NOVAGOLD Announces Election of Directors and Voting Results from 2026 Virtual Annual General Meeting of Shareholders

About this update from Novagold Resources Inc.

A total of 326,713,666 or 74.45% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares were represented at the Meeting All seven proposals to shareholders were approved, including the election of all director nominees During the 2026 proxy season, NOVAGOLD placed outreach calls to shareholders holding approximately 96% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common shares entitled to vote VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NOVAGOLD RESOURCES INC. (“ NOVAGOLD ” or the “ Company ”) (NYSE American, TSX: NG) is pleased to announce the detailed voting results on the items of business considered at its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held on May 14, 2026 (the “ Meeting ”). All proposals were approved and all director nominees were elected. A total of 326,713,666 or 74.45% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares were represented at the Meeting. Shareholder Engagement During this year’s proxy outreach, NOVAGOLD placed calls to shareholders owning at least 45,000 shares each, who collectively hold approximately 96% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common shares entitled to vote at the Meeting. Additionally, a digital broadcast message was sent out to shareholders holding at least 5,000 shares, enabling efficient outreach in addition to phone calls. Year-over-year the input received from shareholders has helped shape and improve the Company’s governance and compensation practices. The Company will again be conducting post-proxy outreach in the Fall to gather additional insight from its shareholders to continue to improve upon its disclosure, governance, and compensation practices. Shareholder Voting Results The shareholders voted on the following matters at this year’s Meeting: Proposal 1 – Election of Directors The nominees listed in NOVAGOLD’s Management Information Circular were elected as Directors of the Company. Detailed results of the votes are set out below: Proposal 1 Outcome of the Votes by Ballot Election of Directors Vote Votes For Votes Withheld Dr. Elaine Dorward-King Carried 270,754,327(91.45%) 25,284,174(8.54%) Ali Erfan Carried 293,934,428(99.28%) 2,104,073(0.71%) Dr. Thomas Kaplan Carried 287,599,587(97.14%) 8,438,914(2.85%) Hume Kyle Carried 292,361,355(98.75%) 3,677,146(1.24%) Gregory Lang Carried 294,213,852(99.38%) 1,824,649(0.61%) Kalidas Madhavpeddi Carried 262,931,112(88.81%) 33,107,389(11.18%) Kevin McArthur Carried 294,672,498(99.53%) 1,366,003(0.46%) Daniel Muñiz-Quintanilla Carried 270,538,731(91.38%) 25,499,770(8.61%) Ethan Schutt Carried 287,980,445(97.27%) 8,058,056(2.72%) Dawn Whitaker Carried 288,601,466(97.48%) 7,437,035(2.51%) Proposal 2 – Appointment of Auditors The vote was carried for the Appointment of the Auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The votes received by ballot were as follows: Votes For 317,132,167 97.06% Votes Withheld 9,581,499 2.93% Proposal 3 – Approve amendment to the Stock Award Plan and all unallocated entitlements thereunder The vote was carried for the Stock Award Plan. The votes received by ballot were as follows: Votes For 255,153,946 86.18% Votes Against 40,312,819 13.61% Abstentions 571,736 0.19% Proposal 4 – Approve all unallocated entitlements under the Performance Share Unit Plan The vote was carried for the Performance Share Unit Plan. The votes received by ballot were as follows: Votes For 264,889,270 89.47% Votes Against 30,721,918 10.37% Abstentions 427,313 0.14% Proposal 5 – Approve all unallocated entitlements under the Deferred Share Unit Plan The vote was carried for the Deferred Share Unit Plan. The votes received by ballot were as follows: Votes For 268,987,469 90.86% Votes Against 26,642,843 8.99% Abstentions 408,189 0.13% Proposal 6 – Advisory Approval of Executive Compensation (“Say-on-Pay”) The vote was carried on the Say-On-Pay Advisory Vote. The votes received by ballot were as follows: Votes For 214,048,542 72.30% Votes Against 81,376,553 27.48% Abstentions 613,406 0.20% Proposal 7 – Advisory Approval on Frequency of Seeking Non-Binding Approval of Executive Compensation The vote was carried on the annual submission of the non-binding vote on compensation of the Company’s Named Executive Officers. The votes received by ballot were as follows: 1 YEAR 2 YEARS 3 YEARS ABSTAIN 294,438,533 374,890 597,803 627,275 Full details of all proposals are fully described in the Company’s Management Information Circular dated March 24, 2026 available on the Company’s website at www.novagold.com/investors/mic/ , on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca , and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov , and the detailed results of voting on each proposal are included in the Report of Voting Results filed on SEDAR+ and in the 8-K filed on EDGAR. The Annual General Meeting of Shareholders webcast and corporate presentation are available on NOVAGOLD’s website under Annual Meeting Materials and Presentations . NOVAGOLD Contacts: Mélanie HennesseyVice President, Corporate Communications Frank GagnonManager, Investor Relations 604-669-6227 or 1-866-669-6227 [email protected] www.novagold.com

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