Buese target emerges on Founders’ crown in Suriname

Drilling at Founders Metals’ (TSX-V: FDR; US-OTC: FDMIF) Buese target at the Antino project in southeast Suriname has returned results as high as 6 metres grading 6.38 grams gold per tonne, the company reported Wednesday.

That assay, in hole BU018 was drilled from 50.1 metres depth and included 17 metres at 0.28 gram gold. The hole pierced a new mineralized trend parallel to mineralization already identified in the Buese trend, 6 km southeast of the main Upper Antino target.

“These results demonstrate the scale and continuity of gold mineralization emerging at Buese,” Founders president and CEO Colin Padget said in a release. “The broad, intrusion-hosted intervals, along with the discovery of a parallel zone, further reinforces our excitement about the opportunity Buese represents for Founders.”

The latest results, from the company’s 60,000-metre drill program for 2025, follow an eventful period of more than a year for Founders. In January, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage of the company, it secured a $30-million bought deal financing and gained a 5% shareholding from B2Gold (TSX: BTO) for $2.6 million.

‘Several million ounces’

In an early April site visit to Antino, BMO analyst Andrew Mikitchook wrote that the experience reinforced his thesis that the project is among the few discoveries of scale globally. 

“This is in line with our expectations for Antino to deliver several million ounces of potentially open pit mineable mineralization,” he said. “The visible evidence of historical alluvial mining provides a sense of scale of the mineralization in Antino, with artisanal miners essentially acting as early stage prospectors — a net positive in our opinion.”

Founders shares were down 2.3% to $4.58 apiece on Wednesday morning in Toronto, for a market capitalization of $435.52 million. Its shares traded in a 52-week range of $1.40 to $6.25.

Along Antino trend

Another noteworthy hole, BU025 returned 6 metres at 2.33 grams gold from 105 meters depth, including 2 metres grading 3.07 grams gold. That hole was part of northwest step-out drilling along strike of the Antino trend.

BU014 cut 21.6 metres grading 2.38 grams gold from surface, and 4 metres at 0.45 gram gold from 314 metres depth.

BU013 returned 30.6 metres at 0.23 gram gold from surface, including 12 metres grading 0.38 gram gold from 51.6 metres.

Those results from the second stage of drilling at Buese are aimed at exploring outside artisanal mining areas to demonstrate the concept of a gold system several kilometres in size and on the edge of large tonalitic intrusions.

Artisanal tailings potential

The company is also exploring the potential of tailings from historical artisanal mining at Buese for future production scenarios, Padget said.

More than 61 auger holes drilled into tailings piles returned highlights including 41 samples grading higher than 1 grams gold, with many results ranging from 0.1 gram gold to 3.39 grams gold.

Gold grade uniformity over a large area returned in the tailings results validate the tailings’ economic potential and the consistent head grades produced by the artisanal miners, Founders said.

Located 275 km south of the capital, Paramaribo, Antino is just across the Lawa River from French Guiana. The property has produced 500,000 oz. of artisanal gold historically, Founders says. The project also sits on the Guiana Shield which spreads under neighbouring countries in South America and hosts Newmont’s (TSX: NGT) Merian and Zijin Mining’s Rosebel gold mines.