| Item 5.02. |
Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers. |
On January 29, 2026, the board of directors (the “Board”) of i-80 Gold Corp. (the “Company”) appointed Ronald Butler Jr., Michael Jalonen and Steven Yopps to the Board, effective February 1, 2026.
Effective February 1, 2026, Mr. Butler and Mr. Jalonen were appointed to the Audit Committee of the Board, Mr. Butler and Mr. Yopps were appointed to the Compensation Committee of the Board, and Mr. Yopps and Mr. Jalonen were appointed to the Technical, Safety and Sustainability Committee of the Board.
There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Butler, Mr. Jalonen or Mr. Yopps and any other persons pursuant to which they were selected as a director. Mr. Butler, Mr. Jalonen and Mr. Yopps do not have direct or indirect material interests in any currently proposed transaction to which the Company was, or is to be, a participant, nor has either Mr. Butler, Mr. Jalonen or Mr. Yopps had a direct or indirect material interest in any transactions since the beginning of the Company’s last fiscal year.
Mr. Butler, Mr. Jalonen and Mr. Yopps will be compensated for their service on the Board consistent with the Company’s other non-employee directors. They each will receive an annual retainer in the amount of $55,000 and an annual award of deferred share units with an approximate value of $75,000. Each grant of deferred share units will vest in accordance with the terms set out in the Company’s omnibus share incentive plan.
Ronald Butler Jr.
Ronald Butler Jr. is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with more than 30 years of experience in audit, financial and strategic planning, operational excellence, digital transformation, and corporate governance across industries including mining and metals, energy, technology, and consumer products. Mr. Butler spent 29 years with Ernst & Young LLP (EY) in Arizona, most recently serving as Managing Partner from 2008 until his retirement in 2024. From 2022 to 2024, he also served as EY’s U.S. Mining & Metals Leader, where he led national strategy and drove client and business growth, advising major mining companies such as Freeport-McMoRan and Newmont Corporation. As Managing Partner, Mr. Butler led EY Arizona’s growth initiatives and strategic ventures, including public-sector programs focused on cost reduction, grants management, real estate optimization, and technology enablement. He also served on the Executive Committee for the City of Phoenix’s US$500 million General Obligation Bond Program and was a senior member of EY’s West Region Executive Leadership Team. During his tenure, he oversaw more than 500 professionals and advised a broad range of midsize and multinational public and private companies. Mr. Butler holds a BSc in Accountancy from the University of Arizona.
Michael Jalonen
Michael Jalonen is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with nearly 40 years of mining and capital markets experience, including over 30 years as a highly respected mining analyst at Bank of America Securities (BofA). He served as Managing Director and North American Senior Precious Metals Research Analyst from 1989 until his retirement in 2022 and was consistently ranked among the leading mining analysts in North America. In this role, Mr. Jalonen led coverage and investment recommendations for 30 senior and intermediate precious metals producers, as well as royalty and streaming companies. He developed detailed operating and financial models, performed valuation analyses, and authored numerous thematic industry reports. Prior to that, Mr. Jalonen served as Global Coordinator for BofA’s Metals, Mining & Steel Research Team, overseeing a global group of analysts, publishing thematic research on precious and base metals, and organizing the firm’s flagship global mining conference. He began his career as a geologist. Mr. Jalonen holds an MBA in Finance from the DeGroote School of Business and a BSc (Hons) in Geology from the University of Windsor.
Steven Yopps
Steven Yopps is a metallurgical engineer and accomplished mining executive with more than 35 years of operational, technical, project development, and regulatory experience across Nevada’s premier gold districts. His career spans senior roles at AngloGold Ashanti, Nevada Gold Mines, and Barrick Mining, where he led large-scale autoclave, roaster, and refractory processing operations, advanced complex feasibility studies, and executed district-level growth strategies that transformed regional mining portfolios.
Most recently, Mr. Yopps served as Vice President of Nevada Projects for AngloGold Ashanti from 2021 through to his retirement in 2025. In this role, he led technical and exploration teams who were responsible for growing the
