Mr. Colin Padget reports

FOUNDERS METALS GROWS UPPER ANTINO GOLD SYSTEM; DOWN-DIP EXTENSION HITS 28.0 M OF 14.27 G/T GOLD

Founders Metals Inc. has released results from the Upper Antino target area at its Antino gold project in southeastern Suriname. Recent exploration drilling at Upper Antino intersected 28.0 metres (m) of 14.27 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) from 433.0 m in drill hole FR249, a 50 m down-dip extension of previously reported FR175 (10.0 m of 5.90 g/t Au).

Colin Padget, president and chief executive officer, commented: "These results demonstrate meaningful high-grade growth potential at Upper Antino. FR249 is one of the strongest holes we've drilled at Antino, returning 28.0 metres of 14.27 g/t gold -- grade we have typically seen only within the high-grade Froyo core, now intersected well outside it. By extending this mineralization down dip from FR175, the hole potentially demonstrates strong vertical continuity of a new high-grade zone. Establishing its scale is a priority for our ongoing drilling."

Highlights

• Broad high-grade gold: Twenty-eight m of 14.27 g/t Au from 433.0 m (approximately 340 m vertical) in FR249, a 50 m down-dip extension from the previously reported drill hole FR175 intersecting 10.0 m of 5.90 g/t Au.
• Multiple stacked zones: Drill hole FR249 intersected multiple gold zones with downhole widths ranging from 6.0 m to 28.0 m.
• Growing gabbro-hosted target: Gold mineralization occurs within a gabbro unit widening at depth, representing a progressively larger target for follow-up drilling.

Geological discussion

Continuing drilling at Upper Antino is testing the down-dip continuation of the multiple gold-bearing shear zones that define the target. Hole FR249 cut four stacked, subparallel shears between 285.0 m and 461.0 m down hole, the deepest of which returned 28.0 m of 14.27 g/t Au from 433.0 m (approximately 340 m vertical). The zones above it graded 18.0 m of 1.04 g/t Au from 285.0 m, 24.0 m of 0.36 g/t Au from 319.0 m and 6.0 m of 1.62 g/t Au from 415.0 m, confirming that the stacked architecture seen near surface persists well below it. Earlier deep drilling traced mineralization to approximately 500 m vertical (announced Aug. 11, 2025); FR249 now further demonstrates that these deeper horizons can carry substantially higher grades.

The highlight intercept occurs where the mineralized structures transect a large gabbro body. Gold mineralization at Upper Antino remains structurally controlled, with the gabbro providing a favourable host: the competent, brittle unit fractures readily where the shears cut through it, opening space for the quartz veining that carries high-grade gold, while its iron-rich composition promotes gold deposition from the mineralizing fluids. Because the unit widens down dip, the structures intersect progressively greater volumes of this favourable host at depth. Mineralization remains open, and follow-up drilling is planned to track the high-grade structure along strike and down plunge, with emphasis on its intersection with the gabbro.

The remaining holes in this release tested parallel shears across Upper Antino at a range of depths, returning results consistent with the multizone character of the target, including 3.0 m of 6.06 g/t Au from 45.6 m in FR231 and a broad interval of 56.0 m of 0.40 g/t Au from 351.0 m, including 10.0 m of 1.10 g/t Au in drill hole FR241.

About Founders Metals Inc.

Founders Metals 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 executing one of the most active exploration programs in the global junior gold sector and is backed by a strategic partnership with Gold Fields Ltd. The company is committed to responsible exploration, strong community engagement and disciplined capital allocation as it advances Suriname's next major gold camp.

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 per cent passing 2.35-millimetre screen, riffle split (700 g) and pulverized to 85 per cent passing 88 micrometres. 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. Diamond drill core is HQ diameter through oxide intervals and predominantly NQ diameter in deeper drilling. All samples are half core, split using a diamond saw rock chip samples from outcrop/bedrock are selective by nature and may not be representative of the mineralization hosted on the project.

Qualified person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Dufresne, MSc, PGeol, PGeo, an independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

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