What attracted Founders Metals to focus on the Antino Gold Project in Suriname, and what makes this location strategically important for gold exploration?
At the beginning, myself and Colin Padget, the CEO of Founders Metals were looking for projects in West Africa. We spent a fair amount of time evaluating opportunities there. However, over time, we started to recognize the political risks in West Africa, which made us rethink our approach.
When we zoomed out a bit and looked more globally, we realized that the Guiana Shield was the sister terrain to the West African gold belt. What made this area so much more interesting is that while the West Africa belt has been explored and mined for hundreds of years, the Guiana Shield has only really been explored in modern times for about 20 to 30 years.
This is a belt that has the exact same mineral potential, but it has received only a small fraction of the exploration compared to West Africa. The upside and discovery potential in the Guiana Shield is immense. If you look at artisanal gold production statistics, or even just review satellite imagery, you’ll see that there are large deposits concentrated in a small geographic region, which significantly increases the likelihood of finding significantgold deposits. These areas produce large amounts of gold, yet have had little to no modern exploration applied. The artisanal mining sector focuses on the shallow, easy to reach gold at surface, whereas modern explorers look to discover and define the true extent of these extensive mineral systems.
The big draw for us was that this area is a true frontier jurisdiction, still under-explored and with plenty of opportunities for discovery. The analogy with West Africa was key for us—an area that’s known for its mineral richness, but one that still has vast untapped potential. And it just felt like it was the right time to be exploring here in the gold sector.
Could you share some insight into the project's historical gold production and its current exploration potential?
The Antino Gold Project has historically produced about half a million ounces of gold. However, the key thing here is that mining was done by artisanal miners, who, on average, only recover around 20% of the gold in the material they process. The fact that such a large amount of gold was produced in the shallow zone of the system, this gives a clue as to the larger potential at depth. Artisanal mining not only provides a proxy for mineral endowment, it also creates critical exposures in areas that are typically covered in thick vegetation, which allows our technical teams to develop accurate models that we can use to help understand and target for the larger gold deposits below.
The Antino area has been mined for about 150 years. Before Founders, two exploration companies came in and did some work, but the exploration was fairly limited—only about 5% of the property was explored. Despite this, the results were extremely promising, with high-grade findings that gave us very clear indicators of where to start drilling. The grades we’ve seen in the past are encouraging, and now we have the benefit of modern technology and exploration methods to go deeper and further than ever before.
With what we’ve learned from historical data and early drilling results, we are confident that Antino has enormous exploration potential. We’ve barely scratched the surface in terms of exploration and believe that we’re at the very beginning of understanding the scale of this project.
Can you tell us a little bit more about Founders Metals, its history, and future projects?
Founders Metals came to Suriname in November 2022, and we entered into an option agreement with our local partner, Nana Resources. Shortly after, in June 2023, we began our drilling activities. Since then, we’ve seen incredible growth, and in just two and a half years, we’ve become one of the fastest-growing companies on the Toronto Venture Stock Exchange. Our market cap has grown from around ten million Canadian when we started to half a billion Canadian today. The growth has been exponential, at more than 1,600% in just a couple of years.
What really fueled this growth has been a series of high-grade discoveries. These discoveries have confirmed our initial ideas about the potential of the Antino Gold Project. The project stands out for several reasons. First, the high-grade mineralization. Second, the scale of Antino, which is not a single deposit but rather a system of multiple deposits. What we have here is potentially the development of a whole new gold district...
Additionally, the Antino Gold Project is by far the most developed exploration program in Suriname right now. If you look at the major mines in the country, such as Merian or Rosebel, those are already in the middle of their production cycles. In order for the industrial gold sector in Suriname to continue, it is critical that new promising exploration projects such as the Antino Gold project are rapidly developed so that the mines of the next generation can come online prior to currently producing mines exhausting their resources.
Can you talk about the role technology plays during your exploration activities, and how does it help reduce environmental impact?
Technology is central to everything we’re doing. New advancements in mineral exploration and communications technology helps us to rapidly make informed decisions. For example, the use of Starlink technology provides high speed internet with large data packages, so technical staff can upload large amounts of data onto web-based servers on a daily basis. This allows anyone on our team, wherever they are in the world, to see data acquired in almost real time. It is hard to overstate the value of being able to quickly review exploration data as it is acquired. This enables us to quickly learn and develop an understanding of the various exploration targets, and make rapid adjustments and corrections on a hourly basis.
From an environmental standpoint, we’ve taken a proactive approach towards sustainable development from the very beginning. We are collecting environmental baseline studies, using cutting edge technologies such as eDNA sampling, which analyzes all genetic material present in a watershed to identify any at risk species, so the program can be adjusted to accommodate biological sensitivities. Beyond environmental baseline programs, we are also developing a reforestation program with a research focus. This will help us understand the best approach to reforesting areas historically impacted by artisanal mining, but also how to remediate in a post industrial mining scenario.This means we are collecting biological data and environmental information that will guide us in returning the land to its natural state after production.
Our approach is in line with international principles for responsible development, and we believe that by utilizing modern methods and technology, we can set a positive example for the industry in Suriname. We understand that the resources are going to be developed eventually, but we’re committed to making sure that the process is done in a sustainable and environmentally responsible way.
With up to 60,000 meters of drilling planned for 2025, what are your short-term and long-term milestones for the Antino Gold Project?
We’ve already drilled about 50,000 meters to date, and to put that in perspective, the entire region has probably seen fewer than 70,000 meters of drilling in its entire history. This year, we’re going to do more exploration than has ever been done in this part of the belt, which is very exciting.
In terms of milestones, we’re focused on exploration and discovery drilling. We have about 10 to 15 new targets that have never been explored before. Our goal is to drill these targets and get a clear understanding of how widespread the gold mineralization is.
In the short term, we’re focused on confirming these targets, and in the long term, our vision is to build a sustainable, large-scale gold operation that can make an impact both in terms of gold production and economic development for Suriname.
How do you envision Founders Metals contributing to the mining and local economy of Suriname?
One of the things we’re very proud of is that 95% of our employees are local, and we work with local businesses for services like laboratories, logistics, and supply chains. We’ve built strong partnerships with the surrounding local communities and offer career opportunities to people in the region. Beyond the direct jobs we create, there’s also significant indirect economic impact through our use of local services.
What’s your vision for Suriname in the next 5 to 10 years? How do you see it developing itself?
Suriname is going through a paradigm shift. It has a lot of advantages: a small population, an abundant resource base, the ability to grow anything year-round, and significant water supply. There’s also a strong ethnic diversity, which is a huge strength because it allows Suriname to operate across many different political, economic, and social landscapes.
Suriname is becoming increasingly more attractive to foreign investment, and it has lots of synergies with neighboring Guyana, which is one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. Over the next 5 to 10 years, I believe Suriname will see huge economic growth, and it’s on track to reach stratospheric heights in terms of its economy and global position.
Any final message to Newsweek readers considering Suriname as a potential investment destination?
For investors, Suriname offers significant advantages—low costs, strong government support, and the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of highly promising projects. It’s a small country with big potential, and I think it’s one of the most exciting places in the world for resource development right now.
