Wia Gold has increased the Mineral Resource at its Kokoseb Gold Project in Namibia by 29% to 3.78 million ounces, adding a maiden higher-grade underground resource as continued drilling expands the deposit beyond the proposed open-pit mine.
The updated estimate comprises 113 million tonnes grading 1.0 grams per tonne gold for 3.78 million ounces, compared with the 2.93-million-ounce resource reported in July last year.
The increase includes an open-pit Mineral Resource of 105 million tonnes grading 0.96g/t for 3.23 million ounces and, for the first time, an underground Inferred Mineral Resource of 7.9 million tonnes grading 2.2g/t for 560,000 ounces.
Of the total resource, 2.01 million ounces are now classified in the higher-confidence Indicated category, representing about 53% of the overall estimate.
The latest increase comes as Wia advances Kokoseb towards development, with a separate Definitive Feasibility Study establishing a maiden 1.95-million-ounce Probable Ore Reserve for the proposed open-pit operation.
The 3.78-million-ounce Mineral Resource represents the broader estimated gold inventory at Kokoseb, while the 1.95-million-ounce Ore Reserve is the portion Wia has demonstrated can currently be economically mined after applying the modifying factors required for reserve classification.
The newly defined underground resource is not included in the maiden Ore Reserve or the current open-pit mine plan, giving Wia another potential development opportunity beyond the operation covered by the DFS.
Managing director and chief executive Henk Diederichs said the underground resource strengthened Kokoseb’s longer-term growth potential.
“This updated MRE delivers a 29% increase in contained gold to 3.78Moz and, importantly, includes a maiden underground Mineral Resource that adds a higher-grade component to Kokoseb and highlights the Project’s longer-term growth potential,” Diederichs said.
“It is particularly pleasing that 2.01Moz of gold is now classified in the higher-confidence Indicated category, providing a strong foundation for the Definitive Feasibility Study and ongoing development planning.”
The open-pit resource alone has increased by 10% from the previous estimate. It includes a higher-grade component of 50 million tonnes grading 1.3g/t for 2.13 million ounces when reported at a higher 0.8g/t cut-off.
The maiden underground resource is entirely in the Inferred category and has been reported using a 0.85g/t cut-off.
Within the underground model, Wia identified 5.7 million tonnes grading 2.7g/t for about 500,000 ounces in blocks above 1.0g/t and 4.3 million tonnes grading 3.2g/t for about 440,000 ounces in blocks above 1.5g/t.
Wia cautioned that these higher-grade figures are sensitivity estimates rather than separate Mineral Resources or mineable inventories, as mining dilution, recovery, ore losses, geotechnical constraints, and underground development requirements have not yet been applied.
Kokoseb’s mineralisation also remains open at depth along more than five kilometres of strike, with Wia continuing to intersect gold below the existing resource.
The company has identified an additional underground Exploration Target of between 10 million and 15 million tonnes grading between 2.0g/t and 2.5g/t.
The target is additional to the 3.78-million-ounce Mineral Resource and cannot yet be counted as a resource because drilling remains insufficient to determine its size and grade with the confidence required for Mineral Resource classification.
Wia said there was no certainty that further exploration would ultimately result in the Exploration Target being converted into a Mineral Resource.
Six diamond drill rigs are currently operating at Kokoseb, testing the continuity and extent of mineralisation at depth and examining higher-grade zones that could increase confidence in and potentially expand the underground resource.
“With six rigs currently operating, drilling activities are focused on testing the continuity and extent of mineralisation at depth and further assessing potential higher-grade zones to improve confidence in the underground resource,” Diederichs said.
The company expects drilling of the underground Exploration Target to continue over the next six to 12 months, depending on results and exploration priorities.
Wia has drilled almost 192,000 metres at Kokoseb since drilling began in March 2022, comprising about 114,553 metres of reverse-circulation drilling and 77,287 metres of diamond coring up to the end of May this year.
The latest estimate continues the rapid expansion of the deposit since Wia announced its maiden Mineral Resource in May 2023.
Kokoseb initially contained an estimated 1.3 million ounces from 41 million tonnes grading 1.0g/t. The resource increased to 2.12 million ounces in April 2024 and then to 2.93 million ounces from 89 million tonnes grading 1.0g/t in July 2025.
At 3.78 million ounces, Kokoseb’s estimated contained gold is now about 2.9 times the maiden resource announced three years ago. However, the successive estimates were prepared using different assumptions and are therefore not completely like-for-like.
The current open-pit resource is constrained using a US$ 3,250-per-ounce gold price and an assumed 92% process recovery, while the underground resource is reported beneath the reserve pit shell established in the DFS.
Wia discovered Kokoseb through regional soil sampling in May 2021 and began drilling in March 2022. The latest estimate is the project’s fourth Mineral Resource update and the first to include an underground component.
The company is now pursuing two development tracks at Kokoseb, advancing the proposed open-pit mine while continuing deeper drilling to establish how much additional higher-grade underground mineralisation could ultimately be added to the project.
