Canadian-listed Ongwe Minerals Inc. is moving to raise approximately US$16.8 million (C$23 million, or about N$305 million) through an expanded financing package, primarily to accelerate exploration across its growing Namibian gold portfolio.
The company announced on 12 June 2026 that it had increased the size of its previously announced “best efforts” financing as investor interest in Namibian gold exploration continues to strengthen amid renewed international attention on the country’s emerging northwest Damara gold belt.
Under the revised terms, Ongwe Minerals will now issue up to 11.16 million common shares at C$1.38 per share, generating gross proceeds of up to C$15.4 million through a Listed Issuer Financing Exemption offering.
The financing is being led by Beacon Securities Limited as sole bookrunner, together with Research Capital Corporation as co-lead agent, on behalf of a wider syndicate that includes Haywood Securities Inc., Raymond James Limited, Canaccord Genuity Corp., Red Cloud Securities Inc., and Stifel Nicolaus Canada Inc.
The company has also granted the agents an additional option to purchase up to 2.174 million additional shares, potentially adding another C$3 million to the financing package if exercised in full before closing.
Alongside the brokered financing, Ongwe intends to complete a separate non-brokered private placement of up to 3.33 million shares at the same C$1.38 price, targeting approximately C$4.6 million in additional proceeds.
If both financing components and the agents’ option are fully subscribed, the company could raise close to C$23 million in total gross proceeds.
The company said the funds would primarily support exploration activities on its Namibian gold projects, as well as general working capital requirements and broader corporate development activities.
The expanded financing comes as Namibia continues to attract growing international exploration interest, particularly within the Damara Belt, where several significant gold discoveries and development projects are now reshaping the country’s gold sector.
Ongwe Minerals is led by a team previously associated with some of Namibia’s most successful gold discoveries and mining transactions over the past two decades.
The company’s management and technical team were previously involved in building Osino Resources, which was sold to Shanjin International for approximately C$368 million.
The same group also participated in advancing the Twin Hills and Eureka gold deposits, as well as the earlier development and eventual sale of the Otjikoto gold deposit to B2Gold Corp. for approximately C$180 million.
Ongwe’s current exploration focus is centred on three gold projects within Namibia’s northwest Damara Belt, particularly the Omatjete and Khorixas projects, which the company believes host district-scale discovery potential.
The Omatjete Gold Project is located along the regional Okondeka Fault Zone, a major geological structure that also hosts the Kokoseb gold discovery, which WIA Gold Limited is advancing.
At Omatjete, Ongwe has already identified the Manga Gold Prospect, where early exploration work outlined a 4.5-kilometre-by-1-kilometre gold-in-soil anomaly, supported by initial scout drilling that intersected gold mineralisation in bedrock.
The company said ongoing work is focused on expanding and defining the strike extent of mineralisation along the broader Okondeka Fault Zone corridor.
It’s the Khorixas Gold Project, located about 60 kilometres west of Osino’s Eureka project, which hosts two major surface discoveries, Belmont and K17.
The Belmont prospect alone covers a surface gold footprint of approximately 12 kilometres by 6 kilometres. It lies within a structurally favourable zone between the regional Khorixas Fault and the Belmont Thrust Zone.
According to the company, exploration work, including calcrete and grab sampling, has already identified at least 18 target areas requiring follow-up drilling and evaluation.
The financing announcement reflects the growing scale and ambition of Ongwe’s Namibian exploration programme at a time when investor appetite for African gold exploration assets appears to be recovering.
It also highlights Namibia’s increasing emergence as a preferred destination for junior mining exploration capital due to its stable regulatory environment, established mining infrastructure and improving exploration success rates.
The financing is expected to close around 25 June 2026, subject to regulatory approvals, including conditional approval from the TSX Venture Exchange.
The company also indicated that some insiders may participate in the financing. However, it expects those subscriptions to remain below the thresholds that require minority shareholder approval under Canadian securities regulations.
Shares issued through the listed issuer financing exemption will not be subject to holding restrictions under Canadian securities law. In contrast, shares issued under the separate private placement will carry a statutory four-month holding period following closing.
