Before holding similar roles at the Yarrabee and Minerva mines, along with Sonoma Mine Management, McKee held senior operational roles over a more than 20-year career with Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton.
This included work at Kaltim Prima Coal, Pacific Coal, the Peak Downs mine and the Harrow Creek trial colliery.
McKee will focus on advancing The Range and Mackenzie River projects with Stanmore’s project development manager Vaughan Wishart.
“We consider it of particular benefit to Stanmore that Michael has recently operated three mines in the Bowen Basin and we intend to utilise this knowledge to ensure the optimal design and delivery of our development projects,” Stanmore managing director Nick Jorss said.
While the severe wet season has affected many explorers, better ground conditions are allowing Stanmore to get back into drilling.
The Range open cut project in the Surat Basin is aiming for 5 million tonnes per annum for a mine life of 17 years, with production to kick off in early 2015.
The current program is targeting 28 partially cored holes to a maximum depth of 100 metres, with the aim of converting some of the 219Mt of inferred thermal coal resources into the indicated category.
While an eight-hole drilling program has started at the company’s Emerald thermal and coking coal project in the Bowen Basin, Stanmore is still monitoring the ground conditions at its key Mackenzie River coking coal project near Blackwater.
Stanmore has set an exploration target of 70-80Mt at this project to add to its existing 99Mt of inferred resources.
Shares in the company are unchanged at $1.25 this morning.
