NORD.L Regulatory News (NORD)

Nordgold Production Report for the First Quarter 2012 Ending 31st March

Q1 production primarily impacted by short term factors which have been largely rectified. Nordgold remains on track to achieve full year production target of 800-850 koz in 2012

Amsterdam, Netherlands, 24 April 2012 - Nord Gold N.V, ("Nordgold" or the "Company", LSE: NORD), an independent, internationally diversified, pure-play gold producer strategically focused on emerging markets, announces its production results for the first quarter ending 31 March 2012.

Highlights

·; Q1 gold production of 156 thousand gold equivalent ounces ("koz"), 11% below production in Q1 2012

·; Increase in Q1 2012 production (vs Q1 2011) at Buryatzoloto, Suzdal and Aprelkovo, with lower production at Lefa, Taparko, Berzitovy and Neryungri due to temporary mechanical bottlenecks that have been rectified

·; The increased average realised gold price of $1,689 per ounce over the quarter had a positive impact on cash flow and earnings with revenue at $264 m

·; Significant progress on greenfield and debottlenecking projects:

o Lefa - initial three drill rigs and an excavator have arrived at the mine site. Five dump trucks are expected in May 2012. Pebble crusher is on track for July 2012 start

o Taparko - regrind mill and two additional leach tanks to start in June 2012

o Berezitovy - installation of the secondary crusher and a new penion is on track for June 2012

o Gross prefeasibility study to be available in May/June this year; first production expected in late 2013

o Bissa - construction phase progressing on schedule; arrival of mining fleet 50% complete; first production to begin in 1H 2013

·; The Company continues to expect gold production for the full year to be in the range of 800 and 850 koz. Significant production growth in H2 will be primarily driven by:

o Seasonality at Russian heap leach mines and launch of heap leach at Berezitovy

o Mining higher grade zones at Lefa and material increase in mill productivity with a launch of a pebble crusher

o Elimination of mechanical bottlenecks at Taparko and Berezitovy

Production Summary

Refined gold production by mines (1)

(1) Gold equivalent (Silver production amounts 1 koz in gold equivalent for the Q1 2012).

(2) Including refined gold from Zherek

Nikolai Zelenski, Chief Executive of Nordgold, commented:

Nordgold has been impacted in the quarter by mine-specific issues which have been identified and fixed, and production has returned to our forecast rates. I anticipate a strong second half and expect the investments we have made across our portfolio, including new mining equipment and enhanced processing systems, will ensure we meet our 2012 and 2013 production targets. Finally, work at our major development projects of Bissa and Gross is on schedule and on budget and we expect first gold at Bissa in H1 2013.

Telephone conference and a Q&A session

Nordgold CEO Nikolai Zelenski will present Company's operational results and will provide details of Nordgold's growth plans for 2012.

Nordgold will host a conference call today at 1 pm GMT to present its operational results for the first quarter of 2012. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. To participate in the telephone conference, please register in advance.

Registration details:

Conference Title: Nordgold Presentation of Operational Results for the First Quarter of 2012

Conference ID: 4533259

Please use one of the following dial-in numbers to connect to the conference:

Russia

8-10-800-2-198-4011 (toll free)

United Kingdom 

+44-20-7190-1590 (local access)

0800-358-5258 (toll free)

USA

+1-480-629-9678 (local access)

+1-877-941-8633 (toll free)

Germany

+49-6971-044-5555 (local access)

0800-330-4463 (toll free)

Webcast

The press and analyst conference will also be broadcast live over the Internet, and will be available as a recording at company web site after the conference.

To register and participate in the webcast please follow the link:http://www.cyber-presentation.de/cgi-bin/visitors.ssp?fn=visitor&id=1717

You can connect to the conference or view its recording using a mobile phone, iPhone or iPad.

Materials

The Company's operational results for the first quarter of 2012 and the presentation materials will be available from 10:00 AM GMT on April 24 on the company's official website: www.nordgold.com .

Enquiries:

For further information on Nordgold please visit the company's website - http://www.nordgold.com

Notes to Editors

About Nordgold

Nordgold (LSE: NORD) is an established pure-play emerging-markets gold producer, with operations in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Russia and Kazakhstan.

Since its establishment in 2007, Nordgold has expanded rapidly through acquisitions and organic investment, achieving a rate of growth unmatched in the industry during that period. By the end of 2011 the company's gold production has reached 754 Koz.

Nordgold has eight active mines, two development projects, five advanced exploration projects and a broad portfolio of early exploration projects and licenses.

Nordgold's target is to produce 1 Moz of gold from existing mines and development projects by the end of 2013. This target is underpinned by company's gold reserves of 12.7 Moz and resource base of 29.5 Moz of gold and 103 Moz of silver.

