Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 2, 2026) - Founders Metals Inc. (TSXV: FDR) (OTCQX: FDMIF) (FSE: 9DL0) ("Founders" or the "Company") announces a new high-grade gold discovery at its Antino Gold Project ("Antino" or "Project") in southeastern Suriname. The Company reports high-grade gold mineralization from surface, returning 17.22 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) over 3.6 metres (m) within a broader 24.6 m interval grading 2.81 g/t Au, in the first-ever drillhole in the Antino North area (Figure 1).

Highlights

First ever Antino North drilling delivers exceptional results from surface in the first drillhole (AN001)

• 24.6 m of 2.81 g/t Au including 3.60 m of 17.22 g/t Au from 1.5 m down hole
• 13.5 m of 0.44 g/t Au from 54.6 m

• First drillhole testing one of twelve gold-bearing structures identified to date at Antino North
• Surface work continues:
  • Over 4,500 auger samples to date in 2026
  • Total combined strike length of mapped shear zones on surface is 5.3 km
  • Second Antino North drill now turning on previously undrilled kilometre-scale gold auger anomaly (Figure 2)

Colin Padget, President & CEO, commented, "The Antino North area covers nearly 10,000 hectares of highly prospective geology that has never seen a drillhole - so we are thrilled to see such high-grade results from our first diamond hole into the area. Our team on the ground has so far mapped twelve parallel shear zones across and along strike of the intercepted structure, and we plan to test many of them over the current ~3,500 metre phase-one drill program. This Antino North discovery reinforces our belief that the larger Antino Project is host to a major district-scale gold system, and there remains significant exploration upside and opportunity for further discoveries with this year's exploration program."

Antino North Drilling

The new discovery is hosted within a series of approximately 5- to 25-metre-wide shear zones, with geological characteristics consistent with high-grade gold mineralization documented elsewhere on the Antino Gold Project, including at Upper Antino. The reported drillhole tested the first of twelve northwest-trending parallel shears recently mapped over multiple kilometres across the Antino North area, highlighting the significant scale of the mineralizing system. The mapped shear zones are spatially coincident with a large regional-scale fold - a structural setting commonly associated with orogenic gold deposits across the Guiana Shield.

Mineralization is similar in character to the shear- and vein-hosted gold mineralization at Upper Antino, comprising sheared subvertical quartz veins with late brittle deformation overprinting and a sericite-ankerite-tourmaline alteration assemblage.

The Antino North concession has no record of historical diamond drilling. This discovery represents the first drill-tested gold zone within the recently acquired exploration concession, located approximately 20 kilometres southwest of the Upper Antino area - confirming the potential for new mineralized centres across the district-scale Antino land package.

Table 1: Drill Hole Assay Results

*Intervals are down-hole depths. True widths of mineralization are unknown at this time based on currently available results and observations. All are diamond drill holes. Interval average grades are calculated with un-capped gold assays, as insufficient drilling has been completed to determine capping levels for higher-grade gold intercepts. Widths are calculated using a 0.10 g/t gold cut-off grade with <5.0 m of internal dilution of zero grade, and a minimum composite length of 2.0 m.

Table 2: Drill Hole Locations

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.

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 .

Quality Assurance and Control

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. 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.

Figure 1: Antino Gold Project Property Map

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Figure 2: Antino North Target Plan Map

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