Vancouver, British Columbia–(Newsfile Corp. – April 16, 2026) – Founders Metals Inc. (TSXV: FDR) (OTCQX: FDMIF) (FSE: 9DL0) (“Founders” or the “Company”) announces the completion of a comprehensive two-year environmental baseline assessment at its Antino Gold Project (“Antino” or the “Project”) in southeastern Suriname. The study, conducted by Caribbean Environmental Risk Solutions (“CARI-ERS”), spanned four seasonal campaigns from July 2024 to November 2025 – covering two wet seasons and two dry seasons – and represents the first environmental baseline study at the Antino project area. Environmental baseline data is a prerequisite for environmental impact assessment and project feasibility work, and its early completion positions the Company to advance these longer lead-time studies in parallel with its ongoing exploration program.
Colin Padget, President & CEO, commented, “Environmental baseline data is one of the longest lead-time items required to advance a project toward development, and completing this work now keeps us well ahead of the curve. The data collected over these four seasonal campaigns provides us with the evidence base required to design future development plans in a manner that meets international environmental standards. It also positions us to move directly into environmental impact assessment and feasibility work when the time comes to advance the project toward production.”
Highlights
- First-ever environmental baseline at Antino: No previous operator conducted environmental baseline studies at the project area, despite exploration activity dating back to early 1990s. The completed study fills this critical data gap and establishes the evidential foundation required for future environmental impact assessment and project feasibility work.
- International standards compliance: All fieldwork was conducted in accordance with IFC Performance Standards and the Convention on Biological Diversity, providing a dataset acceptable to potential future international funding sources.
- Comprehensive four-season dataset: The study integrated aquatic ecosystem assessments (water quality, sediment quality, fish communities, benthic macrofauna, periphyton, and environmental DNA) with terrestrial biodiversity evaluations (mammals, birds, and botany) across ten sampling locations and four seasonal campaigns.
- Pre-existing environmental impacts documented: The study identified and quantified pre-existing environmental impacts attributable to decades of small-scale mining activity, including habitat fragmentation and alteration of stream systems. These impacts predate Founders’ involvement and provide essential context for future environmental management and rehabilitation planning.
- Positions Company for future development studies: Completion of the baseline assessment is a prerequisite for environmental impact assessment and feasibility studies. Having this work substantially complete at the exploration stage allows Founders to advance these longer lead-time workstreams in parallel with its ongoing drill program as the Company works toward a maiden mineral resource estimate.
Study Overview
The baseline assessment was designed and executed by CARI-ERS Suriname N.V., an independent environmental consultancy, across ten sampling locations within the Antino project area (Figure 1). Fieldwork covered four seasonal campaigns (Wet Season 2024, Dry Season 2024, Wet Season 2025, and Dry Season 2025) and was conducted in accordance with IFC Performance Standards and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Next Steps
Founders intends to continue baseline monitoring at a minimum of twice per year to further strengthen the dataset, in parallel with its ongoing exploration activities at Antino. The Company will use the data to inform future environmental impact assessment and project feasibility studies as the project continues to advance.
Figure 1: Environmental Baseline Study Area at Antino
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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
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.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the Company’s plans for continued environmental baseline monitoring, future environmental impact assessment and feasibility studies, rehabilitation planning, 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; environmental risks and regulatory requirements; 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.
