Founders Metals Inc. (TSX-V: FDR) (OTCQX: FDMIF) (FSE: 9DL0) announces drill core assay results from its ongoing, fully funded 60,000 metre drilling campaign at the Antino Gold Project in southeastern Suriname (Figure 1).

Colin Padget, President and CEO of Founders said, “We’re seeing exciting results on multiple fronts at Upper Antino. Ongoing drilling testing continuity and growth of high-grade domains within Froyo, hit an impressive 46.0 metres of 3.59 grams per tonne gold in FR120, and we are continuing to see success in our eastward steps toward Donut. Early results from our deep drilling program nearly double the vertical depth of the Froyo Zone to over 500 metres from surface, substantially increasing the expansion potential at Upper Antino.”

Upper Antino Drilling Highlights

• Depth Extension Success: First three deep holes extend gold system to 500 metres vertical depth including:
  • 8.0 metres (m) of 2.25 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) from 597.0 m (FR115)
  • 13.0 m of 2.10 g/t Au from 468.0 m (FR123)
  • 21.0 m of 0.73 g/t Au from 458.0 m (FR118)
• Continuity of High-Grade Domains:
  • 46.0 m of 3.59 g/t Au from 174.0 m in Main Froyo Shear (FR120)
  • 24.0 m of 2.03 g/t Au from 26.1 m in Parallel Shear (FR122)
• Parallel shears between Froyo and Donut:
  • 28.0 m of 1.18 g/t Au from 332.0 m (FR126)
  • 11.0 m of 2.32 g/t Au from 397.0 m (FR123)

Results Discussion

Recent drilling at Upper Antino is delivering strong results both at depth and along strike (Figure 2). The standout FR120 intercept of 46.0 m of 3.59 g/t Au successfully targeted shallow plunging, northwest trending orientation of a high-grade shoot along the main shear at Froyo (Figure 3) in a 50 m along-strike step and serves to reinforce the continuity of these domains. Drill hole FR126 is the furthest east step to date toward Donut and intersected a 28.0 m zone of 1.18 g/t Au.

Deeper drilling extends Upper Antino’s shear-hosted gold mineralization to approximately 500 m vertical depth, highlighted by 8.0 m of 2.25 g/t Au (FR115), 13.0 m of 2.10 g/t Au (FR123), and 21.0 m of 0.73 g/t Au (FR118). These are encouraging initial results that confirm the continuation of this robust gold system to depth. We note that gold-bearing intervals at depth are geologically similar in character to shallower Upper Antino mineralization and Founders sees substantial opportunity to intercept new high-grade domains in ongoing and future drilling along strike.

Emerging Targets Exploration Update

Maria Geralda has entered phase two drilling, with up to 2,000 metres of drilling planned to follow up on the previously reported impressive results of 22.5 m at 11.88 g/t Au from hole MG003 (Figure 1). The team has recently expanded the surface auger drilling program to cover 750 metres along strike of the initial drilling area, and new surface exploration results are expected to be released soon.

Meanwhile, exploration activities are actively underway at the Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Lawa, and Parbo targets (Figure 1), encompassing comprehensive surface exploration programs that include geological mapping, rock sampling, channel and trench sampling, and deep auger drilling programs. As conditions in the area begin to dry out, follow-up drilling at these targets is anticipated to commence in early Q4 2025.

Figure 1: Antino Property Map

 Figure 2: Upper Antino Plan Map

 Figure 3: Upper Antino Long Section

Table 1: Drill Hole Assay Results

*Intervals are down-hole depths. True widths of mineralization are estimated to be approximately 85% of the down-hole interval based on preliminary results and observations. All are diamond drill holes.

Table 2: Drill Hole Locations

*The coordinate reference system is WGS 84, UTM zone 21N (EPSG 32621)

About Founders Metals Inc.

Founders Metals is a Canadian-based exploration company focused on advancing the Antino Gold Project located in Suriname, South America, in the heart of the Guiana Shield. Antino is 20,000 hectares and has produced over 500,000 ounces of gold from historical surface and alluvial mining to date¹. The Company is systematically advancing one of Suriname’s most promising gold exploration and development opportunities with drill-confirmed, district-scale potential. Founders is committed to responsible exploration, community engagement, and delivering long-term value to shareholders through technical excellence and strategic growth in the Guiana Shield.

¹2022 Technical Report – Antino Project; Suriname, South America. K. Raffle, BSc, P. Geo & Rock Lefrançois, BSc, P.Geo.

Quality Assurance and Control

Samples were analyzed at FILAB Suriname, a Bureau Veritas Certified Laboratory in Paramaribo, Suriname (a commercial certified laboratory under ISO 9001:2015). Samples are crushed to 75% passing 2.35 mm screen, riffle split (700 g) and pulverized to 85% passing 88 µm. Samples were analyzed using a 50 g fire assay (50 g aliquot) with an Atomic Absorption (AA) finish. For samples that return assay values over 5.0 grams per tonne (g/t), another cut was taken from the original pulp and fire assayed with a gravimetric finish. Founders Metals inserts blanks and certified reference standards in the sample sequence for quality control. External QA-QC checks are performed at ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division) in Lima, Peru (an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited facility).  A secure chain of custody is maintained in transporting and storing of all samples. Drill intervals with visible gold are assayed using metallic screening. Rock chip samples from outcrop/bedrock are selective by nature and may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on the project.

Qualified Persons

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., an independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.