Women in Resources & Manufacturing Awards 2023 - Winners and Highlights
When: June 14 2023
Where: The Tramsheds Function Centre, Launceston
Five outstanding women and one company working in Tasmania’s resources, mining and manufacturing sectors have been recognised at the 2023 Women in Resources and Manufacturing Tasmania Awards ceremony in Launceston.
The annual awards are coordinated by the Tasmanian Minerals, Manufacturing and Energy Council (TMEC) in conjunction with the AusIMM Women in Mining Network Tasmania (WIMnet) to create awareness of the inspirational women working in resources, mining and manufacturing and encourage other women to pursue careers in these Tasmanian industries.
Ray Mostogl, TMEC Chief Executive Officer, said, “In the face of adversity, these remarkable women have shown immense resilience, determination, and unwavering commitment to their chosen paths. They have defied societal expectations, proving time and again that gender should never be a barrier to success or the pursuit of one’s passion.
We applaud the courage, brilliance, and unwavering spirit of the women in this sector. Their achievements stand as a testament to the power of determination, talent, and the limitless potential within each and every one of us.”
Ted Bradshaw, Chairman of AusIMM WIMnet and Head Judge remarked on the important role of the awards in inspiring women to pursue careers in non-traditional sectors. “The awards provide important recognition for the contribution women are making locally, but also for the companies who employ, support and provide career opportunities for our inspiring women,” Ted said.
“The resources sector is no longer the stereotypical male-orientated industry or the past. Past winners have proven that women can flourish in a variety of roles in our sectors from the ‘shop floor’ to senior management. Each of these women challenge outdated perceptions of the industry and provide a role model to both men and women”.
The awards ceremony was live streamed to the TMEC Facebook page during the event. This allowed the finalists’ family, friends and colleagues to watch the announcement of each of the award winners in real time.
These awards are generously sponsored by Cement Australia, Bell Bay Aluminium, Liberty Bell Bay, MMG Ltd, Caterpillar Australia and the Elphinstone Group.
The winners of each of the Tasmania award categories, automatically progress to the national awards which will be hosted by the Minerals Council of Australia and announced later in the year.
2023 Award Recipients
Exceptional Woman in Tasmanian Resources
Winner: Kayla Williams, Bell Bay Aluminium, Process Maintainer
Highly Commended: Heather O’Toole, Liberty Bell Bay
Award sponsor: Bell Bay Aluminium.
Kayla Williams is a Process Maintainer at Bell Bay Aluminium, commencing at Bell Bay Aluminium in 2021. Kayla started her career as a hairdresser, working in Tasmania and the Northern Territory. A lifelong interest in mechanics led to a six month course in heavy diesel in 2014, which quickly lead to more heavy industry training and a job as a TA in a start up gold mine in 2015. Kayla secured a apprenticeship as a fitter and turner with South 32 TEMCO in 2016 and spent the following 6 years further developing her skills. In 2021 Kayla moved to Bell Bay Aluminium (BBA) into a process maintainer role. Kayla has quickly settled into her new role and in 2022 was selected to join Rio Tinto’s Women in Leadership Developing Leader Program. Her current aspiration is to become a crew leader.
Exceptional Woman in Tasmanian Manufacturing
Winner: Erin Smith, Temtrol Technologies, Manager of Corporate Services
Highly Commended: Rebecca Harvey, Lightning Protection International
Award Sponsor: Elphinstone Group
Erin Smith has held a variety of roles throughout her career including Senior Training Consultant with O Group, Branch Manager with Bendigo Bank, Manager of Capabilities, Culture and Compliance (Compliance, WHS and HR) with Temtrol Technologies in 2021 and then promotion to the role of Manager of Corporate Services (incorporating the management of Quality Assurance) with Temtrol Technologies in 2022. Erin has overcome many health obstacles over the past 9 years, commencing with a leukaemia diagnosis in 2014. Through pure unadulterated resilience and persistence Erin has flourished in her current role with Temtrol Technologies and actively advocates the benefits of having a diverse and inclusive team through improving recruitment and selection processes to better incorporate diversity and inclusivity and the development of a Quality Management System.
Exceptional Young Woman in Tasmanian Resources
Joint Winners: Zixuan Wang, Bell Bay Aluminium, Specialist Business Improvement and Jessica Priest, GHD, Environmental Engineer
Highly Commended: Harjot Kaur, Henty Gold Mine. Catalyst Metals
Award Sponsor: Caterpillar Australia
As a young girl growing up in China, Zixuan Wang developed an interest in science and knew that she wanted to make a difference. Zixuan moved to Australia to pursue an engineering degree at the University of Queensland, she quickly realised that this would not be an easy journey. English was her second language, and the technical terminology proved to be a significant challenge. However, she did not let this stop her from pursuing her dreams and decided to major in chemical and environmental engineering, which allowed her to pursue her passion for renewable energy and decarbonization. Zixuan is a Specialist Business Improvement with Bell Bay Aluminium.