Q1 2012 Production Overview

In Q1 2012 production decreased by 11% to 155.7 koz compared to Q1 2011 production of 174.2 koz. We have seen varying performance at our key producing assets. Overperforming y-o-y mines were Buryatzoloto, Suzdal and Aprelkovo, and underperformers with lower production y-o-y were Lefa, Taparko, Berzitovy and Neryungri. The main reasons for this underperformance are temporary mechanical bottlenecks that have been largely resolved during the first quarter 2012. We provide a more detailed explanation in the mine site summary below.

Despite the temporary operational matters at certain mine sites, Nordgold remains on track to achieve full year production target of 800-850 koz in 2012. Management expects a skew toward the second half driven by the positive seasonality effect at Russian heap leach mines as well as new heap leach launch at Berezitovy mine. We also expect to mine higher grades at Lefa with a material increase in mill productivity with the launch of a pebble crusher in July 2012. Our production volumes Taparko and Berezitovy mines should be reflected by elimination of mechanical bottlenecks at these mines during Q1 2012.

Revenue from metal sales was US$264 million in Q1 2012, versus US$244 million during the same period in 2011, an increase of 8% reflecting stronger average realized gold price of US$1,689 per ounce, 20% higher than in the comparable period in 2011.

Mine site summary

Guinea

Lefa

Ore processed multiplied by head grade and multiplied by recovery may not be equal gold produced due to differences in work in progress figures and volumes of silver production.

Processing

The volume of ore processed at Lefa during the quarter was reduced primarily due to the failure of a SAG mill engine in early January 2012. The new SAG mill engine was installed and operational from February, however due to the engine failure the whole project had to operate using only one line (of two) throughout January. As a result, only half of the regular monthly ore volume was processed in January at Lefa, and the mine ended the quarter having processed c.200,000 tonnes of ore less than planned.

Nordgold finalised the acquisition of Crew Gold, which owned and operated Lefa, in August 2010. At that time the mine has been significantly underinvested and undermanaged. Since then we have made considerable effort to improve performance and drive productivity to ensure, as we have done with our other acquired assets, that Lefa is in the strongest position it can be. As part of our investment programme, we have implemented a Critical Spare Parts Project to minimize the impact of breakdowns on the output at this facility. Unfortunately, due to long lead time not all spare parts and units have arrived at the mine site yet. Completion of such optimisation projects will minimise the impact of any such failures on the future operational results of this facility.

Head Grade

Head grade was slightly below forecast during the period. As we have previously indicated, we have been fully focused on updating existing, and developing new, geological models for all Lefa pits with new drilling data and using more modern and accurate modeling techniques. This updated geological model has enabled us to improve the mine plan, while the newly arrived mining equipment should accelerate access to higher grade ore blocks. We expect a considerable improvement of head grade at Lefa from the second half of the year.

Recovery

Gold recovery also decreased slightly due to lower head grade of processed ore. Recovery should return to historic levels as head grade increases

In addition, we are currently implementing a series of technical improvements, such as upgrading Carbon in Pulp (CIP) tanks into Carbon in Leach (CIL) tanks, to improve recovery rate at this facility. We also see strong potential for recovery improvement once we complete the mill liner replacement in May.

Burkina Faso

Taparko

Ore processed multiplied by head grade and multiplied by recovery may not be equal gold produced due to differences in work in progress figures and volumes of silver production.

Processing

Ore processing increased by 6% in Q1 2012 to c.404,000 tonnes, which partially offset a slight deterioration in head grade at this mine.

Head Grade

Overall head grade in the first quarter was 3.03 g/t at this facility, compared to 3.46 g/t in the first quarter of last year, due to mine plan variations

Recovery

In the first quarter, Taparko was influenced by two factors affecting recovery-we processed more ore, while head grade was lower. As a result, recovery reduced by 2% from 86.7% in the first quarter of 2011 to 84.7% in the first quarter of this year.

We are working on several upgrades which should significantly improve recovery at Taparko starting from Q3. These include the installation of a regrind and two leach tanks to increase recovery by c.5%, as well as a mobile crusher to reduce the impact of the rainy season.

Russia

Buryatzoloto

Ore processed multiplied by head grade and multiplied by recovery may not be equal gold produced due to differences in work in progress figures and volumes of silver production.

Processing

Ore processing has increased due to better availability of the mills at both Irokinda and Zun Holba Head Grade.

Head Grade

Head grade reduced slightly due to mine plan scheduling. According to the mine plan we are expecting better grades for the remainder of the year.

Recovery

We completed a recovery improvement program at Buryatzoloto in the end of last year, the benefits of which we are now beginning to see in our recovery rates.

Berezitovy

Ore processed multiplied by head grade and multiplied by recovery may not be equal gold produced due to differences in work in progress figures and volumes of silver production.

