Froyo Zone Keeps Growing: Founders Metals Hits 54.0 m of 8.45 g/t Gold

Founders Metals Inc. (FDR) announced drill results from the Upper Antino-Froyo Zone of its Antino Gold Project in Suriname on October 7, 2026. The company reported 16 holes totaling 5,809 meters, with step-out drilling on both structures planned for the remainder of 2026.

The headline hole, FR256, returned 54.0 m @ 8.45 g/t Au from 303.0 m (~275 m vertical), including 24.0 m @ 17.42 g/t Au (324.0–348.0 m). This intercept lies on a second, parallel structure approximately 100 m across strike east of the high-grade zone hit in FR249 (28.0 m @ 14.27 g/t, Aug 6, 2026). Deeper in the same hole, FR256 returned 11.0 m @ 3.59 g/t Au from 464.0 m (~420 m vertical), interpreted as a ~75 m down-dip extension of the FR249 zone, as well as 5.0 m @ 0.78 g/t from 697.0 m.

Other significant intercepts included FR264, which returned 16.5 m @ 4.21 g/t Au from 30.6 m (shallow, within oxide profile). FR252, drilled from the same pad as FR256 and intersecting multiple shears, returned: * 4.0 m @ 10.22 g/t from 291.0 m * 14.0 m @ 1.41 g/t from 319.0 m * 14.0 m @ 4.22 g/t from 401.0 m * 9.0 m @ 2.43 g/t from 421.0 m * 10.5 m @ 0.80 g/t from 44.1 m

FR269 returned 26.0 m @ 0.64 g/t from 346.0 m (including 6.0 m @ 1.79 g/t).

Remaining holes reported low-grade results. FR271 returned 17.1 m @ 0.32 g/t from surface. FR261 returned six intervals ranging from 0.47–0.93 g/t. FR258, FR255, FR244, FR237, and FR233 all reported sub-1.5 g/t composites. Holes FR270, FR268, and FR235 returned no significant assays.

The company also announced the grant of 115,000 options at C$8.20 and 74,725 RSUs to officers and employees.

Technical parameters for the results include a 0.10 g/t cutoff, 2.0 m minimum composite, and less than 5.0 m internal dilution. Intervals below 3.0 gram-metres were omitted, true width is approximately 75% of the down-hole interval, and assays were uncapped.

Founders Metals Inc. (FDR) is currently a pre-resource explorer with no mineral resource estimate or preliminary economic assessment. The company recently reported drill results from hole FR256, which intersected 456 g·m of gold grade and thickness. This result is marginally ahead of the previous intercept from hole FR249, which returned 400 g·m. The FR256 intercept adds a new parallel structure and a down-dip extension to the existing zone. While the grade in FR256 is lower at 8.45 g/t compared to 14.27 g/t in FR249, the width is nearly double at 54 meters versus 28 meters.

Prior to these results, the stock had risen from approximately $4.30 on August 5 to $8.20 on October 6, roughly doubling in value. This price movement followed the close of a Gold Fields investment and the 100% consolidation of Antino on September 17. The price run from $5.65 on September 16 to $8.25 on October 2 was driven by these corporate and ownership catalysts rather than drill results.

Founders Metals Inc. (FDR) has a market capitalization of approximately C$1.18B. The stock is up approximately 46% in the last three weeks.

Founders Metals Inc. (TSXV: FDR; OTCQX: FDMIF; FSE: 9DL0) is a Canadian gold explorer developing a district-scale camp in southeastern Suriname. The company’s Antino Gold Project encompasses a 102,360-hectare contiguous land package on the Guiana Shield greenstone belt. This interest is held 100% royalty-free following the consolidation of Lawa Gold N.V. in September 2026.

Gold Fields holds approximately 19.9% of Founders Metals, a stake resulting from a C$77 million placement of roughly 14.1 million shares at C$5.44 in September 2026. This follows an earlier C$50 million placement at C$4.15 in November 2025.

The project remains in the exploration stage, with no mineral resource estimate currently in place. The Antino Technical Report dated March 16, 2023, classified the property as a "Property of Merit." Approximately 2% of the concession area has been drill-tested. The company is executing a 70,000-meter diamond drill program using company-owned rigs at a cost of approximately US$200 per meter. Active targets include the Upper and Lower Antino, Antino North/Northeast, West Zone, Maria Geralda, Parbo, Da Vinci, Van Gogh, and Buese areas.

For the nine months ended May 31, 2026, Founders Metals reported a net loss of C$7.39 million. The company held C$33.54 million in cash, carried no debt, and reported total equity of C$156.3 million, with working capital of approximately C$25.7 million. A subsequent presentation, post-dating the September 2026 capital raise, cited working capital of approximately C$79.2 million, 143.9 million shares outstanding, and approximately 150.2 million fully diluted shares. Historical production within the consolidated area includes more than 500,000 ounces of alluvial and artisanal gold.