# Founders Metals to Consolidate 100% Ownership of Antino Gold Project; Gold Fields Increases Strategic Stake to 19.9%

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/pr-news/founders-metals-to-consolidate-100-ownership-of-antino-gold-project-gold-fields-increases-strategic-stake-to-19-9
- Published: 2026-08-20T07:45:00+07:00
- Author: Media OutReach

Vancouver, British Columbia – [Newsfile Corp.](https://www.newsfilecorp.com/) – 
August 19, 2026 – **Founders Metals Inc. **(TSXV: FDR) (OTCQX: FDMIF) (FSE: 9DL0)(“
Founders” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a share
purchase agreement dated August 18, 2026 (the “Agreement”) with Nana Resources N.
V. (“Nana”), pursuant to which Founders will acquire the remaining 30% of the issued
and outstanding shares of Lawa Gold N.V. (“Lawa”) from Nana (the “Transaction”),
which will result in Founders consolidating 100% ownership of Lawa. Lawa holds all
mineral rights, concessions, and infrastructure comprising the Antino Gold Project(“
Antino” or the “Project”) in southeastern Suriname**. **On closing, Founders will
hold a 100%, royalty-free interest in Antino (Figure 1).

 Concurrent with the Transaction, the Company is also pleased to announce that Gold
Fields Netherlands Services B.V., an affiliate of Gold Fields Limited (JSE: GFI)(
NYSE: GFI) (“Gold Fields”), has agreed to make a strategic investment of C$76,958,864
in the Company through a private placement of 14,146,850 common shares of the Company(
the “Gold Fields Shares”) at a price of C$5.44 per Gold Fields Share, being the 
five-day volume-weighted average price of the Common Shares as of August 17, 2026(
the “Gold Fields Investment”). Following closing of the Transaction and the Gold
Fields Investment, Gold Fields is expected to hold approximately 19.9% of the issued
and outstanding common shares of the Company (“Common Shares”).

 **Colin Padget, Founders’ President & CEO, commented, **“This is a defining moment
for Founders. Consolidating 100% of Lawa Gold gives us full control of the entire
102,360-hectare Antino district as we enter the most important phase of its growth.
Gold Fields’ decision to increase its strategic investment to approximately 19.9%
of the Company is a powerful endorsement of Antino’s potential and our team’s ability
to unlock it. We thank Nana Resources for their partnership at Antino and are pleased
they remain shareholders as we advance the Project with full operational control
and a strengthened treasury.”

 **Transaction Highlights**

 *  **100% ownership of Antino: **Founders will acquire Nana’s remaining 30% interest
   in Lawa, consolidating full ownership of the Project and its 102,360-hectare 
   contiguous land package in the Guiana Shield.
 *  **Consideration: **US$17,000,000 payable in cash; 13,568,944 Common Shares (
   the “Consideration Shares”); and up to US$21,000,000 in contingent milestone 
   payments (the “Milestone Payments”) tied to mineral resource estimates, permitting,
   construction, and production achievements at the Project.
 *  **Operational control: **Full ownership of Lawa will provide Founders with complete
   operational flexibility to advance operations at the Project.

**Milestone Payments**

 *  **Mineral Resource Milestone: **US$3,750,000, upon the filing of a technical
   report disclosing measured, indicated, and inferred mineral resources of 3,000,000
   or more ounces of gold;
 *  **Permitting Milestone: **US$3,750,000, upon receipt of all material governmental
   permits required for commercial mining operations;
 *  **Construction Decision Milestone: **US$3,750,000, upon the board of directors
   of the Company (the “Board”) approving a decision to construct a commercial mine
   at the Project and public announcement;
 *  **First Production Milestone: **US$3,750,000, upon the first pour of gold from
   a processing facility with a nameplate design capacity exceeding 2,000 tonnes
   per day; and
 *  **Second Production Milestone: **US$6,000,000, upon cumulative gold production
   exceeding 600,000 ounces from a processing facility with a nameplate design capacity
   exceeding 2,000 tonnes per day.

**Investor Rights Agreement**

 At closing of the Transaction, Founders and Nana will enter into an investor rights
agreement restricting Nana from transferring its Consideration Shares for six months
and requiring Nana to vote its Consideration Shares and other Common Shares in accordance
with recommendations of the Board and Company management as well as other customary
rights and obligations of the parties.

 **Conditions to Closing**

 Closing of the Transaction is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary
conditions, including:

 *  approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSX-V”);
 *  the Company completing the Gold Fields Investment;
 *  no material adverse effect having occurred; and
 *  the permanent cessation by Nana of its involvement in alluvial operations on
   the Project.

 The outside date for the Transaction is November 30, 2026, which may be extended
by up to 90 days by mutual agreement of the parties. Closing of the Transaction 
is expected to occur on or about September 4, 2026.

 No finders’ fees are payable in connection with the Transaction.

