Finalist

Fontae holds two degrees, a BEng (Mining) (Honours) and a BSc (Geology, Geophysics, Applied Geology) and has been working with OZ Minerals at its Carrapateena mine for four years. To date, she has worked at four mine sites in over eight different roles, and is passionate about strengthening the reputation of the industry and creating a clear pathway for future mining employees.

As a Scheduling Engineer, she is responsible for cross-departmental coordination to ensure the mine runs safely every day, and ensuring the mine meets its long-term targets and successfully transitions from sub-level caving to block caving.

Given her own experience as a young woman in a traditionally male-dominated industry like mining, Fontae wants to impress the importance of and encourage the industry to connect to new and diverse candidates, and drive positive promotion of the industry to new students and people who might not have considered a career in mining.