The South Australian Chamber of Mines & Energy (SACOME) has announced the winners of the 2022 South Australia Women in Resources Awards, with winners and finalists invited to a function at the Sofitel in Adelaide.
The Exceptional Young Woman in Resources Award recognises an outstanding young woman 30 and under who has shown significant promise and achieved significant milestones in her career to date. This award acknowledges the recipient’s contribution to promoting the resources sectors’ reputation and standing in the community and increasing inclusion and diversity.
The Exceptional Young Woman in Resources Award Winner is Tessa Ormerod, Senior Geotechnical Engineer at OZ Minerals.
Tessa is an active and founding member of the Inclusion and Diversity Council at OZ Minerals Carrapateena mine and manages a women’s feedback box and communication board for staff on-site. She’s an active member of the Women in Mining Network, leading the mentoring program in 2021 and is involved in the OZ Minerals community outreach program.
Other finalists in the Exceptional Young Woman in Resources Award were Princess Ladra, Mechanical Reliability Engineer, Nyrstar and Zenoushka Bynevelt, Mine Geologist, BHP.
The Exceptional Woman in Resources Award recognises the exceptional achievement of a woman in the resources sector and acknowledges professional success, leadership skills, resilience, methods of overcoming barriers, and seeking out and accepting new responsibilities and challenges. The award also celebrates work to promote the industry’s reputation and standing in the community.
This year, judges elected two winners for this award: Cassie Chamings, Superintendent – Security, BHP, Olympic Dam, and Jessica Balasso, Head of Technology, BHP, Olympic Dam.
Ms Chamings has led Olympic Dam to be the first Minerals Australia asset to achieve gender balance in security.
As Head of Technology at BHP’s Olympic Dam site, Ms Balasso presides over the Technology function across the Olympic Dam asset and is responsible for the delivery of fit for purpose technology systems, services, people, and infrastructure to ensure safe and reliable production across the underground mining operation as well as managing governance and risk.
Ms Balasso is also the sponsor of numerous training, improvement, and mentorship programs which have resulted in measurable improvements to operational performance and culture at Olympic Dam.
Other finalists in the Exceptional Woman in Resources Award were Anne Abraham, Gas Production Optimisation Engineer, Beach Energy and Donna Newman, Superintendent – People, OZ Minerals.
Winners in each category have been elevated to finalists in the Women in Resources National Awards which will be announced during Minerals Week in Canberra on Tuesday 6 September 2022.
Invitees were congratulated by the Minister for Women, the Hon Katrine Hildyard MP, the Chancellor of the University of South Australia, Pauline Carr, and SACOME CEO, Rebecca Knol.
“The Women in Resources Awards champion diversity and help celebrate women who are contributing to the success of the South Australian resources sector,” Ms Knol said.
“SACOME congratulates the finalists and winners who demonstrate going above and beyond their day-to-day roles to promote the resources sector in the community.
“Recognising exceptional women in resources is vital if we are going to meet the growing demand for professionals in South Australia’s high-tech, highly skilled resources sector.”
Ms Hildyard said, “Diversity within the resources sector makes the industry and our state stronger.
“It is excellent to celebrate the achievements of these outstanding, trailblazing women in resources who are making a difference in this traditionally male-dominated sector.
“Congratulations to every woman who has been nominated for an award for their extraordinary efforts – efforts that will no doubt inspire future generations of women to take on roles within the sector,” Ms Hilyard said.
Ms Carr said it is important to recognise outstanding women in all fields.
“I am delighted to announce the finalists of the Women in Resources Award, all of whom are doing wonderful work in their respective roles,” Ms Carr said.
“While the past two years have been challenging for all sectors, it’s important to pause and recognise excellence among our workforces.”
The Hon Tom Koutsantonis MP, Minister for Energy and Mining, said, “These awards are a celebration of diversity and success in a field which can be largely male-dominated. It is not surprising, but it is exciting to see workers in this field recognised for going above and beyond in their field.”
