Staff Writer
Ongwe Minerals has started drilling at its newly discovered Nguni gold prospect, located 17 km east of its Manga gold discovery at the Omatjete Gold Project in Namibia.
The company said the Nguni prospect was identified in May 2026 during a regional soil sampling programme targeting the Okondeka Fault Zone, an area that also hosts WIA Gold’s Kokoseb gold deposit and Ongwe’s Manga discovery.
Ongwe said follow-up sampling has confirmed a gold anomaly stretching about 6 km, with 50 soil samples recording gold concentrations above 300 parts per billion (ppb), and the highest result reaching 1 310 ppb.
The company said the size and strength of the anomaly are similar to those identified at the neighbouring Kokoseb deposit before drilling began there.
Ongwe has now mobilised a diamond drilling rig to test the highest-grade section of the Nguni anomaly.
The company said the initial drilling will provide detailed information on the geology and mineralisation of the area, which will be used to plan further drilling.
A second reverse circulation drilling rig will be used to test lower-grade sections of the anomaly. Ongwe said this type of drilling will allow it to assess the area more quickly and help determine which targets should receive further exploration.
Ongwe chief executive Dave Underwood said the company was starting its first fully funded drilling programme at Nguni after defining the central part of the anomaly through closer-spaced soil sampling.
“We are now embarking on the maiden, fully funded drill program at this exciting target,” Underwood said.
The company also plans to conduct additional diamond drilling at its Manga prospect, focusing on an area where earlier exploration identified a wide and high-grade bedrock anomaly.
Ongwe said the priority Manga anomaly begins east of its previous reverse circulation drilling and extends for at least 1 000 metres. The anomaly remains open to the east, indicating that further exploration is required to determine its full extent.
The Nguni discovery followed Ongwe’s regional soil sampling programme along the Okondeka Fault System.
Initial sampling was conducted on a 200-metre by 200-metre grid before the company increased the sampling density to 50 metres by 50 metres over areas where gold anomalies were identified.
The company said Nguni is located in a relatively flat area with limited visible rock exposure. The gold anomaly occurs within narrow zones of metamorphosed sedimentary rocks between younger granites.
Ongwe discovered Manga during its first regional soil sampling programme at Omatjete in the fourth quarter of 2024.
That programme identified a gold and arsenic anomaly about 4.5 km long and up to 1 km wide. Further sampling on a tighter grid helped define the surface anomaly and identify targets for follow-up exploration.
