Rio Tinto rail manager Kellie Parker's outstanding achievement

Kellie Parker, Rio Tinto's rail operations manager for Cape Lambert and Inland, has won the inaugural Women in Resources award from the Western Australian Chamber of Minerals and Energy.

Mrs Parker, 37, has worked for Rio Tinto for eight years, starting as an injury management advisor in Tom Price.

She now manages a workforce of 260 predominantly train drivers based at Cape Lambert and across the Pilbara. She lives in Karratha and regularly commutes to inland rail depots.

Her major achievements include overseeing capacity improvements to Rio Tinto's network from 2007 as the division's business improvement and operations manager.

Prior to joining the Railways Division, Mrs Parker was superintendent of operations at the Dampier port.

Rio Tinto Iron Ore vice-president Organisation Resources Joanne Farrell said the awards were a welcome initiative from the Chamber of Minerals and Energy to promote talented women working in the resources industry.

"Quite simply we value diversity to attract the best people to our business," Ms Farrell said.

"Kellie is an outstanding manager with a strong focus on safety. She has been a transformational leader within Rio Tinto and we are pleased her achievements have been recognised externally," she said.

Mrs Parker has a two-and-half-year-old son and a 12-month-old daughter. She studied occupational therapy and holds a post graduate qualification in safety.

About Rio Tinto

Rio Tinto is a leading international mining group headquartered in the UK, combining Rio Tinto plc, a London and NYSE listed company, and Rio Tinto Limited, which is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Rio Tinto's business is finding, mining, and processing mineral resources. Major products are aluminium, copper, diamonds, energy (coal and uranium), gold, industrial minerals (borax, titanium dioxide, salt, talc) and iron ore. Activities span the world but are strongly represented in Australia and North America with significant businesses in South America, Asia, Europe and southern Africa.

Rio Tinto rail manager Kellie Parker's outstanding achievement [PDF: 20 KB]