Five inspiring women, a male champion and an innovative resource company initiative have been recognised at the annual Women In Resources Awards, presented by the Chamber of Minerals and Energy (CME).
More than 1000 people attended the event at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre, including the Governor of Western Australia, Her Excellency, the Hon. Kerry Sanderson AO. Premier of Western Australia, the Hon. Colin Barnett MLA; Minister for Women’s Interests, the Hon. Liza Harvey MLA and Minister for Mines, the Hon. Bill Marmion MLA.
CME congratulates all winners and finalists recognised at the Awards.
Executive Chairman of the Hancock Prospecting Group, Mrs Georgina Rinehart received the Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming just the third woman to be given the honour, joining Erica Smyth (2010) and the late Maureen Muggeridge (2011).
CME thanks its sponsors BHP Billiton, Chevron, Rio Tinto, AngloGold Ashanti, Cameco, Department of Local Government and Communities, Iluka Resources, Shell, Steel Blue and TransAlta for their support of the awards.
About 80 students from 18 West Australian schools were sponsored to attend the event by companies and politicians through the Inspiring Girls initiative. This allowed the students to hear first hand the benefits of working in the resource sector.
An overview of the winners and finalists in the 2016 Women in Resources Awards is provided below.
Photographs are available upon request.
Outstanding Company Initiative – BHP Billiton Nickel West: Job Sharing in Senior Leadership
Nickel West successfully implemented the first senior leadership job-sharing role within one of the largest mining companies in the world, BHP Billiton. The role is one of 30 senior manager positions at Nickel West and is responsible for the finance function of BHP Billiton’s Nickel Assets, including three operating mines, three concentrators, a smelter and a refinery.
The initiative creates flexibility, promotes diversity and allows women to continue to advance their careers whilst achieving the elusive work/life balance.
Finalists
- Fortescue Metals Group – Trade Up
- Iluka Resources – Iluka’s Diversity Journey
- Newmont Asia Pacific – Women’s Professional Network
Outstanding Operator/Technician/Trade Woman in Resources – Yvonne Fahey (Alcoa of Australia)
Yvonne began her 21 year career in the resources sector as a site clerk at Marvel Loch Gold Mine. After only a year, Yvonne relocated to Boddington Gold Mine as an Open Pit Mobile Plant Operator, where she gained great experience in operating open pit mining equipment. Yvonne went on to obtain a restricted Open Pit Quarry Manager’s license.
After taking a break from paid work to raise a family, Yvonne returned to work for the Alcoa Huntly bauxite mine. Under the fleet management system, she used field experience to highlight load and haul production efficiency opportunities. She then took the opportunity to work as a Maintenance Short Term Planner, traditionally a role occupied by heavy duty mechanical fitters.
Finalists
- Laura Allen – Woodside Energy
- Suzan Drake-Brockman – Alcoa of Australia
Outstanding Young Woman in Resources – Megan Kline (BHP Billiton Iron Ore)
Megan joined the BHP Billiton graduate program in 2008 at the Cannington Underground Mine in Queensland as an engineer and quickly rose to become Superintendent at one of BHP Billiton’s largest iron ore mines. When Megan moved into the Western Australian Iron Ore open cut assets, taking a supervisor’s role at BHP Billiton’s Jimblebar mine in 2012, she was the only female supervisor at the time.
Megan is a member of the Jimblebar Inclusion and Diversity Working Group and has informal mentoring relationships with numerous women completing traineeships. She has also been involved in the Indigenous Development Program; completing practice interviews with the attendees and providing feedback on their final project presentations.
Finalists
- Katharine McKenzie – Jackson McDonald
- Jodi Moffitt – Roy Hill
- Jessica Higgins Widenbar – BHP Billiton Iron Ore
Oustanding Woman In Resources – Claire Negus (Roy Hill)
Claire is an experienced senior manager within the resources sector. Focused on mega projects, Claire has primarily worked in commercial and governance roles, leveraging her legal and accounting qualifications. Claire has a vision to create “self-service” functional support models to reduce overhead burdens by implementing new technologies and empowering line-management through simplification, education and risk-based management.
Claire has taken this approach in her current role of Director Commercial at Roy Hill where she is responsible for strategy, leadership and management of the Commercial Department.
Claire initiated the Women in Resources School Speakers initiative, has established a mentoring program with her department at Roy Hill and is an active mentor in the WIMWA mentoring program.
Finalists
- Sharon Eyer – Alcoa of Australia
- Sheila Graham – Shell Australia
- Natasha Hendrick – Santos
Women in Resources Champion – Michael Schoch (Shell Australia)
Michael is a visible champion within Shell Australia for gender diversity and is a key advocate in affecting positive cultural change throughout the organisation and more broadly in WA through his wide reaching interactions in industry forums. He has worked across the business to build male champions of change in advocating for women in resources and been instrumental in driving a review of Shell’s polices, guidelines and practices to identify where and how Shell could improve on its gender diversity journey.
Michael’s key contribution to building leadership amongst his peers and the broader community is through his valuable work with the Committee for Perth, on the ‘Filling the Pool’ project as Chair of the Steering Committee.
Finalists
- Jeanette Hasleby – Roy Hill
- Mark Stickells – Energy and Minerals Institute, the University of Western Australia
Lifetime Achievement Award – Mrs Gina Rinehart (Hancock Prospecting)
Mrs Georgina Rinehart is the Executive Chairman of the Hancock Prospecting Group, an exploration and now mining company group she became chair of in 1992. She turned the company, then in considerable difficulties, into a mining enterprise with major projects in West Australia and Queensland along with a pipeline of other projects.
Mrs Rinehart has been involved in establishing three major mines and in 2014 her Roy Hill Project secured the largest debt funding package for a land-based mining project. On December 10 2015, the first shipment of iron ore from the Roy Hill mine left Port Hedland. After ramp up, this will become the largest iron ore mine in Australia, quite a story from 1992 when professionals were advising Mrs Rinehart not to take up the discarded Roy Hill tenements, as they were of little or less value.
Mrs Rinehart has been widely recognised particularly overseas, for her achievements including: the first company to achieve the prestigious Diggers and Dealers award twice, an honorary doctorate from Bond University, one of only a few awarded, a 2014 Order of Merit by the Australian Olympic Committee, and, after various prestigious international lifetime achievement awards, in 2015 the International Mining and Resources Conference Inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award, was presented to her in Australia, and then her most recent award, Miner of the Decade, awarded by the Sydney Mining Club.
People's Choice Award – Suzan Drake-Brockman (Alcoa of Australia)
Suzan began work in mining as a Pit Technician at Hopes Hill near Southern Cross. This followed her role as a business owner in steel fabrication which gave Suzan an appreciation for business. She became one of the first female members of the Australian Institute of Steel Construction. Suzan has spent the past 11 years working as a Chemical Process Field and Panel Operator.
She is a big advocate for engineering and using mechanisms instead of brute force. Suzan endeavours to engineer problems out, showing innovation and creative problem solving. Her interest and skills in Computer Aided Drafting has enhanced her role as trainer by being able to accommodate the visual learner. She designs at home and returns to work to communicate visual concepts, enhancing knowledge and conceptual information for her colleagues.