NovaGold Resources Inc. said Thursday it earned a second-quarter profit of $94.2-million as it spun off its Ambler project in Alaska to a new company called NovaCopper.
The company said the increase was due mostly to a gain of $71.6-million realized on the transfer of the Upper Kobuk Mineral Project in the Ambler district as a result of the NovaCopper spin-out.
NovaGold said the profit for the three months ended May 31 totalled 26 cents per diluted share compared with a profit of $24.6-million or a loss of a penny per diluted share a year ago.
At May 31,the company, which has projects in development, had $301.2-million in cash and cash equivalents.
Last month, NovaGold signed a deal to sell its troubled Rock Creek property in Nome, Alaska, to Bering Straits Native Corp.
NovaGold didn't disclose the sale price but said it expects to save about $14-million (U.S.) that it had budgeted in 2012 for closure expenditures related to the Rock Creek project.
The Vancouver-based company has been focusing on its Donlin Gold project in Alaska – jointly owned with Toronto-based Barrick Gold Corp. – and has been selling or spinning off its other projects.
NovaGold spun off its Ambler project into a company called NovaCopper earlier this year and announced plans to sell its stake in the Galore Creek project in B.C., that it has been developing with Teck Resources.