McCandless was directly involved in the exploration that led to the discovery of the Ekati and Renard diamond mines, in Canada's Northwest Territories and Quebec province, respectively.

More recently he served as a director on the board of Kennady Diamonds where he was part of the team responsible for the due diligence and negotiations leading to the acquisition of Kennady Diamonds by Mountain Province in April.

He brings vast resource-focused consulting experience as president of MCC Geoscience, having consulted for grassroots exploration through to operating mines in North and South America, Africa and Europe.

He is also a registered professional geoscientist and an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta and University of Arizona.

Mountain province acquired Kennady for its Kennady North project that contains the Kelvin and Faraday kimberlite pipes, which hold more than 18 million carats of diamonds in all resource categories.

Mountain Province also acquired a highly prospective land package through the C$176 million Kennady transaction within a 20km radius of its flagship Gahcho Kué diamond mine, which it owns (49%) through a joint venture with De Beers Canada (51%).

"(Tom) will play a key role in moving our exploration programs forward as we continue our search for the next potential discovery of diamonds on our properties. Mountain Province is building a strong team to execute our strategy of exploration and mining extension, and we are confident that Tom's experience, and his standing in the diamond industry will add substantial value to the company," CEO Stuart Brown said.

The Kennady assets has an in-situ diamond value of about C$1.8 billion (at an average C$100/ct) in all categories.

Mountain Province has lost about 54% in value during the past 12 months to C$1.65, having last peaked at $3.82 a year ago. The company has a market value fo $436.5 million.