Mr. Dave Underwood reports

ONGWE MINERALS PROVIDES UPDATE ON ITS NEWLY DISCOVERED NGUNI PROSPECT, NAMIBIA

Ongwe Minerals Inc. has provided an update on the accelerating exploration work program at its newly discovered Nguni gold prospect, situated 17 kilometres from the Manga gold discovery at its Omatjete gold project.

Highlights:

• Initial 50-metre-by-50-metre soil sampling grid across Nguni completed;
• Results received include 50 soil samples above 300 parts per billion gold, peaking at 1,310 ppb Au (comparable with the Kokoseb soil anomaly);
• Six-kilometre strike length defined above 50 ppb Au, with the anomaly remaining open to the north, east and west;
• Maiden 5,000-metre diamond drill program planned to start in August;
• Farm access agreements for the immediate northern, eastern and western extensions of Nguni are near finalization.

Nguni is a large, high-grade gold-in-soil anomaly discovered by Ongwe in May, 2026, through a regional soil sampling program. The program targeted the regionally significant Okondeka fault zone (OFZ), which hosts both WIA Gold's Kokoseb gold deposit and Ongwe's Manga gold discovery. Situated 55 kilometres east of Kokoseb and 17 km east of Manga, Nguni is being rapidly advanced through detailed surface work and drilling, with the goal of converting the target into a large-scale economic discovery.

Dave Underwood, Ongwe's chief executive officer, commented: "The infill work on the Nguni prospect is now complete and it looks like a very robust target with scale potential. We are excited about initiating the first-ever drill program at Nguni and will be commencing with RC [reverse circulation] and diamond drilling in order to get detailed geological information in this area of very limited outcrop. We will start off with a single rig and ramp up once we understand the structure and geology a little better. This will also give us time to sample the neighbouring farms and delineate the rest of the anomaly and bring it into the drill program. At the same time, we will keep the regional field teams active, chasing the highly productive Okondeka fault system to the east and see if there are any more nice surprises out there."

Alongside Ongwe's work at Nguni, progress continues at the Belmont prospect within the Khorixas gold project. Recent surface geochemistry, mapping and a structural reinterpretation guided a short RC drill program. Assay results from the RC program are pending, but there are visual indications of quartz veining and sulphide mineralization, which are very encouraging, and Ongwe expects to release results in the coming weeks.

Nguni soil sampling

Following the initial identification of the Nguni gold anomaly, the company proceeded with an infill 50-metre-by-50-metre soil sampling campaign. This infill program has now been completed across the full extent of the Nguni anomaly, currently accessible with 1,605 samples collected. Ongwe is in the final stages of securing land access for the two adjacent farms covering the northern, eastern and western strike extensions, with formal granting expected imminently.

Detailed surface geological mapping, supported by trial pitting, indicates that the region is covered by alluvial scree ranging from one metre to five metres in thickness. Limited outcrop of schist and granite is confined to river cuttings, and it is Ongwe's interpretation that, aside from localized surface drainage movement, the gold-in-soil anomalies are largely in situ.

Fire assay results from the Nguni soil grid included 50 samples exceeding 300 ppb Au and established a continuous six-kilometre strike footprint above 50 ppb Au. This detailed sampling confirms that the gold mineralization is hosted by metasedimentary rocks adjacent to granitic contact zones, similar to the geological architecture observed at the Kokoseb gold deposit.

The highest grades are located in the northern and southern sectors of the current grid, both sectors truncated by the current extent of the sampling. Significantly, in the northern section, radiometric data indicate the presence of a small leucogranite intrusion. The company considers this leucogranite to be an integral component of the mineralizing system, making it a high-priority target for the next phase of sampling. Likewise, to the southeast, a prominent magnetic anomaly aligns directly with a leucogranite contact and gold grades trend upward toward the magnetic feature. This area also represents a high priority for the next phase.

Nguni exploration plan

The company is finalizing preparations to mobilize a diamond drill rig to the Nguni prospect, with drilling scheduled to commence toward the end of August. As Nguni is a greenfields discovery with limited bedrock exposure, diamond drilling is essential to maximize geological, structural and stratigraphic information. The initial drill program comprises 5,000 metres and will target the core areas of the gold-in-soil anomaly. Operations will commence with one diamond rig, with capacity to deploy additional rigs as structural control and mineralization patterns are clarified.

Upon execution of access agreements for the adjacent farms, field crews will be mobilized to extend the soil grid and delineate the full extent of the anomaly. The drill schedule is adaptable and Ongwe will incorporate high-grade targets as they are generated by the continuing surface work.

In addition, field teams have been deployed to initiate systematic soil sampling along regional fault structures to the south and east of Nguni, where complete land access has already been secured. The structural corridor linking the Manga and Nguni prospects falls under the pending land agreement and will also be prioritized for sampling immediately upon authorization. More than 80 kilometres of combined strike along prospective fault structures remain unsampled within the Omatjete gold project.

Exploration update on other prospects

Bedrock sampling to test the eastern extent of the Manga gold discovery is complete and results are pending. In-house detectOre analysis suggests that the system remains open to the east and calcrete sampling is planned to trace the mineralization farther eastward.

