Category: Awards Winners

Tanya Nakata from ERA – Overall Exceptional Woman in Resources 2022

Tanya Nakata is a proud Torres Strait Islander with a diverse fifteen year career in the resource sector. As a Water Technician at Ranger Uranium Mine, Tanya is often off four-wheel driving on boggy bushland tracks to access bores, or riding helicopters to sample remote creeks.

Read More

Kimberley Robertson from INPEX Australia – Excellence in Technological Innovation 2022

Kimberley secured a job with INPEX in 2015 to work as an Operations Rotating Equipment Engineer at Ichthys LNG in Darwin – ranked among the most significant energy projects in the world. During her time at INPEX, she has worked on preparing and commissioning major rotating equipment packages, frontline support to start-up operations, operations support as the project successfully moved to production in July 2018 and major maintenance oversight. INPEX-operated Ichthys LNG is considered one of the largest and most complex engineering projects ever undertaken in Australia and the world.

Read More

Alex Hales from Glencore McArthur River Mine – Gender Diversity Champion 2022

Alex is a champion for diversity in the resources sector, leading an inclusive program across the technical division of McArthur River Mine. Alex’s leadership is demonstrated through his support and promotion of women in trade positions within the resource sector.

Read More

Tanya Nakata from ERA – Outstanding Outstanding Tradesperson / Operator / Technician 2022

Tanya Nakata is a proud Torres Strait Islander with a diverse fifteen year career in the resource sector. As a Water Technician at Ranger Uranium Mine, Tanya is often off four-wheel driving on boggy bushland tracks to access bores, or riding helicopters to sample remote creeks.

Read More

Fangyuan ‘Sandi’ Lin from ERA – Exceptional Young Woman In Resources Winner 2022

Sandi Lin is working as an Environmental Engineer in the Closure team at ERA. After completing a Masters in Environmental Engineering, Sandi joined the Rio Tinto ERA Graduate Program with enthusiasm and ambition, showing great promise. Sandi completed the rotation graduate program working on various multi-disciplinary projects within the business and was promoted into an Environmental Engineering role at ERA.

Read More

Rachel Manger from Newmont Australia – Glencore McArthur River Mine 2022 Exceptional Woman in Resources Awardee

Rachel is a champion of inclusion and diversity, and through her leadership has developed a high performing team that now has greater gender, age and cultural diversity. Leading by example, Rachel is an inspiring and influential member of the Site Leadership Team, with a commitment to continual improvement. Showing resilience throughout her career, and overcoming obstacles to achieve her goals, Rachel is an exceptional woman working in the resources sector.

Read More

Kalpana Maharage- Exceptional Woman In Resources Winner 2018

Exceptional Woman In Resources 2018

Award Sponsor

Kalpana Maharage

In 2008, Kalpana graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Engineering (Mining) and was selected for Rio Tinto’s graduate program upon completion where she has held various positions since.

Currently employed as a Truck & Shovel Superintendent for GEMCO South32. In addition to this role, Kalpana supports the site by completing the Duty Manager role on a regular basis which involves being the point of contact and senior leadership for the whole operation over weekends.

Since moving to the community of Alyangula in 2016, Kalpana has led the recruitment and training of local community members via a Residential Training Program which has provided opportunities for improved gender diversity by supporting flexible rostering.

Kalpana also volunteers at events held by South32 in the community to show our support with social and family activities.

Read More

ERA – Ranger Women’s Network – Excellence In Diversity Programs 2018

Excellence In Diversity Programs 2018

ERA - Ranger Women's Network

The Ranger Women’s Network was formed in 2017 in direct response to interest from female employees within Energy Resources of Australia for access to support, mentoring and networking and professional development opportunities.

The Network recognises those who champion gender diversity and makes available information to inform its members about gender diversity issues, strategies and statistics.

Since it started, the RWN has raised more the $4500 for Darwin based charity Dawn House Incorporated to directly support the services they provide to women and children escaping domestic and family violence. These services can be accessed by all women in Jabiru, Ranger and Darwin.

The RWN has also raised $1500 in funds and promoted the services of Dolly’s Dream, a charity which aims to raise awareness of bullying, anxiety, depression, youth suicide and improve access to youth support and prevention services.

These include playing host to the Jabiru Area School science students for International Day of Women and Girls in Science to promote career opportunities in STEM fields, organising a site visit and evening function for 30 female engineers in partnership with Engineers Australia offering an opportunity for networking and knowledge sharing and various sponsorships opportunities including a women’s team at the 2017 Darwin Mining Club Charity Ambrose Golf Day to encourage healthy work-life balance and team work as well as organising a pink high-vis shirt drive for Ranger Mine to raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer research.

Read More

Fatemah Saeidi – Overall Woman In Resources Award 2019

Overall Woman In Resources Award 2019

Fatemah Saeidi

Despite topping her mining engineering class in Iran, Fatemeh migrated to Australia after seeing too many career opportunities slip past her because of her gender. After completing a PhD at one of University of Queensland’s highly regarded Mineral Research Centres, Fatemeh now works for South32s GEMCO a Process and Logistics Analysis and Improvement Specialist, living on Groote Eylandt.

Fatemeh is an active participant in GEMCO’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and also mentors female students from culturally diverse backgrounds at the University of Queensland to encourage them to also join the resources industry.

Fatemeh recently participated in the Northern Territory Women in Leadership Workshop and is focused on using her experiences to become a motivational speaker

Read More

Leigh Mott – Outstanding Trades Operator 2019

Outstanding Trades Operator 2019

Award Sponsor

Leigh Mott

Leigh began working at McArthur River Mines as an operator in 2011. She started working on trucks then worked her way up to operating excavators and production loaders. She joined the Emergency Response Team and was the only female team member of the 2014 MRM Northern Territory Australian Emergency Response Competition Team.

She has qualification as an EMT-Advanced and holds Certificate IV Training and Assessment, this has enabled her to better treat co-workers and the wider community members in emergency situations as a medic. When she is at work she is on-call 24/7 for emergency response. In 2017 she has taken on the role of Relief Emergency Response Coordinator. 

Read More