 **Gold Fields Investment**

 Founders has entered into a subscription agreement with Gold Fields for a strategic
investment of C$76,958,864 through the issuance of 14,146,850 Gold Fields Shares
at a price of C$5.44 per Gold Fields Share. Following closing of the Gold Fields
Investment, Gold Fields is expected to hold approximately 19.9% of the issued and
outstanding Common Shares.

 Proceeds from the Gold Fields Investment will be used to pay the cash portion of
the Transaction consideration, and to fund regional exploration activities at the
Project, working capital, and general corporate purposes at the Project.

 Closing of the Gold Fields Investment is expected to occur on or about September
4, 2026.

 All Gold Fields Shares and Consideration Shares will be subject to a statutory 
hold period of four months and one day in accordance with applicable Canadian securities
legislation and TSX-V policies, as applicable. The Gold Fields Investment remains
subject to final approval of the TSX-V.

 The purchase of Gold Fields Shares under the Gold Fields Investment is expected
to constitute a “related party transaction” of the Company under Multilateral Instrument
61-101 – _Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions_ (“MI 
61-101”). It is expected pursuant to sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101,
that the Company will be exempt from obtaining formal valuation and minority approval
of the Company’s shareholders respecting the purchase of Gold Fields Shares under
the Gold Fields Investment as the fair market value of securities to be purchased
under the Gold Fields Investment is expected to be below 25% of the Company’s market
capitalization as determined in accordance with MI 61-101.

 National Bank Financial acted as a financial advisor to Founders. BMO Capital Markets
has provided to the Board a fairness opinion stating that the consideration to be
paid by Founders pursuant to the Transaction is fair from a financial point of view
to the Company.

 **Early Warning Report **

 This press release is being issued in part pursuant to National Instrument 62-103–
The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Trading Reporting
Issues. Nana, with its head office located at Aboenawrokostraat 71, Geyersvlijt,
Paramaribo, Suriname, will acquire 13,568,944 Common Shares on closing of the Transaction.
Immediately prior to the Transaction, Nana held 1,710,000 Common Shares, representing
approximately 1.5% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares. Following closing
of the Transaction, Nana is expected to beneficially own an aggregate of 15,278,944
Common Shares, representing approximately 10.6% of the issued and outstanding Common
Shares (based on 143,903,160 Common Shares outstanding after giving effect to the
issuance of the Consideration Shares and the Gold Fields Shares).

 Nana’s decision to acquire the Common Shares was made in the context of the Transaction.
Nana will continue to monitor its investment and, depending on various factors and
subject to the terms of the Investor Rights Agreement entered into in connection
with the Transaction, may from time to time in the future increase or decrease its
beneficial ownership, control, direction or economic exposure over securities of
the Company through market transactions, private agreements, or otherwise. A copy
of the early warning report to be filed by Nana will be available under the Company’s
SEDAR+ profile at [www.sedarplus.ca](https://api.newsfilecorp.com/redirect/A8Y4jUXJBn)
or by contacting Michael Naarendorp, Nana Resources N.V., E-mail: [michael.naarendorp@nanaresources.net](https://www.thailand-business-news.com/pr-news/michael.naarendorp@nanaresources.net).

 **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.

 [](https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7574/310274_foundersfig1.png)

 **Figure 1: Antino Gold Project Property Map**^(**1**)

 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: 
 [https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7574/310274_foundersfig1.png](https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7574/310274_foundersfig1.png)

 ^(1) 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; and August 6, 2026, each available on the Company’s website and under
its profile at [www.sedarplus.ca](https://api.newsfilecorp.com/redirect/JkV2LiAneX).

 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](https://www.thailand-business-news.com/pr-news/katiem@fdrmetals.com)

 **Qualified Persons**

 The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Michael
Dufresne, M.Sc., P.Geol., P.Geo., an independent qualified person as defined by 
National Instrument 43-101.

 **Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information**

 This press release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of
applicable Canadian securities legislation, including, but not limited to, statements
regarding the Transaction, the Gold Fields Investment, the anticipated benefits 
of the Transaction, the potential of the Project, the terms, conditions, and potential
completion of the Transaction and Gold Fields Investment (including the expected
closing dates), long-term value creation, the Company’s prospects, exploration plans,
and anticipated drilling results. 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: risks that the parties may not close the Transaction
or the Gold Fields Investment within anticipated timelines, or at all; general business
and economic uncertainties; risks related to exploration and development of the 
Project; the need to obtain regulatory approvals including TSX-V; the ability of
the Company to obtain additional financing; 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](https://api.newsfilecorp.com/redirect/GzXo3uybJe).

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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**Source** : [Founders Metals to Consolidate 100% Ownership of Antino Gold Project; Gold Fields Increases Strategic Stake to 19.9%](https://www.media-outreach.com/news/canada/2026/08/20/481840/?rand=186006)

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