ASX-listed Mongolian coal producer TerraCom Limited has appointed former Oyu Tolgoi project executive Cameron McRae as chairman. The appointment is to facilitate the ongoing transformation of TerraCom into a global independent coal miner.

The company says Cameron McRae will take an active and hands-on role in leading the company through this process.

Cameron McRae has served a distinguished 28-year career at Rio Tinto, holding executive level positions in five countries. He was CEO-president of Oyu Tolgoi (OT) copper-gold business in Mongolia, CEO of Richards Bay Minerals in South Africa, managing director of Murowa Diamonds in Zimbabwe and project director for the Hail Creek Coal Mine Expansion Project in Central Queensland. In 1995 he was also a key member of the M&A team that brought RTZ plc and CRA Limited together to form the dual listed Rio Tinto.

His career highlight to date was leading the establishment of the OT business – Mongolia’s world-class mega project in the Gobi Desert. OT commenced construction in 2010 and the US$6 billion project was commissioned ahead of schedule and moved to full production before he left in October 2013.

In Mongolia, Cameron McRae has been formally recognized by the government and business associations for services to business and the mining sector and he currently lives in Mongolia with his family.

TerraCom has fully commissioned the Baruun Noyon Uul (BNU) coking coal mine in the South Gobi region of Mongolia. It is also focused on developing two priority projects in Queensland, Australia - the large thermal coal Northern Galilee project and the high energy prime thermal coal Springsure project.

In order to support the growth and expansion of the company and to de-risk from single mine and single country operator, TerraCom continues to evaluate cash generative assets for potential acquisition.

The company is currently progressing a strategic opportunity in Queensland to acquire a mature mining operation which is on care and maintenance. It is also evaluating the acquisition of a hard coking coal mining operation in Indonesia.

The mine’s production licence has a 12 year remaining life and is located in close proximity to road, barge and port infrastructure which connects into the seaborne coal market. The mine has a capability of annually delivering 500,000 tonnes of hard coking coal.