Topic: How To Invest

Hi Pat: What is your opinion of NovaGold?

Article Excerpt

NovaGold Resources Inc., $7.56, symbol NG on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 220.2 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion) and its partner, Teck Resources, suspended development of the Galore Creek copper/gold project in northwestern British Columbia in 2007. That’s when the two companies concluded that the project would cost $5 billion to complete. That’s more than double an earlier estimate of $2.2 billion. The companies are now undertaking a new study of construction and production costs, and expect to have a new estimate in early 2011. Galore holds as much as 12.9 billion pounds of copper, 12.2 million ounces of gold and 203 million ounces of silver. NovaGold also owns 50% of the Donlin Creek gold project in Alaska. Barrick Gold owns the other 50%. The partners recently updated their estimate of the project’s gold reserves. According to the new estimate, NovaGold’s stake would give it 21.1 million ounces of Donlin Creek’s gold. The partners are now in the pre-permitting stage, and aim…