0349 [email protected] Media interested in sharing Nathan’s story should contact: Nicole Sheldon Regional Director Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Anchorage office 907.258.9476 [email protected] Donlin Gold, 4720 Business Park Blvd., Suite G-25, Anchorage, AK 99503 Tel (907) 273-0200 Fax (907) 273-0201 www.DonlinGold.com .