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Agreement Will Transfer Rock Creek Mine Assets to BSNC

Agreement Will Transfer Rock Creek Mine Assets to BSNC

June 12, 2012 - (Nome, Alaska).  Bering Straits Native Corporation  
(BSNC) and NovaGold Resources Inc. have signed a Purchase and Sale  
Agreement (PSA) that will transfer the assets of the Rock Creek Mine  
to BSNC.  The transfer is contingent upon NovaGold?s successful  
completion of Phase I of the Reclamation Plan approved by the  
permitting agencies in the spring of 2012.
Concurrently, BSNC is in negotiations with NovaGold to purchase the  
Alaska Gold Company, which owns the Rock Creek mine and other assets  
in the Nome area including land and gravel resources and the Big  
Hurrah mining claim.
Rock Creek is an open-pit gold mine located six miles east of Nome.   
The mine is now in care and maintenance status. BSNC is continuing to  
evaluate whether the mine can successfully be placed back into  
operation on a smaller scale than previously operated.  If the  
analysis indicates that mine cannot be profitably operated, BSNC will  
initiate Phase II of the reclamation plan and move towards full  
closure of the mine site.

"BSNC is well positioned to utilize its existing infrastructure to  
explore future opportunities in the region,? said Gail Schubert,  
President of BSNC. ?We will evaluate all environmentally sound options  
to maximize the value of Rock Creek to secure economic benefits for   
BSNC and the region.?

The PSA will transfer the mine and mill facility to BSNC as well as  
the patented mining claims owned by NovaGold within the project area.   
?The transfer of these assets to BSNC is a natural step in our  
relationship with NovaGold.  Bringing the patented claims into BSNC  
will enhance our land base in the region, and the material assets of  
the mine will provide a benefit to our current Nome area operations,?  
said Schubert.

About Bering Straits Native Corporation
Bering Straits Native Corporation (BSNC) was formed in 1972 as the  
regional Alaska Native Corporation for 6,333 original shareholders  
under authority of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.  The  
Bering Straits region encompasses the majority of Alaska's Seward  
Peninsula and the coastal lands of eastern Norton Sound. BSNC owns and  
manages nearly two million acres of subsurface estate of land selected  
by 17 village corporations in the region. This region is one of the  
most culturally diverse areas in the state with three Native languages  
spoken: Siberian Yup'ik, Central Yup'ik, and Inupiaq.

BSNC is headquartered in Nome, Alaska. Regional operations include  
real estate management and development, tourism, construction, mining  
services and sales of rock and aggregate. BSNC also has offices in  
Anchorage, which oversee the company's government contract work under  
the SBA's 8(a), HubZone and small business programs. Anchorage  
operations also include construction and various support services for  
commercial clients and shareholder services.