Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 12, 2026) - Founders Metals Inc. (TSXV: FDR) (OTCQX: FDMIF) (FSE: 9DL0) ("Founders" or the "Company") announces that Lower Antino has been upgraded from Intermediate to Advanced Target status - the same internal classification* as Upper Antino - at its Antino Gold Project in southeastern Suriname (Figure 1). The upgrade follows cumulative drilling of 50 diamond drill holes including eight new holes reported here that continue to demonstrate broad, continuous gold mineralization, highlighted by 65.9 metres (m) of 1.16 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) within a broader envelope of 115.0 m of 0.83 g/t Au from surface in drill hole LA046.
Highlights
- Lower Antino upgraded to Advanced Target status with 50 drill holes released to date with an additional 10 holes pending assays and further expansion drilling underway
- Best intercept to date: 65.9 m of 1.16 g/t Au within 115.0 m of 0.83 g/t Au from surface (LA046)
- Broad mineralized envelopes confirmed: 113.5 m of 0.34 g/t Au from surface including 30.0 m of 0.82 g/t Au (LA044)
- Intrusion-hosted gold mineralization intersected in all eight drill holes reported in this release; mineralization remains open along strike and at depth
Colin Padget, President & CEO, commented, "Lower Antino's upgrade from Intermediate to an Advanced Target - now sharing the same classification as Upper Antino - reflects consistent, broad gold mineralization across a growing number of drill holes. LA046 returning 65.9 metres of 1.16 g/t gold within a 115-metre mineralized envelope is the best intercept to date at this target and underscores the scale and continuity of the Lower Antino intrusion-hosted gold system. With gold in every hole and consistently wide intercepts, Lower Antino is emerging as a meaningful contributor to the district's overall potential. While our focus remains on exploration and expansion drilling, Lower Antino's advancement to the same classification as Upper Antino means it is expected to be considered for inclusion in any future resource estimate for the district."
Lower Antino - Upgraded to Advanced Target
The Company reports assay results from eight diamond drill holes (LA043 to LA050) at the Lower Antino target, located approximately 3.5 km east of the Upper Antino deposit (Figure 1). All eight holes intersected gold mineralization, with results highlighted by 65.9 m of 1.16 g/t Au within 115.0 m of 0.83 g/t Au in LA046 (Table 1). The 115-metre intercept in LA046 begins at surface and represents an up-dip expansion of the previously released 90.0 m of 1.02 g/t Au in LA041, confirming the continuity and growth potential of the mineralized zone.
Based on cumulative drilling results, Founders has upgraded Lower Antino from Intermediate Target to Advanced Target status, ranking it on the same tier as Upper Antino in terms of overall target quality and scale potential. The upgrade reflects the demonstrated continuity of gold mineralization across numerous drill sections and identification of multiple parallel, northeast-trending mineralized zones over approximately 1.9 km of drill-defined strike length within a broader 1.5 km by 2.8 km gold-in-auger anomaly.
The target is open along strike and at depth with drilling ongoing to the south and southeast at regular 100 to 200 metre steps. Overall, gold mineralization remains consistent with previous Lower Antino drill results and is hosted in intensely sericite-altered, sheared tonalite with disseminated pyrite and quartz-pyrite veining. The southernmost hole in this release (LA050), intersected 24.0 m of 0.57 g/t Au and represents approximately 200 metres of southward expansion of the mineralized system. Assay results are presented in Table 1, with drill hole locations in Table 2.
Lower Antino is one of two Advanced Targets within Founders' 102,360-hectare contiguous land package, which hosts eight drill tested gold targets across the 55 km long Antino concession. The upgrade of Lower Antino adds meaningful scale to the Company's growing inventory of drill-defined gold mineralization at the district level. The Company will continue to systematically advance and upgrade high-quality targets as defined by geological criteria linked to scale and growth potential.
*The Company's internal target classification system reflects drill density, demonstrated continuity of mineralization, and data sufficiency; it does not correspond to NI 43-101 resource categories.
Figure 1: Antino Gold Project Property Map
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Figure 2: Lower Antino Plan Map
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Figure 3: Lower Antino cross-section through central gold trend.
