By: African Mining Market

Ongwe Minerals has secured approximately CAD$23 million (about N$300 million) in fresh funding to accelerate exploration across its growing portfolio of gold projects in Namibia, providing the company with one of the largest recent exploration war chests raised for the country’s emerging northwestern gold belt.

The Canadian and Namibian-listed explorer announced that it had successfully closed a brokered and non-brokered private placement after strong investor demand prompted the company to increase the size of the fundraising.

The financing comprised a brokered listed issuer financing exemption (LIFE) offering, which raised approximately CAD$18.4 million through the issue of 13.33 million shares, and a concurrent private placement that generated a further CAD$4.6 million.

Chief Executive Officer Dave Underwood said the response from investors exceeded expectations and reflected growing confidence in the company’s Namibian exploration portfolio.

“We are delighted by the amount of interest we received for this Ongwe financing. Due to the high levels of demand, we upsized the offering to approximately CAD$23 million,” Underwood said.

He added that the fundraising attracted both existing shareholders and new institutional investors, as well as family offices and specialist mining investors.

“As a result of our recent dual listing on the Namibian Stock Exchange, we were able to offer a sizeable allocation to Namibian investors,” he said.

The proceeds will be directed almost entirely towards expanding exploration activities across Ongwe’s gold projects in Namibia, where the company has emerged as one of the largest landholders in the country’s rapidly developing northwestern gold province.

Reverse circulation drilling has already commenced at the Khorixas project, while a diamond drilling programme targeting the Manga and Nguni prospects at the Omatjete project is scheduled to begin at the end of July.

The company is also significantly expanding its regional exploration programme, with four field sampling teams now working simultaneously across the broader Omatjete licence package to identify additional gold targets.

The latest funding marks another important step in Ongwe’s strategy to establish Namibia’s northwestern Damara Belt as the country’s next major gold exploration frontier.

The company controls more than 260,000 hectares across the Omatjete and Khorixas project areas, where recent exploration has identified multiple kilometre-scale gold systems and structural trends comparable to those associated with Namibia’s recent discoveries at Twin Hills and Kokoseb.

Ongwe believes the region remains substantially underexplored despite its favourable geology and increasing evidence of widespread gold mineralisation.

The successful capital raising also follows the company’s recent dual listing on the Namibia Securities Exchange, a move aimed at broadening its shareholder base and increasing Namibian investor participation in the company’s growth.

In addition to funding exploration, part of the proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes as Ongwe continues advancing multiple projects simultaneously.

The company said the financing remains subject to final acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange.

The fundraising comes as investor appetite for Namibian gold exploration continues strengthening, driven by a string of significant discoveries over the past five years and growing confidence that the country is emerging as one of Africa’s newest major gold exploration destinations.