At the Khorixas gold project, shallow RC fence lines have been drilled across surface calcrete anomalies to test the BK2, BK7, BK12 and BK13 splay targets and assay results are pending. The Plains gold anomaly on the northern Damara boundary structure will be tested with diamond drilling later in the year.

Ongwe Minerals has three gold flagship projects in Namibia and a dominant land position in the emerging and highly prospective Northwest Damara gold belt.

Tenement update

The exclusive prospecting licence (EPL) hosting the Nguni anomaly is currently advancing through the standard renewal process. Having submitted all documentation well ahead of schedule alongside proof of extensive continuing work on the EPL, the company fully expects a positive renewal outcome in the coming weeks

Assay method

The company initially utilized the detectOre analytical technique, designed to enable the measurement of trace gold concentrations in geological samples using a portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) instrument. This process overcomes the traditional limitations of gold analysis by pXRF, including low gold concentrations and metal peak interference. The method involves leaching 250 grams of sieved material in a sealed pouch with 500 millilitres of GLIX-20 lixiviant and a collector device (CD). Following a 16-hour tumble in a Maxi Mixer barrel to dissolve the gold, the CD is removed, rinsed and analyzed for 150 seconds using detectOre mode firmware. This partial analysis technique is managed through pLIMS software with strict quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) protocols to identify relative gold anomalism. An extensive orientation program was carried out before putting the detectOre methodology into production by comparing soil, calcrete and rock-chip sample assays with aqua regia and FireICP. The detectOre system performed extremely well and identified the same anomalies as the laboratory techniques in all conditions. The detectOre gold technique is designed for rapid on-site assessment and is not used for the formal quantification of gold content or the estimation of mineral resources.

As part of the current exploration program, all soil samples undergo initial multielement analysis utilizing the company's in-house pXRF. All trace element anomalies, including base metal and arsenic anomalies, are then analyzed through the company's detectOre system. Any area returning a value equal to or greater than 10 detectable units are prioritized for follow-up soil sampling. All follow-up soil samples are analyzed by fire assay at the MSALABS facility in Omaruru, Namibia. The fire assay procedure starts by drying the less-than-212-micron and plus-or-minus-250-gram soil sample. The sample is then pulverized to 85 per cent passing 75 microns, from which a final 50-gram aliquot is taken for fire assay with an atomic absorption (AA) finish.

QA/QC

All of Ongwe's sample assay results have been independently monitored through a QA/QC program including the insertion of blind standards, blanks and field duplicate samples. The company maintains rigorous monitoring for both in-house and laboratory analyses to ensure data reliability. For the detectOre process, which provides rapid on-site assessment of gold anomalism, a certified reference material (CRM) sample is inserted every 15 samples to monitor the performance of the pXRF instrument and the leaching efficiency. For the formal fire assay verification conducted at MSALABS, a CRM is inserted every 30 samples. This laboratory procedure involves precise pulverization and a 50-gram fire assay with an atomic absorption (AA) finish to provide formal quantification for prioritized bedrock samples.

Data verification

Carl Joone, BSc (honours), the president and co-founder of Ongwe Minerals and a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101, has verified all the data disclosed, including a review of the sampling procedures, chain of custody and assay results underlying the disclosure, by plotting and verifying against raw data received. Mr. Joone noted no errors or omissions during the data verification process.

Qualified person

Carl Joone, BSc (honours), is the president and co-founder of Ongwe Minerals and is a registered professional natural scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (PrSciNat No. 172695) and a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101. Mr. Joone has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release.

About Ongwe Minerals Inc.

Ongwe Minerals is a Canadian-listed gold exploration company focused on the discovery and advancement of new gold systems in Namibia. The Ongwe team, previously with Osino Resources (sold to Shanjin International for $368-million), 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 for $180-million).

The company's current focus is on three promising gold projects in the emerging Northwest Damara gold belt in Namibia, with a focus on the Omatjete and Khorixas gold projects.

The Omatjete gold project is strategically located along the regional Okondeka fault zone, which also hosts the Kokoseb gold deposit (WIA Gold). Early surface work by Ongwe led to the discovery of the Manga gold prospect, which has a 4.5-kilometre-by-one-kilometre footprint of gold in soil and early scout drilling indicating gold in bedrock. Recent regional sampling in 2026 has led to the discovery of the large-scale, high-tenor Nguni anomaly 17 kilometres east of Manga. Nguni currently has a strike length of six kilometres and is open to the west, north and east. The Omatjete project still has significant growth potential and work is continuingto define further anomalies along the Okondeka fault system.

The Khorixas gold project is situated just 60 kilometres west of Osino's Eureka gold project, adjacent to the northern margin of the Damara orogenic belt. Khorixas hosts two large-scale surface discoveries called Belmont and K17. The Belmont prospect has a surface gold footprint of approximately 12 by six kilometres and lies between the regional-scale, basin-margin Khorixas fault and the Belmont thrust zone. Calcrete and grab sampling to date have indicated 18 target areas.

We seek Safe Harbor.