Mineral Founders (TSXV: Roosevelt) (OTCCQX: Fdmiv) (FSE: 9DL0) (“Founders” or the “Company”) announces a new discovery of high-grade gold at the Antino Gold Project (“Antino” or the “Project”) in south-eastern Suriname. The company reported high-grade gold mineralization from surface, returning 17.22 grams per tonne of gold (Au) over 3.6 meters (m) within a wider 24.6 meter interval grading 2.81 g/t gold, in its first ever drill hole in the North Anteno District (Figure 1).
Highlight
First ever drilling at Antino North delivers exceptional surface results in first drill hole (AN001)
- 24.6m of 2.81 g/t Au including 3.60m of 17.22 g/t Au From 1.5 meters down the hole
- 13.5 m 0.44 g/t Au from 54.6 m
- The first drill hole test of one of twelve gold-bearing structures identified to date at North Antino
- Surface work continues:
- More than 4500 samples of drills so far in 2026
- The total strike length of the mapped shear zones at the surface is 5.3 km
- The second Antino North exercise is underway On a previously undrilled gold drill anomaly on a kilometer scale (Figure 2)
Colin Padgett, President and CEO, commented: “The Anteno North area covers approximately 10,000 hectares of extremely promising geology that has never seen a drill hole before – so we are pleased to see such high-quality results from the first diamond hole in the area. Our on-ground team has so far mapped twelve parallel shear zones across and along the intercepted structure, and we plan to test many more during the current Phase 1 drilling program of around 3,500 metres. The Anteno North discovery reinforces our belief that the larger drilling is hosting a project Antino is a major gold system across the region, and there remains significant upside and opportunity for further discoveries through this year’s exploration programme.
Antino North Craters
The new discovery is hosted within a series of shear zones approximately 5 to 25 meters wide, with geological characteristics consistent with high-grade gold mineralization documented elsewhere in the Anteno Gold Project, including the Upper Anteno Zone. The aforementioned drill hole tested the first of twelve parallel northwest-trending shears recently mapped over several kilometers across the North Antino area, highlighting the large scale of the mineralization system. The spatially mapped shear zones coincide with a large regional fold—a structural setting typically associated with orogenic gold deposits across the Guyana Shield.
The mineralization is similar in character to shear-and-vein-hosted gold mineralization in the Upper Antino Zone, which includes truncated vertical quartz veins with late brittle deformation overprint and sericite-ancrete-tourmaline alteration assemblage.
The Antino North concession has no record of historical diamond prospecting. This discovery represents the first drill-tested gold zone within the recently acquired prospecting concession, located approximately 20 kilometers southwest of the Upper Antino Zone – confirming the potential for new centers of mineralization across the region-wide Antino land package.
Table 1: Drill hole examination results
| Drill hole | from (m) | to (m) | Interval(m) | Au (g/ton) |
| AN001 | 1.50 | 26.10 | 24.60 | 2.81 |
| Including | 1.50 | 5.10 | 3.60 | 17.22 |
| and | 54.60 | 68.10 | 13.50 | 0.44 |
*Intervals are well depths. The true width of mineralization is unknown at this time based on currently available results and observations. All are diamond drilled holes. Average cutoff grades are calculated using uncovered gold assays, where sufficient drilling has not been completed to determine maximum levels of higher grade gold intercepts. The supply is calculated using a gold cut grade of 0.10 g/t with less than 5.0 meters of internal zero grade dilution, and a minimum composite length of 2.0 metres.
Table 2: Drill hole locations
| Hole ID | East (M) | north (m) | Height (m) | Azimuth (°) | dip (°) | Depth (m) |
| AN001 | 813830.00 | 420168.00 | 149.52 | 110.00 | -70.00 | 260.00 |
About Founders Metals Inc.
Founders Metals Inc. is a Canadian gold exploration company building a district-wide gold camp in southeastern Suriname. The Company controls a contiguous land package of 102,360 hectares in the Guyana Shield region – the largest continuous package of highly promising greenstone belt geology in the region. The founders are supported by strategic partnerships with Gold Fields and B2Gold and are implementing one of the most active exploration programs in the global junior gold sector. The company is committed to responsible exploration, strong community engagement and disciplined capital allocation as it develops Suriname’s next major gold camp.
Cautionary statement regarding forward-looking information
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the long-term value creation and prospects of the Company. Forward-looking information can generally be identified by words such as “plans”, “expects”, “expected”, “budget”, “planned”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, “believes” or variations that indicate that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “will”, “may” or “will” occur or be achieved.
Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and reasonable assumptions but are subject to business, market and economic risks, uncertainties and contingencies that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied, including: general business and economic uncertainties; exploration results; Mining industry risks. and other factors described in the Company’s most recent annual management discussions and analyses. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there are other factors that could cause results not to be as anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
All material information about Founders Metals can be found on the website www.sedarplus.ca.
Quality assurance and control
The heart of diamond drilling is the HQ diameter through the oxide intervals and the NQ diameter mostly in deeper drilling. All samples are semi-core, sectioned using a diamond saw. Samples were analyzed at FILAB Suriname, a Bureau Veritas accredited laboratory in Paramaribo, Suriname (commercial laboratory certified under ISO 9001:2015). Samples are crushed to 75% with a 2.35 mm screen pass, and the split gun (700 g) is crushed to 85% with an 88 µm pass. Samples were analyzed using a 50 g shot assay (50 g division) with an atomic absorption (AA) finish. For samples returning assay values greater than 5.0 grams per ton (g/t), another cut of the original core was taken and fire calibrated to a final gravimetric finish. Founders Metals includes certified reference blanks and standards in the sample sequence for quality control. External quality assurance and quality control checks are performed at ALS Global Laboratories (Department of Geochemistry) in Lima, Peru (ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certified facility). A secure chain of custody is maintained in the transportation and storage of all samples. Etching intervals with visible gold are evaluated using mineralogical examination. Rock chip samples taken from outcrops/bedrock are selective in nature and may not be representative of the mineralization hosted at the project.
Qualified persons
The technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Dufresne, MSc, P.Geol., P.Geo., an independent qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101.
Figure 1: Anteno Gold project ownership map
Figure 2: North Anteno target plan map
