Mr. Colin Padget reports

FOUNDERS METALS EXPANDS NEW PARALLEL ZONE; HITS SIX MAJOR GOLD INTERVALS IN SINGLE HOLE

Founders Metals Inc. has released drill core assay results from the Antino gold project in southeastern Suriname. The company has released results for six separate gold intervals in drill hole 23FR045, demonstrating further evidence of a gold-bearing shear zone parallel to the main Froyo shear and potential for economically significant gold mineralization between the two structures.

Highlights:

• Drill hole 23FR045 intercepts mineralization from surface with six major zones totalling 56.5 m of gold mineralization:
  • 10.5 metres of 2.81 grams per tonne Au from 14.1 m down hole;
  • Five m of 4.18 g/t Au from 30 m;
  • Nine m of 8.54 g/t Au from 43 m;
  • 13 m of 5.21 g/t Au from 62 m;
  • 12 m of 2.74 g/t Au from 85 m;
  • Seven m of 2.74 g/t Au from 136 m.
• New cross-section highlighting the extent of hole 45 gold mineralization in relation to main Froyo gold zone.

*Intervals are core length and estimated to represent 85 per cent or more of true width based on current drill data.

Colin Padget, Founders' chief executive officer, commented: "We are thrilled to see so much gold mineralization through this zone as it really starts to fill the gap between the main Froyo structure and this emerging parallel trend. Additionally, these are all near-surface gold intervals further improving the potential economics of an open-pit mining scenario. Founders' technical team has also added several new holes to further test the extent of this mineralization, both along strike and further to depth, so I am particularly excited to be on my way to Antino next week and to see the incoming core in person."

Founders appoints new chief financial officer

The company is also pleased to announce that Samuel Yik will assume the role of chief financial officer (CFO) and corporate secretary. Mr. Yik replaces Justin Bourassa, who resigned from the company as chief financial officer and corporate secretary of the company effective Jan. 5, 2024. The company sincerely thanks Mr. Bourassa for his efforts and contributions to the company and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours.

Mr. Yik holds a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of British Columbia and is a chartered professional accountant (CPA, CA) with a diverse business background and more than 26 years of public company experience in industrial sectors, including natural resources, technology and transportation. He brings over 11 years of CFO experience in managing publicly listed companies in Canada and the United States. Mr. Yik also has extensive international hands-on management experience in senior financial, commercial and operational roles in companies with market capitalization ranging up to $2-billion.

About Founders Metals Inc.

Founders Metals is a Canadian exploration company with properties in North and South America. The company focuses on acquiring and advancing gold projects in the Guiana Shield. Its flagship asset is the 20,000-hectare Antino gold project in Suriname, where artisanal surface/alluvial mining has produced over 500,000 gold ounces to date. Using its diamond drilling equipment, the company drilled over 10,000 m in 2023 and is fully financed for up to 30,000 m in 2024.

Quality assurance and quality control

Results from 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 a 2.35-millimetre screen, riffle split (700 grams) and pulverized to 85 per cent passing 88 micrometres. Samples were analyzed using a 50-gram fire assay (50-gram aliquot) with an atomic absorption (AA) finish. For samples that return assay values over 10 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 Vancouver, Canada (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 person

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

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