Founders Metals names Felicia de la Paz Chief Financial Officer

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 3, 2026) - Founders Metals Inc. (TSXV: FDR) (OTCQX: FDMIF) (FSE: 9DL0) ("Founders" or the "Company") announces the appointment of Felicia de la Paz as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary, effective July 6, 2026. Colin Padget, President & CEO, commented, "Felicia is an exceptional addition to our leadership team. Her appointment comes as Founders enters its next phase of growth at the Antino Gold Project, with exploration momentum continuing to build.

Felicia's experience will support the financial discipline that underpins our progress and helps create value for our shareholders. We remain fully funded for our 70,000 metre 2026 exploration program at Antino." Ms. de la Paz is a senior financial executive with over 15 years of experience in the natural resources sector, focused on financial strategy and public company reporting. She most recently served as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary of FPX Nickel Corp. Her expertise includes financial planning and analysis, capital allocation, and integration of new acquisitions across multi-jurisdictional operations, and her career includes progressively senior leadership roles with Equinox Gold Corp. and KPMG LLP.

Ms. de la Paz holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) from the University of British Columbia and is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA, CA). Ms. de la Paz succeeds Samuel Yik. The Company wishes Mr. Yik well in his future endeavours.

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 executing one of the most active exploration programs in the global junior gold sector and is backed by a strategic partnership with 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. 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: +1 604 712 1790 | katiem@fdrmetals.com 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 appointment of the Company's Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary, the funding of the Company's 2026 exploration program, growth and exploration plans at the Antino Gold Project, and 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 www.sedarplus.ca . To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/303839 Newsfile Corp. July 3, 2026 - 4:00 AM PDT News by QuoteMedia www.quotemedia.com