# Mark Somlyay CFO transition; contractual handover through 8 December 2026 ## Career chronology - **Before Perseus; exact dates and roles unverified: Barrick Gold and other mining businesses** — Finance/commercial roles. [AAMEG board: Mark Somlyay, Chair]() (Somlyay professional biography) - **Before October 2022; exact group-role commencement unverified: Perseus Mining** — African commercial/finance management; Group General Manager Commercial. [Chesser appoints Mark Somlyay CFO]() (PDF pp 1–2, previous Perseus experience) - **From October 2022; end date unverified before April 2024: Chesser Resources** — CFO. [Chesser appoints Mark Somlyay CFO]() (Appointment commencing October 2022) - **Before 22 April 2024; exact start/end unverified: Agnico Eagle Mines** — Finance Director, Australia. [Aura appoints Mark Somlyay CFO]() (Prior employer biography) - **22 April 2024 to expected 8 December 2026; resigned 12 August 2026: Aura Energy** — CFO; notice-period handover. [Aura appoints Mark Somlyay CFO]() (Commencement date); [Aura FY2026 annual report]() (PDF pp 39–40 and 51) - **Current undated professional-body disclosure at cutoff: AAMEG** — Chair. [AAMEG board: Mark Somlyay, Chair]() (Chair profile) ## Education and qualifications ### Commerce degree and CPA reported [mark-somlyay-education] Reported September 2022 · issuer reported · low materiality Chesser reports a University of Queensland Bachelor of Commerce and CPA qualification. Award date and current register status were not independently established. **Attribution:** Responsibility not applicable. Former employer disclosure, not independent credential verification. **Relevance:** Relevant accounting and funding background. [Chesser appoints Mark Somlyay CFO]() (Qualification paragraph) ## Contributions and company outcomes ### Prior commercial work overlaps two delivered Perseus mines [mark-somlyay-perseus-delivery] 2014–2022 · issuer reported · medium materiality Chesser explicitly credits Somlyay with work on funding/development of Sissingué and Yaouré. Perseus’s FY2022 report records first gold at Sissingué in January 2018 and Yaouré in December 2020; the group produced 494,014oz in FY2022. Group totals are not his individual achievement. **Attribution:** Individual involvement documented. His contribution is reported by an employer; the mines’ delivery is separately evidenced, without a quantified personal allocation. **Relevance:** Relevant experience in financing African greenfield developments. [Chesser appoints Mark Somlyay CFO]() (Perseus contribution biography); [Perseus FY2022 sustainable development report]() (PDF pp 10–11, company history and operating results) ### Chesser sale provides transaction exposure, with limited attribution [mark-somlyay-chesser-sale] October 2022–2023 · issuer reported · low materiality The dated Aura appointment release identifies Chesser’s Fortuna acquisition as 2023, correcting Aura’s undated web biography stating 2024. Somlyay’s CFO appointment began in October 2022; no reviewed source quantifies his individual deal contribution or post-sale integration outcome. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. CFO tenure overlaps the transaction; contribution and deal returns are not independently isolated. **Relevance:** Useful transaction experience, distinct from commissioning or running a mine. [Chesser appoints Mark Somlyay CFO]() (Commencement); [Aura appoints Mark Somlyay CFO]() (Chesser acquisition biography) ## Business failures and setbacks ### FY2026 audit flags funding-dependent going concern [mark-somlyay-liquidity] FY2026; September 2026 audit · documented · high materiality Aura reported an A$11.624 million FY2026 loss, and its auditor drew attention to material going-concern uncertainty in an otherwise unmodified audit opinion. The October quarterly report disclosed A$10.6 million cash at 30 September and estimated two quarters of funding at then-current expenditure; project-financing discussions continued. These financial vulnerabilities do not establish fraud. **Attribution:** Role overlaps event; causation unproven. Somlyay served as CFO during the accounts; financing is a board/team responsibility and no personal accounting breach is established. **Relevance:** The funding timetable directly bears on the CFO handover. [Aura FY2026 annual report]() (PDF p65, note 3(d); PDF p111, auditor report); [Aura September 2026 quarterly activities and cash-flow report]() (Financial summary and funding pathway) ## Governance and interests ### Two-step CFO handover creates continuity risk [mark-somlyay-handover] August–December 2026 announced transition · issuer reported · high materiality Somlyay resigned on 12 August 2026 and is contractually expected to remain through 8 December unless otherwise agreed. Davey is expected to commence early November. The announced overlap supports handover, but actual completion and allocation of duties remain future events at the cutoff. **Attribution:** Individual involvement documented. Named resignation, contractual notice and successor timing; no performance-related reason is established. **Relevance:** Financial continuity matters while Aura seeks construction funding. [Aura FY2026 annual report]() (PDF pp 39–40 and 51); [Aura appoints leadership team to build Tiris]() (CFO appointment and commencement) ## Suitability for the current role ### Fit for Aura’s next development stage [mark-somlyay-fit] Assessment at 10 October 2026 · analyst inference · medium materiality Documented African commercial experience and participation in delivered gold developments fit Aura’s funding needs. Near-term finance continuity is limited by his resignation and the funding-dependent balance sheet. **Attribution:** Responsibility not applicable. Analytical judgment based on the cited career and delivery evidence. **Relevance:** Professional suitability for the disclosed role; this is not a personal integrity score. [Chesser appoints Mark Somlyay CFO]() (Perseus work); [Aura FY2026 annual report]() (PDF pp 39–40,65,111); [Aura appoints leadership team to build Tiris]() (CFO transition) ## Evidence gaps - Previous-employer start/end dates, quantified personal financing contributions and client-specific safety/environment responsibility remain incomplete. - The reviewed appointment and AAMEG records do not establish a London Mining role; namesake or aggregator associations were not adopted. - CPA register status, university conferral and actual November/December handover completion were not independently verified. - Earlier 10 October person/topic searches were inherited and were not independently reproduced in the 31 October refresh; the later search was targeted rather than a complete repeat of every topic.