Processing

In November 2011 a pinion of the SAG mill failed. It was immediately replaced with a temporary unit that enabled the plant to work at 75% of its design capacity. We expect to fully eliminate this bottleneck in early May when we expect to receive a new gear shaft.

An installation of a secondary crusher in June should further improve plant productivity by reducing the size of SAG mill feed.

Head Grade

Head grade available for mining has been higher than in Q1 of last year. We expect head grade to moderate in H2 2012.

Recovery

The observed recovery is largely flat and slightly above plant's design recovery.

Neryungri

Ore processed multiplied by head grade and multiplied by recovery may not be equal gold produced due to differences in work in progress figures and volumes of silver production

(3) Technical recovery rate. Actual recovery may differ due to seasonal effects.

Production

As usual with Russian heap leach operations, in the first quarter the mine is primarily focused on overburden removal. With four new dump trucks, an excavator and mobile crusher arriving in May, we expect higher productivity at the Nerungri mine in 2012 relative to the previous year.

Aprelkovo

Ore processed multiplied by head grade and multiplied by recovery may not be equal gold produced due to differences in work in progress figures and volumes of silver production

(4) Technical recovery rate. Actual recovery may differ due to seasonal effects.

Production

As a heap leach operation, Aprelkovo mine has primarily focused on overburden removal in Q1 and installation of tertiary crusher. For the remainder of the year, we expect that processing of higher grade ores will balance the reduced recoveries of transitional and sulfide ores. This will lead to flat production in 2012.

Kazakhstan

Suzdal

Ore processed multiplied by head grade and multiplied by recovery may not be equal gold produced due to differences in work in progress figures and volumes of silver production.

(5) Represents figures for Celtic Group, includes gold from Zherek.

Processing

The processing facility started operations in 2010 and since that date it has continued to show stable performance.

Head Grade

The definition drilling enhanced in 2011, has enabled us to reduce dilution of mined ore bodies, thus enabling us to increase head grade. Primarily due to this work we expect to maintain a stable head grade throughout this year.

Recovery

Suzdal is our only mine where we continue to face significant technical challenges. Since we have moved to extracting ore bodies 2 and 4 in the end of 2010, our overall recoveries have dropped substantially. Despite our efforts to adjust metallurgical processes to a new chemical composition of the ore, the progress so far has been limited. We have launched several new initiatives, including optimisation of floatation, CIL reconfiguration and tailings leaching, aimed at increasing recovery. We believe that overall recovery of 70% should be achievable at Suzdal.

Exploration & Development

Nordgold has a demonstrable track record of successfully growing its resource base and our last reserve update announcement clearly demonstrates ability to deliver on exploration projects which will extend asset life and further broaden the product portfolio into our key target emerging markets. The results at both Bissa and Gross highlight the exciting potential of those projects, while the Company has already delivered on its extensive exploration programme with the announcement today of new discoveries. The Company has a portfolio of 30 early-stage and advanced exploration properties and we look forward to providing further updates on the progress of these projects in due course.

The Exploration team has continued to execute on a proven strategy of increasing life of mine of existing projects and identifying new mine candidates. Exploration budget for 2012 will again exceed $100 m.

Bissa

The main achievement for Q1 2012 was construction of the dam that we have started in February 2012 with the clear target to finish all ground works before the end of May. That was one of the most important challenges for us that might negatively influence on the production volumes of the first year for Bissa. The dam allows us to collect the appropriate amount of water during the rainy season and be prepared for the beginning of production.

We have now received half of the mining fleet on site with the expectation for the remainder to be delivered in July. Onsite we now have ten dump trucks, two graders, three excavators, telehandler, dozer and three loaders.

Plant construction is also underway: we have built a foundation for the leaching tanks and started construction of those tanks. The mill delivery is also underway with the scheduled arrival time in the second half of June. We are currently working on the foundation for the mills, and during the first quarter construction advanced significantly. A further update on the progress of construction will be given at our interim results. At the end of March we started construction of the ROM pad and crusher. We are also on track to erect the onsite LFO/HFO power generation.

During the first quarter this year we have been working on the camp for mine employees and we are proud to state that the camp is now 100% complete awaiting some kitchen equipment.

We are currently in the design phase for tailing dam that is on time with our development plan for the overall project.

We reached an agreement with the government and local communities on the relocation of two small villages that will be affected by future mine operations. New villages for the relocated communities are built, which retained the approximate layout of the existing villages, reflecting our belief that the shape of communities is important to their success. We also provided social infrastructure and services to the relocated villages, including a water supply, medical center, school, church, mosque, and a community meeting place.

The project is well on track to deliver first gold in 1H13.

Gross

The pre-feasibility study is on schedule and is expected to be completed in June. In addition, Ahma Engineers Ltd has completed a report on the infrastructure, and Atlas Group has completed a report on energy supplies for Gross.