Ongwe Minerals in Namibia is WhyAfrica’s Pick Of The Week

Ongwe Minerals in Namibia is WhyAfrica’s Pick Of The Week

Some of the most interesting exploration projects are underway in Namibia.

By Leon Louw founder of WhyAfrica and Endorphin Expeditions

Although there are many early stage greenfields gold exploration projects in progress across Africa, many of these will never make it into production.

According to industry data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and the World Gold Council only 0.1% to 1% of early-stage greenfields exploration projects eventually become operating mines.

That means a staggering 99% do not reach production. However, the small number that do succeed eventually become major long-life assets.

So, when WhyAfrica picks a project for its Pick Of The Week column and reports on it, it is because we believe there is a fair to reasonable chance that this project will eventually come into fruition.

Northwest Damara Belt remains underexplored

In Namibia, the Northwest Damara Gold Belt (within the broader Damara Orogenic Belt) remains relatively underexplored, especially around Khorixas and Omatjete.

For investors and explorers, this Belt represents a classic early-stage greenfields opportunity, which means large landholdings, limited historic drilling, and geological similarities to producing districts elsewhere in the Damara system.

Ongwe Minerals reports anomalous bedrock

TSX listed Ongwe Minerals has been onto it early and just last week reported the discovery of a 2km long, strongly anomalous bedrock zone along the Khorixas Fault Zone at its Belmont prospect.

Ongwe had three gold flagship projects in Namibia and a dominant land position in the Northwest Damara Gold Belt, comprising the Khorixas Project (154,000ha) which includes the Belmont Prospect; the Omatjete Project (151,800ha) which contains the Manga Prospect; and the Outjo Project (46,000 ha) which is along strike from Osino’s Eureka Gold Discovery and occupies a geological setting similar to that of the Eureka Discovery.

According to Dave Underwood, Ongwe’s CEO the initial bedrock sampling program at Belmont has produced a coherent and extensive zone of bedrock alteration and mineralization along the Khorixas Fault.

A prospective basin

“We have now defined a strong walk-up drill target on a prospective basin margin structure, which will be tested in the coming months along with the other defined targets,” he says.

Underwood is leading a team that was previously with Osino Resources (sold to Shanjin International) that has a history of making and advancing gold discoveries in Namibia, including Osino’s Twin Hills (currently in construction) and Eureka deposits, and the advancement and sale of Auryx Gold’s Otjikoto gold deposit (in production, sold to B2Gold).

WhyAfrica tracks and visits early-stage greenfields exploration projects across Africa.

Image: Drilling in Namibia’s Northwest Damara Gold Belt. Image credit: Ongwe Minerals.

Ongwe Minerals in Namibia is WhyAfrica’s Pick Of The Week