Northgate Reports Fourth Quarter Gold Production Of 94,405 Ounces, At A Record Low Cash Cost Of $59/Ounce, Production Of 320,000 Ounces Forecast For 2006

Business Wire, Jan 17, 2006

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- (All figures in US dollars except where noted) - Northgate Minerals Corporation (TSX:NGX)(AMEX:NXG) today reported its fourth quarter 2005 operating results and 2006 forecast for its Kemess mine located in north central British Columbia.

Fourth Quarter 2005 Production Highlights

- Quarterly gold production of 94,405 ounces, the second highest quarterly production in the history of the Kemess mine.

- Record quarterly copper production 24.7 million pounds.

- Record low quarterly cash cost of $59 per ounce.

2006 Production Forecast Highlights

- The Kemess Mine is forecast to produce 320,000 ounces of gold and 84.6 million pounds of copper during 2006.

- The cash cost of production, net of by-product credits, is forecast to be $170 per ounce assuming a copper price of $1.70 per pound.

- Exploration spending will increase to a total of $7.8 million with $3.8 million to be spent on the newly acquired Young-Davidson properties and the balance on Kemess claims and the RDN property.

Ken Stowe, President and CEO, commented, "The Kemess mine finished the year on an extremely strong note, with the highest quarterly gold and copper production of the year and a record low cash cost in the history of the mine. I am especially proud to report that for the fourth year in a row, we delivered on the metal production forecast that we made at the beginning of the year. For 2006, we are projecting record annual gold and copper production at a cash cost of $170 per ounce. As we move into 2006, we are very excited about the prospects for increasing the resource base at our recently acquired Young-Davidson property in Ontario, where we plan to spend $3.8 million on diamond drilling during the year. With metal prices continuing at record levels, our cash flow in the coming year should be excellent and we will easily meet our goal of becoming debt free by the middle of 2006. Management's major focus in the New Year will be to develop additional growth opportunities for Northgate by acquiring new gold reserves either in the form of a late stage development project or an operating mine."

OVERVIEW OF OPERATIONS FOR Q4 - 2005

The Kemess mine posted gold and copper production of 94,405 ounces and 24.7 million pounds respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2005. This production was the result of strong mill throughput for hypogene ore of 50,738 tonnes per day combined with above-average hypogene ore grades. Over the course of 2005, ore grades and quarterly metal production varied considerably as different areas of the Kemess pit were mined according to the life of mine schedule. For the full year, the gold and copper production of 279,962 ounces and 73.7 million pounds, respectively, were consistent with the forecast released by Northgate at the beginning of 2005.

The cash cost of production at Kemess in the fourth quarter was $59 per ounce bringing the average 2005 cash cost to $205 per ounce. The record low cash cost set during the fourth quarter stemmed from record copper production and strong copper prices which averaged $1.95 per pound on the London Metal Exchange during the quarter.

In order to fix the price for copper it has already produced, Northgate entered into forward sales contracts prior to year end which locked in a price of $1.98 ($0.03 per pound higher than the average LME Cash price for the quarter) for all copper revenue that will be recognized in the fourth quarter of 2005. As a result, copper revenues that will be reported in the Corporation's 2005 financial statements (scheduled for release on February 23, 2006) will not be dependant on future prices as is normally the case. Northgate's copper production from January 1, 2006 forward remains un-hedged and fully levered to future changes in the price of copper.

Northgate's audited financial results for the year ended December 31, 2005 are scheduled for release on February 23, 2006 and the Corporation's regular quarterly investor conference call and webcast will be held at 10:00 am (Eastern Standard Time) the following day.

2005 Kemess Mine Production

                            4Q 05       4Q 04        2005        2004
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Ore plus waste
 mined (tonnes)        12,907,609  13,637,789  51,233,842  56,000,000

Ore mined (tonnes)      6,663,925   4,831,968  19,523,319  19,329,000

Stripping ratio
 (waste/ore)                 0.94        1.82        1.62        1.90

Tonnes milled (ore)     4,667,874   4,796,471  17,995,159  18,589,662

Average mill
 operating rate (tpd)      50,738      52,136      49,302      50,791

Gold grade (gmt)            0.875       0.876       0.723       0.735
Copper grade (%)            0.283       0.270       0.229       0.231

Gold recovery (%)              72          70          67          69
Copper recovery (%)            85          84          81          83

Gold production
 (ounces)                  94,405      94,673     279,962     303,475
Copper production
 (000's pounds)            24,700      23,856      73,722      78,291

Productivity measures:
 Tonnes mined per
  shift worked                788         826         785         842
 Tonnes milled per
  shift worked                285         290         276         280

Cash Cost of Production
 ($/ounce) (1)(2)              59         108         205         135

Notes: (1) The cash cost of production figures reported by Northgate
           include the full cost of waste stripping.
       (2) 2005 cash cost figures are unaudited estimates and are
           subject to revision.