Ongwe Minerals Inc. has commenced its 2026 exploration programme in Namibia after mobilising a reverse circulation drill rig to begin its inaugural bedrock sampling campaign at the Belmont Gold Prospect near Khorixas.
The company said the drilling marks the start of an extensive work programme following the completion of its reverse takeover and the commencement of trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker OGW.
Ongwe said the initial campaign will focus on defining bedrock gold targets beneath extensive surface cover at its Belmont and Manga prospects, with a total of 6,000 metres of reverse circulation drilling budgeted for completion by the second quarter of 2026. Of this, approximately 4,000 metres will be drilled at Belmont, with a further 2,000 metres planned for Manga, with scope to expand the programme if infill sampling is required.
The drilling programme is being undertaken across Ongwe’s two flagship projects in Namibia, the Khorixas Project and the Omatjete Project, which together cover more than 260,000 hectares in the highly prospective Northwest Damara Belt.
The region remains underexplored due to widespread calcrete and wind-blown sand cover, which have historically discouraged conventional exploration.
At the Khorixas Project, the Belmont Prospect represents a large orogenic gold system with a surface footprint of approximately 12 by 6 kilometres. Previous surface work identified multiple high-grade gold rock chips, including samples grading up to 145.7 grams per tonne gold, as well as visible gold in gossanous quartz vein material. Limited scout drilling completed in 2024 intersected bedrock mineralisation, returning results of up to six metres at 6.85 grams per tonne gold from 20 metres depth.
The current bedrock sampling programme at Belmont is designed to test at least ten priority target zones identified from calcrete and soil geochemistry and aeromagnetic interpretation.
Short reverse circulation holes, typically between three and 15 metres deep, are being drilled to penetrate through cover and sample fresh bedrock, allowing the company to refine targets ahead of a planned diamond drilling campaign in the second half of 2026.
Following completion of the Belmont programme, the drill rig will be redeployed to the Manga Gold Prospect at the Omatjete Project.
Manga lies approximately 30 kilometres along strike from WIA Gold’s Kokoseb gold deposit, which hosts an estimated 2.9 million ounces of gold, and shares a similar structural setting along the regional Okondeka Fault Zone.
Manga was initially identified through soil geochemistry and portable XRF surveys, which outlined a broad arsenic anomaly later confirmed to be associated with gold mineralisation extending for more than four kilometres.
A maiden 1,800-metre reverse circulation drill programme completed in October 2024 intersected sulphide-hosted gold mineralisation in all holes, including broad intercepts such as 138 metres at 0.22 grams per tonne gold and 18 metres at 0.5 grams per tonne gold. Subsequent mapping and rock-chip sampling returned assays of up to 19.75 grams per tonne gold.
In parallel with drilling, Ongwe has restarted an extensive regional soil sampling programme across its Omatjete licences, targeting the strike extent of major regional structures, including extensions of the Okondeka Fault Zone.
The company plans to collect approximately 10,000 soil samples across its licence areas, supported by detailed geological mapping and rock-chip sampling, with initial analysis conducted using its in-house portable XRF facility before laboratory gold assays.
Ongwe chief executive officer David Underwood said the start of bedrock sampling marked a key transition for the company following its listing.
“Now that the RTO has been completed and Ongwe has commenced trading on the TSXV, we have begun our much-anticipated bedrock sampling programme at Belmont,” Underwood said. “This technique was instrumental in the discovery of Osino’s Twin Hills deposit and we are applying the same methodology to define drill-ready targets across Belmont and Manga.”
He said the company had expanded its technical and operational team to manage the anticipated increase in sampling and data flow, while also strengthening its corporate function with the appointment of a financial manager as exploration expenditure accelerates through 2026.
Ongwe Minerals is led by a team that has been involved in major gold discoveries and developments in Namibia, including Osino Resources’ Twin Hills and Eureka deposits and the Otjikoto gold mine, now operated by B2Gold.
The company’s strategy is focused on advancing greenfield gold systems in the emerging Northwest Damara gold belt from surface anomalies to drill-defined resources.