After being told that she would be unlikely to handle the level of maths required to complete the engineering university pre-requisites, Jess Priest’s drive and perseverance saw her travelling to a different school where she could study the required units. Jess undertook a pathway course to ensure she was ready for engineering at a university level, was the only female in the course, receiving the highest maths marks across both semesters and achieved the highest exam result in the courses’ history to date – 100%.
In the final two years of her double degree, Jess used the same determination learnt in her late school years to secure a role with Nyrstar’s Zinc Smelter in Hobart. Jess met the challenge of working two to three days a week while also juggling her fulltime study load.
During her two years at GHD since graduation, Jess has excelled. In her short career she’s already had a broad range of experience in multiple different fields including dam and construction inspections, groundwater sampling, mine closure, geochemistry, contaminated
Outstanding Tasmanian Tradeswoman, Operator or Technician
Winner: Teri Crawford, Bluestone Mines Tasmania JV, Magazine Keeper
Highly Commended: Stephanie Whittle, MMG Limited
Award Sponsor: Liberty Bell Bay
Teri Crawford has enjoyed a vast range of diverse careers, both in Australia and New Zealand. Following a stint as a bartender in Mt Isa, Teri gained valuable insights into the mining sector and decided to pursue a career in mining which resulted in a move to the West coast of Tasmania. Teri is a Magazine Keeper at Bluestone Mines Tasmania JV and is a valued member of Bluestone’s Emergency Response Team. Teri will be competing in this year’s Tasmanian Emergency Response Competition in October. Teri’s next big goal is to obtain her shotfirer’s licence.
Excellence in Company Programs and Performance in Tasmanian Resources
Winner: Bell Bay Aluminium “Our roadmap to a more equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace”
Highly Commended: TasRail “The Rail Way”
Award Sponsor: Weld Australia
Following the release in March 2021 of the Rio Tinto Everyday Respect Report into workplace culture Bell Bay Aluminium knew that they needed to, and wanted to, change where they were as a business – they want to make real, meaningful change. The Inclusion and Diversity Roadmap (“The Roadmap”) is not one singular program but various initiatives that collectively will shape the culture at Bell Bay Aluminium (BBA) into a place where team members can all feel welcomed, included, respected and proud to be part of their team.
Congratulations to our awards finalists
Outstanding Tasmanian Tradeswoman, Operator or Technician
Madelin Billing – Grange Resources Tasmania
Stephanie Whittle – MMG Ltd
Teri Crawford – Bluestone Mines Tasmania JV
Exceptional Young Woman in Tasmanian Resources
Demi Vesinger – Bluestone Mines Tasmania JV
Harjot Kaur – Henty Gold Mine
Jessica Priest – GHD
Kate Cheesman – Bluestone Mines Tasmania JV
Zixuan Wang – Bell Bay Aluminium
Exceptional Woman in Tasmanian Resources
Elizabeth Youd – Avebury Nickel Mine
Heather O’Toole – Liberty Bell Bay
Jannah Digby – KEEN Partners
Katie Fisher – Bell Bay Aluminium
Kayla Williams – Bell Bay Aluminium
Exceptional Woman in Tasmanian Manufacturing
Erin Smith – Temtrol Technologies
Grace Lovell – Mitchell Plastic Welding
Rebecca Harvey – Lightning Protection International
Excellence in Company Programs and Performance in Tasmanian Resources
Inclusion & Diversity – The Rail Way – TasRail
Our Roadmap to a more equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace – Bell Bay Aluminium
Women in Leadership Program – Bell Bay Aluminium
Highlights Gallery
Shifting the paradigm…
The Tasmanian Minerals, Manufacturing and Energy Council (TMEC) were proud to partner with AusIMM Women in Mining Network Tasmania (WIMnet) for the 10th year of hosting the Women in Resources and Manufacturing Tasmania Awards 2023.
These awards: 
celebrate the achievements of women, and inclusion and diversity champions across Tasmania’s resources and manufacturing sectors demonstrate the diverse careers available to women in the sector recognise the industry’s commitment to attracting, training, encouraging and promoting women highlight opportunities for women to flourish in our industry sectors raise the voices of our female employees as vital contributors to our industries while encouraging other women to follow in their footsteps.
Tasmanian award winners will proceed to national events in resources and manufacturing later this year and have been very successful as national award winners in years past, proving Tasmania punches above its weight yet again.
Thanks to the 2023 Event Sponsors
