Congratulations to the 2024 NSW Women in Mining Award Winners

Keryn Zambrowski, Senior Manager Investor Relations at Whitehaven Coal, has been named the Exceptional Woman in NSW Mining for 2024.

With a wealth of domestic and international experience, Keryn has held multiple roles at Whitehaven Coal, including leading export contract negotiations and becoming the first female marketer at Whitehaven. In 2022, she transitioned into a senior role in investor relations.  Keryn is committed to industry advocacy and education, and actively mentors women in finance and commercial logistics at Whitehaven.

NSW Minerals Council CEO, Stephen Galilee congratulated Keryn on being named Exceptional Woman in Mining 2024 and highlighted her achievements as another example of the world-class women in mining across the State.

“Keryn’s drive to apply her financial and investor relations experience and expertise to the mining sector is an inspiration to young women exploring their career options.  Keryn’s example highlights the breadth of opportunities that exist for women in our industry.”   

Other award winners include business owner/operator Hannah Berthold, from HER Engineering Machining & Maintenance, who has been named 2024 NSW Exceptional Young Woman in Mining. 

In 2021 Hannah started her own business, founding HER Engineering, Machining and Maintenance and has been highly active in encouraging young women to seek a career in mining by starting an apprenticeship. 

Karin Soldenhoff from the Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation (ANSTO) received the 2024 Technological Innovation Award for her work as technical lead on a project for Australia Strategic Metals (ASM), to develop novel solvent extraction technology to separate rare earth elements found at its Dubbo Project.

Damien Butler from The Bloomfield Group was awarded the 2024 Inclusion & Diversity Champion Award for his work in fostering diversity and inclusion within the mining industry.  

The 2024 Exceptional Tradeswoman/Operator/Technician Award was awarded to Nadine Heal from Evolution Mining. Nadine is the Open Pit Supervisor at Evolution Mining's Cowal Gold Operations (CGO) and has played a crucial role in mentoring women at CGO, significantly enhancing female participation in operational roles. 

And the Excellence in Diversity Programs and Performance Award was awarded to Thiess for their MASITE Program. The program at Mount Arthur South has significantly increased workforce diversity, raising female participation from 18.5% to 23.7% and Aboriginal participation from 2.5% to 11.5%, with 92% of trainees transitioning to permanent roles.

Stephen Galilee congratulated all of the winners and finalists.

“Mining is a key contributor to the NSW economy. Much of this can be attributed to our world-class mining workforce, including the many incredible women in our NSW mining industry and the contribution they make.  These Awards celebrate their achievements in a range of fields,” Mr Galilee said.

“From technology and innovation to engineering and trades, as well as operational roles and running businesses, our award winners highlight the opportunities for women in mining, and showcase the career paths available in our sector. 

The winners in the six award categories will be entered into the Women in Resources National Awards.