Women in Industry Awards
Women in Industry Awards recognise mining’s best
TWO OF THE MINING INDUSTRY’S BRIGHTEST STARS, SARAH WITHELL FROM WHITEHAVEN COAL AND RACHAEL ASHFIELD FROM IFM EFECTOR, HAVE BEEN RECOGNISED AT THE WOMEN IN INDUSTRY AWARDS, TAKING OUT THE EXCELLENCE IN MINING AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SUCCESS OF THE YEAR CATEGORIES RESPECTIVELY.
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he Women in Industry Awards aims to recognise and celebrate women in traditionally male-dominated industries, such as mining, engineering, transport and manufacturing. This year’s awards saw a 27 per cent rise in nominations compared with last year, as well as a record number of individuals, businesses and organisations represented. The Women in Industry Awards winner for Excellence in Mining this year is Whitehaven Coal executive general manager HSE, Sarah Withell. She started her mining career as a fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) environmental scientist at a remote operation in the Gulf of Carpentaria in
northern Australia. From there, Withell launched a career that has since spanned two decades by expanding her knowledge to work in health, safety, environment and community roles. During the past 10 years, Withell has moved into senior leadership teams for some of Australia’s biggest coal operations. This includes being a member of the BHP Minerals Australia health and safety environment (HSE) leadership team, providing guidance and support to more than 18,000 workers. In this role, Withell partnered with senior leaders in the business to set the strategic direction and performance of two of BHP’s biggest coal assets.
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Reporting to the Minerals Australia vice president for HSE, this put Withell at two levels below BHP Minerals Australia president and three levels below BHP chief executive officer Mike Henry. Additionally, Withell is a member of the New South Wales Minerals Council’s environment and community committee, bringing industry professionals together to discuss pertinent issues and opportunities at local, regional and state levels. She is also part of the NSW Mineral Council’s HSE and community conference steering committee, with her contributions in this space resulting in program improvements for the organisation.
