Avira Resources (ASX:AVW) confirms Andrew van Bentum as CEO on $20k a month

The lean pay packet and the Mt Cattlin drill pipeline tell you exactly where this micro-cap’s priorities sit

Avira Resources (ASX:AVW) has today confirmed Andrew van Bentum as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 July 2026. The move formalises a relationship that started in October 2025, when van Bentum joined as Consulting Chief Operating Officer.

For a company this small, a CEO appointment is rarely just about the title. It signals that exploration has moved from a part-time project into a full-time push, and that the board is willing to commit to a named operator through the next drilling cycle at Mt Cattlin.

The remuneration line jumped out at us. Van Bentum is being paid $20,000 per month with a 14 day notice period, which is deliberately lean. That structure tells you Avira is preserving cash for the drill bit rather than the corner office.

The other piece of context worth flagging is Avira’s capital structure. With 575 million shares on issue and 270 million quoted options at $0.015 expiring in June 2027, the next 12 months will be shaped as much by option economics as by drill results. Van Bentum inherits that clock on day one.

Why the CV actually matters at Mt Cattlin

Van Bentum brings more than 25 years of resources experience, most recently at IGO Limited and before that Western Areas and Western Mining Corporation. That is a specific pedigree in nickel sulphides and gold across the Yilgarn, which is exactly the geological terrain Avira is now drilling.

The Mt Cattlin Gold Project sits inside the Ravensthorpe Greenstone Belt, next door to Rio Tinto’s Mt Cattlin lithium operation and Medallion Metals’ 1.3Moz Kundip gold project. Neighbours do not prove anything on their own, but they do tell you the district hosts real endowment.

Van Bentum also runs GeoSuite Consulting, so he arrives with a working knowledge of Western Australian exploration approvals. In a permitting environment that has slowed drill campaigns for many juniors, that is a practical asset rather than a resume line.

The pay structure is a tell on cash discipline

$20,000 a month works out to $240,000 a year in base pay. For an ASX-listed CEO running three exploration projects across two countries, that is well below market. The skeptical read is that Avira simply cannot afford more.

The constructive read is that management is choosing to route cash into drilling at Mt Cattlin, Tangadee and Puolalaki rather than executive comp. Both reads can be true at once.

The 270 million quoted options exercisable at $0.015 before 30 June 2027 are the other piece of the puzzle. If van Bentum can deliver drill results that lift the share price above that strike, the option exercise becomes a near-term funding event.

The Investors Takeaway for Avira Resources

Today’s announcement does not change Avira’s asset base. It changes who is running it, and on what terms. A geologist with IGO and Western Areas on his CV, paid modestly, with drill-ready targets in known gold country, is a defensible setup for a micro-cap at this stage.

Our concern is that the June 2027 option expiry is now less than 12 months away, with an exercise price at $0.015. Van Bentum has a narrow window to deliver drilling results strong enough to move the share price above that strike, or Avira will need to find funding elsewhere. Investors can find more coverage of ASX-listed junior explorers at stocksdownunder.