“The biggest gold in soil anomaly I have seen in Namibia since first embarking on exploration here in 2008.” That is how Dave Underwood, chief executive of Ongwe Minerals, described the company’s new Nguni find, announced on June 9, 2026.
Ongwe (TSXV: OGW) says the anomaly runs about 5km along strike and is still open to the north, east and west. Soil samples have assayed as high as 730ppb gold, and trends above 100ppb extend for kilometers. The company says the size and grade resemble the Kokoseb soil anomaly. Underwood noted that 28 samples have assayed above 300ppb and eight above 500ppb so far.
Location
Nguni sits 17km from Ongwe’s existing Manga discovery, within the Omatjete Gold Project. It is 55km from Wia Gold’s Kokoseb project, which holds 2.93Moz. All three lie on the same structural trend, the Okondeka Fault Zone. The 17km stretch between Manga and Nguni has not been explored, and Ongwe calls it a high priority for future sampling.
Mineralization at Nguni appears to sit in deformed metasediments of the Kuiseb Formation, beside late-to-syn-tectonic leucogranites. The contacts of those brittle granites look more prospective than the older foliated biotite granites. The best-grade northwestern part of the anomaly wraps around a granite dome, and toward the east the mineralization follows the contact to a small outcrop called “Gossan Hill.” Underwood called the setting a “textbook structural setting,” where a regional fault jogs around brittle granite and opens space for hydrothermal fluids.
How it was found
A regional soil campaign on a 200 x 200m grid turned up the anomaly, and Ongwe’s in-house detectORE system, which uses a portable XRF instrument, flagged it first. Infill sampling on a 100 x 100m spacing was assayed by fire assay at MSALABS in Omaruru, and that work produced the 730ppb peak. Infill sampling on a 50 x 50m grid is now under way. A layer of overburden limits geological mapping. The company says the detectORE method is for rapid on-site screening and not for estimating mineral resources.
Underwood cautioned that soil grades do not necessarily show the grade of the rock below. He did point out that the numbers are close to those reported at Kokoseb when that discovery was announced in September 2021.
Next steps
Ongwe plans a drone magnetic survey using its own drone and is finalizing land access to explore the unexplored corridor and the ground east of Nguni. Drilling is planned to start in the second half of 2026. “This discovery validates our faith in the Omatjete Gold Project,” Underwood said.
Ongwe has three flagship gold projects in Namibia: Omatjete at 151,800ha, Khorixas at 154,000ha and Outjo at 46,000 ha. Carl Joone, the company’s president and co-founder and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, verified the data.
The same day, Ongwe’s 51% subsidiary, Belmont Minerals Exploration (Pty) Ltd., signed an amending agreement to buy a 90% interest in a 36,000 ha license area next to Omatjete. Ongwe will issue 175,000 shares to the seller, on top of C$50,000 already paid in cash. Milestone payments of up to C$4,000,000 would follow if significant resources are established.
