Topic: How To Invest

Q: Pat, please tell me if NovaGold is a buy. Thanks.

Article Excerpt

A: NovaGold Resources Inc., $4.90, symbol NG on Toronto (Shares outstanding: 321.8 million; Market cap: $1.6 billion; www.novagold.com), hopes to bring into production its 50% Donlin gold project in Alaska and its 50%-held Galore Creek copper/gold project in northwestern B.C. NovaGold’s main focus is the Donlin project. It holds $88.0 million in cash—sufficient, it believes, to complete the permitting process. With as much as 45 million ounces of gold, Donlin has huge potential. The same applies to Galore Creek, which contains as much as 9 billion pounds of copper, 8 million ounces of gold and 136 million ounces of silver. However, building a mine at Donlin could cost in excess of $7 billion; one at Galore Creek could run higher than $5 billion. Barrick Gold (symbol ABX on Toronto) owns the other 50% of Donlin, and Teck Resources (symbol TECK.B on Toronto) holds the other half of Galore Creek. NovaGold needs continued high gold and copper prices to make its mining plans viable. It also…