Vancouver, British Columbia - Newsfile Corp. - October 7, 2026 - Founders Metals Inc. (TSXV: FDR) (OTCQX: FDMIF) (FSE: 9DL0) ("Founders" or the "Company") announces assay results from Upper Antino-Froyo Zone (the "Froyo Zone") drilling at its Antino Gold Project ("Antino" or the "Project") in southeastern Suriname (Figure 1). Drill hole FR256 returned 54.0 metres (m) of 8.45 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) from 303.0 m, including 24.0 m of 17.42 g/t Au, on a parallel structure approximately 100 m east of the high-grade zone intersected in FR249 (28.0 m of 14.27 g/t Au, announced August 6, 2026) (Figure 2). Colin Padget, President & CEO, commented, "FR256 returned 54.0 metres of 8.45 g/t gold from a second, parallel structure 100 metres east of FR249, where we hit 28.0 metres of 14.27 g/t gold in August. Lower in the same hole, FR256 also extended the FR249 zone down-dip. These results reinforce the scale and high-grade potential of the gold system at Upper Antino. Our drilling continues to identify new structures and extend known zones at depth, and the system remains open. We look forward to further defining its extent through our ongoing step-out program for the balance of 2026." Highlights

• Second, parallel high-grade structure: 54.0 m of 8.45 g/t Au from 303.0 m (~275 m vertical), including 24.0 m of 17.42 g/t Au (FR256), approximately 100 m across strike to the east of the previously released 28.0 m of 14.27 g/t Au (FR249; Figure 2)
• FR249 zone extended approximately 75 m down-dip: 11.0 m of 3.59 g/t Au from 464.0 m (~420 m vertical) (FR256; Figure 3)
• Gold mineralization near surface: 16.5 m of 4.21 g/t Au from 30.6 m (FR264; Figure 3)
• Drilling ongoing: 16 holes totalling 5,809 m are reported in this release, and step-out drilling on both structures is planned for the remainder of 2026

Drilling at Upper Antino continues to step out along and across strike, testing for parallel structures and the down-dip extent of the gold-bearing shear zones that define the target. FR256 intersected 54.0 m of 8.45 g/t Au from 303.0 m within a second, parallel structure approximately 100 m across strike to the east of the previously reported 28.0 m of 14.27 g/t Au in FR249. Deeper in the same hole, FR256 returned 11.0 m of 3.59 g/t Au from 464.0 m, extending the FR249 zone approximately 75 m down-dip. As elsewhere at the Froyo Zone, the gold is hosted in steeply dipping, northwest-trending shears and is associated with quartz-carbonate veining, pervasive sericite alteration and pyrite plus pyrrhotite. FR252, drilled from the same pad as FR256, intersected multiple gold-bearing shears, returning 4.0 m of 10.22 g/t Au from 291.0 m, 14.0 m of 1.41 g/t Au from 319.0 m and 14.0 m of 4.22 g/t Au from 401.0 m. Shallow drilling has also intersected mineralization up-dip within the oxide profile: FR264 returned 16.5 m of 4.21 g/t Au from 30.6 m (Figure 3). The Froyo Zone remains open along strike and at depth, and the Company will complete follow-up drilling over the remainder of 2026. Stock Options and RSU Grant The Company also announces that, pursuant to its Omnibus Long-Term Incentive Plan (the "Omnibus Plan"), it has granted a total of 115,000 stock options ("Options") and 74,725 restricted share units ("RSUs") to officers and employees of the Company. The Options are exercisable at a price of C$8.20 per share and expire five years from the date of grant. The Options and 43,375 of the RSUs vest over a period of three years, with one-third vesting on each of the first, second, and third anniversaries from the date of grant. The remaining 31,350 RSUs vest on the first anniversary of the date of grant. About Founders Metals Inc. Founders Metals Inc. is a Canadian gold exploration company building a district-scale gold camp in southeastern Suriname. The Company owns a 100% royalty-free interest in the Antino Gold Project, a 102,360-hectare contiguous land package representing the largest uninterrupted package of highly prospective greenstone belt geology in the Guiana Shield. Founders is executing one of the most active exploration programs in the global junior gold sector and is backed by a strategic investment from Gold Fields Limited. The Company is committed to responsible exploration, strong community engagement, and disciplined capital allocation as it advances Suriname's next major gold camp. Figure 1: Antino Gold Project Property Map¹ To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7574/317828_3dab24c1f4c1fa2f_001full.jpg¹ Results shown in Figure 1 were previously disclosed by the Company in news releases dated August 24, 2023; July 22, 2024; September 24, 2024; November 7, 2024; December 11, 2024; February 20, 2025; April 23, 2025; June 23, 2025; June 24, 2025; December 11, 2025; January 22, 2026; April 2, 2026; April 30, 2026; June 23, 2026; July 15, 2026; August 6, 2026; and September 9, 2026, each available on the Company's website and under its...