Lahontan Hands CFO Job to Billy Choi Before Santa Fe Build

Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSXV: LG) has hired Billy Choi as chief financial officer, with Choi expected to assume full CFO duties in October 2026 after a transition from outgoing CFO John McNeice, as the company prepares for development of its Santa Fe mine.

Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSXV: LG) is changing the person who signs its financial statements, and the timing is the point. The company said it has hired Billy Choi as chief financial officer, with Choi expected to take on full CFO responsibilities in October 2026 after a transition period. Outgoing CFO John McNeice was thanked for his years of service.

Lahontan framed the appointment around the anticipated development of its Santa Fe mine. That framing is the substance of the announcement. Junior mining companies rarely change finance leadership in the middle of routine exploration work; they change it when the nature of the accounting is about to change.

Why a Developer Needs a Different CFO Than an Explorer

An exploration-stage company has a comparatively simple finance function. Money is raised, money is spent on drilling, and most of it is expensed or capitalised under a straightforward policy. The CFO's job is to keep the treasury topped up and the filings on time.

Development is a different animal. Once a company commits to building a mine, the finance chair carries construction capital budgeting, debt or streaming negotiations, capitalised development cost accounting, cost-overrun tracking against a defined plan, and the internal controls that lenders and auditors demand before they will fund anything. The reporting burden rises sharply, and so does the scrutiny.

That is the gap Lahontan appears to be addressing ahead of time rather than after the fact. Hiring a development-capable CFO before the spending starts is generally cheaper than hiring one after a budget has slipped.

What Choi Brings From Lithium Royalty Corp.

Choi most recently served as vice president of finance at Lithium Royalty Corp., where the company said he played an integral role in LRC's successful IPO and its transition to being a publicly traded company. His responsibilities there, as described by Lahontan, included leading key aspects of financial reporting and prospectus readiness, strengthening internal controls and financial processes, and building the finance infrastructure needed to support a growing public company. He worked closely with senior management, auditors, legal counsel and other external advisors, according to the announcement carried by INN Precious Metals.

Two items in that resume matter more than the rest for a company heading toward construction. The first is prospectus readiness. A developer moving into a build almost always returns to the equity market, and the ability to produce a clean, defensible offering document quickly is a practical advantage when a financing window opens.

The second is internal controls. Lenders, streamers and royalty counterparties underwrite the borrower's control environment as much as the orebody. A CFO who has already been through the discipline of building that infrastructure at a company going public is bringing a specific, transferable skill rather than a general one.

The Listing Structure and Where the Stock Sits

Lahontan carries an unusually broad listing footprint for a company of its stage: TSX Venture Exchange under LG, over-the-counter in the United States under LGCXF, OTCQB under the same symbol, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under Y2F. Multiple venues widen the potential shareholder base, but they also multiply the compliance calendar. Each listing has its own filing conventions, and keeping four of them synchronised is squarely a CFO responsibility.

Multiple venues widen the potential shareholder base, but they also multiply the compliance calendar.

The US-quoted line, LGCXF, last changed hands at 0.29, down 2.16% on the day as of 17:42:33 GMT on 10 September 2026, having traded between 0.29 and 0.30 and closing the prior session at 0.29. Volumes in over-the-counter listings of Canadian juniors are typically thin, and a move of that size on the day should not be read as a market verdict on the appointment.

The broader tape was soft on the same session. The S&P 500 tracker (SPY) was at $758.27, down 0.54%; the Nasdaq 100 tracker (QQQ) at $710.02, down 0.88%; and the Dow tracker (DIA) at $520.60, down 0.66%. In other words, a small negative move in a micro-cap gold name on a day when every major US benchmark was lower carries very little information.

What Investors Should Watch From Here

The announcement itself does not disclose a construction decision, a capital cost, a permitting milestone or a financing package for Santa Fe. It signals preparation, not commitment. The useful next data points are therefore the ones that would follow a genuine development push.

The completion of the transition period and Choi's formal assumption of full CFO duties in October 2026.
Any technical or economic study work on Santa Fe that would define a capital requirement.
The shape of the next financing — equity, debt, stream or royalty — and whether it is sized for drilling or for building.
Permitting and land-tenure progress on the Nevada asset base.
Whether other senior appointments follow, which would indicate a broader build-out of the operating team rather than a one-off replacement.

The Wider Pattern in Junior Gold

Personnel news from small-cap miners is routinely ignored, and often deserves to be. But finance-leadership changes explicitly tied to a named project are one of the more honest leading indicators a junior produces. A company does not incur the cost and disruption of replacing a CFO unless the workload is about to change or the existing arrangement no longer fits the plan.

The counter-argument is equally straightforward: intentions are not funding. Plenty of developers have upgraded their finance function and then spent years waiting for a permit, a metal price or a receptive market. Choi's arrival tells shareholders what management expects the next phase to require. It does not tell them when that phase begins, how much it will cost, or how it will be paid for.

Those answers have to come from the company's own disclosure on Santa Fe. Until they do, the appointment is best read as a company putting the plumbing in before turning on the tap — a reasonable thing to do, and a reason to pay closer attention to what Lahontan says about the project over the coming quarters.

Key facts

Incoming CFO: Billy Choi, assuming full CFO duties October 2026
Outgoing CFO: John McNeice, departing after a transition period
US OTC quote: LGCXF at 0.29, -2.16%, as of 17:42:33 GMT, 10 Sep 2026
Listings: TSXV: LG, OTC/OTCQB: LGCXF, FSE: Y2F

Frequently asked questions

Who is Lahontan Gold's new CFO?

Billy Choi has been hired as chief financial officer of Lahontan Gold Corp. He is expected to assume full CFO responsibilities in October 2026 following a transition period from the current CFO, John McNeice, whom the company thanked for his years of service. Choi most recently served as vice president of finance at Lithium Royalty Corp.

Why is Lahontan changing CFOs now?

The company tied the transition to anticipated development of its Santa Fe mine. Moving from exploration to development changes the finance workload substantially: construction budgeting, capitalised development accounting, project financing negotiations and stronger internal controls. Lahontan appears to be putting development-capable finance leadership in place before that spending begins rather than after.

What did Billy Choi do at Lithium Royalty Corp.?

According to Lahontan, Choi played an integral role in Lithium Royalty Corp.'s successful IPO and its transition to a publicly traded company. His responsibilities included leading key aspects of financial reporting and prospectus readiness, strengthening internal controls and financial processes, and building the finance infrastructure needed to support a growing public company.

Where does Lahontan Gold trade?

Lahontan Gold Corp. carries four listings: the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol LG, the US over-the-counter market and OTCQB under LGCXF, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under Y2F. That breadth widens the potential shareholder base but multiplies the compliance and filing calendar the CFO must manage.

How did the shares react to the announcement?

The US-quoted LGCXF line last traded at 0.29, down 2.16% on the day as of 17:42:33 GMT on 10 September 2026, within a range of 0.29 to 0.30. Major US benchmarks were also lower that session, with SPY down 0.54% and QQQ down 0.88%, so the move carries limited signal.

Does this announcement mean Santa Fe construction has been approved?

No. The company disclosed a CFO transition made in anticipation of Santa Fe mine development. It did not announce a construction decision, a capital cost estimate, permitting completion or a financing package. Investors should watch for study work defining capital requirements, permitting progress and the structure of any subsequent financing.

Sources

Lahontan Announces CFO Transition on Anticipation of Santa Fe Mine Development — INN Precious Metals

Photo: Doc Searls from Santa Barbara, USA · BY 2.0 — source