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Table 1: Lower Antino Drill Results
| Drillhole | From (m) | To (m) | Interval (m) | Au (g/t) |
| Results from This Release | ||||
| LA043 | 162.00 | 174.00 | 12.00 | 1.56 |
| incl. | 167.00 | 174.00 | 7.00 | 2.56 |
| LA044 | 1.50 | 115.00 | 113.50 | 0.34 |
| incl. | 8.10 | 38.10 | 30.00 | 0.82 |
| LA045 | 0.00 | 20.10 | 20.10 | 0.31 |
| and | 111.00 | 124.00 | 13.00 | 0.44 |
| LA046 | 0.00 | 115.00 | 115.00 | 0.83 |
| incl. | 41.10 | 107.00 | 65.90 | 1.16 |
| LA047 | 0.00 | 8.10 | 8.10 | 0.94 |
| and | 149.00 | 156.00 | 7.00 | 0.46 |
| LA048 | 0.00 | 27.60 | 27.60 | 0.22 |
| and | 173.00 | 178.00 | 5.00 | 0.80 |
| LA049 | 6.60 | 11.10 | 4.50 | 0.21 |
| LA050 | 47.10 | 71.10 | 24.00 | 0.57 |
| Previously Released Highlight Results | ||||
| LA041 | 156.00 | 246.00 | 90.00 | 1.02 |
| incl. | 176.00 | 178.00 | 2.00 | 28.44 |
| LA003 | 74.10 | 156.00 | 81.90 | 1.00 |
| incl. | 106.00 | 132.00 | 26.00 | 2.36 |
| LA025 | 0.00 | 241.00 | 241.00 | 0.27 |
| incl. | 0.00 | 86.10 | 86.10 | 0.43 |
| LA033 | 29.10 | 60.00 | 30.90 | 1.56 |
| LA024 | 72.00 | 122.00 | 50.00 | 1.02 |
| LA028 | 108.00 | 163.00 | 55.00 | 0.64 |
| incl. | 110.00 | 117.00 | 7.00 | 2.32 |
| LA019 | 0.00 | 65.00 | 65.00 | 0.49 |
| incl. | 44.10 | 65.00 | 20.90 | 1.11 |
| LA010 | 33.60 | 57.60 | 24.00 | 1.23 |
**Intervals are down-hole depths. True widths of mineralization are estimated to be approximately 85% of the down-hole interval based on currently available results and observations. All are diamond drill holes. Average grades are calculated with un-capped gold assays, as insufficient drilling has been completed to determine capping levels for higher grade gold intercepts. Composites are calculated using a 0.10 g/t Au cut-off grade with <5.0 m of internal dilution of zero grade and a minimum composite length of 2.0 m. <0.2 g/t Au intercept are not included.
Table 2: Lower Antino Drill Hole Locations from This Release
| Drillhole | Easting (m) | Northing (m) | Elevation (m) | Azimuth (°) | Dip (°) | Depth (m) |
| LA043 | 821605.33 | 401160.67 | 176.46 | 269.80 | -50.20 | 212.14 |
| LA044 | 821488.00 | 401166.00 | 177.47 | 270.20 | -50.10 | 206.00 |
| LA045 | 821484.00 | 401462.00 | 125.22 | 270.20 | -50.20 | 302.00 |
| LA046 | 821456.00 | 401365.00 | 152.33 | 270.00 | -50.00 | 200.14 |
| LA047 | 821535.00 | 401794.67 | 127.95 | 270.10 | -50.20 | 263.11 |
| LA048 | 821510.00 | 401683.00 | 147.21 | 269.80 | -50.40 | 287.00 |
| LA049 | 821606.67 | 401064.33 | 174.81 | 270.20 | -50.20 | 320.00 |
| LA050 | 821494.33 | 401065.67 | 176.94 | 270.20 | -50.10 | 212.00 |
*The coordinate reference system is WGS 84, UTM zone 21N (EPSG 32621)
About Founders Metals Inc.
Founders Metals Inc. is a Canadian gold exploration company building a district-scale gold camp in southeastern Suriname. The Company controls a 102,360-hectare contiguous land package in the Guiana Shield - the largest uninterrupted package of highly prospective greenstone belt geology in the region. Founders is backed by strategic partnerships with Gold Fields and B2Gold and is executing 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 advances Suriname's next major gold camp.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
Per: "Colin Padget"
Colin Padget
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director
Contact Information
Katie MacKenzie, Vice President, Corporate Development
Tel: +1 306 537 8903 | katiem@fdrmetals.com
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding long term value creation and the Company's prospects. Forward-looking information can generally be identified by words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", or variations indicating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" 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 may 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 discussion and analysis. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, other factors may cause results not to be as anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove 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 does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
All material information on Founders Metals can be found at www.sedarplus.ca.
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.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/288304
