In the middle of the Surinamese jungle they’ve found something incredible: Founders Metals has come across a gold deposit, 11.88 grams per ton over a stretch of 22.5 meters. Ok, we get that you might not be excited because you don’t understand the numbers, but let us tell you it’s insane.
The area is about 5 km from the Lower Antino camp, and it had never been drilled until this past spring. Even though no one expected that much gold in such a small space, there it was, waiting to be found.
Why does this discovery matter so much?
Any find above 10 grams per ton is already considered high-grade gold, and with the numbers we mentioned at the beginning it means it will be much easier to extract (maybe not easy, but definitely more profitable and less expensive). With a length like this and that level of purity, you can even simplify the design and reduce the amount of material that needs to be moved!
What geology says
Maria Geralda is right on a fault running northwest. There are tonalite dikes that intersect with metavolcanic rocks. What’s interesting is that fractures form there that get filled with quartz and gold-rich fluids. It’s a structure that makes deposits like this more likely to appear.
All this is part of the Guiana Shield, a craton more than 1.7 billion years old that extends through Suriname and other neighboring countries. And yes, several of the world’s most important deposits have come from there.
A gold that changes everything
Open-pit mines usually operate with averages of 2 g/t or less. Here we’re talking about almost 12!! The more gold there is per ton, the less rock needs to be moved, less waste, lower costs. And anything that saves and reduces impact, we like.
The company has set aside a 60 km drilling budget for 2025. Which makes it clear that the goal isn’t just a one-off good result, but to find more zones with continuity and quality.
What does this mean for Suriname?
Right now, gold and oil already represent 60% of the country’s GDP and almost 90% of its exports. Every time a new gold deposit appears, it has national repercussions: jobs, taxes, infrastructure… if everything is managed well.
But yes, the jungle makes everything more difficult. Roads need to be opened, electricity brought in, camps built, and all that in an area where it rains more than 4,000 mm a year.
The government is trying to do things better than before. It has issued new regulations to avoid environmental disasters and conflicts with indigenous communities, because they’ve already had problems in other areas due to informal mining.
Local economists point out that projects like Rosebel and Merian have brought income and schools, but they also warn that commodity prices go up and down. If Antino turns into something big, it could bring in a lot of money, but also more risk.
What comes next
Colin Padget, president of Founders Metals, has said this is one of the highest-grade mineralizations they’ve found so far, and that the priority now is to keep drilling around the point where it appeared.
One drill hole is not a mine
Yes, the results are promising. But a real mine requires much more: more drilling, metallurgical analysis, economic studies, logistics, roads, permits…
Nearby communities have already asked to be included before any construction begins. Founders has said it plans to follow the responsible mining framework that Suriname approved in 2022. And if everything goes as planned… Suriname could become a top name in global mining!