Roy Hill employee Krystal Findlay has been named the winner in the outstanding trade category in the Chamber of Minerals and Energy’s Women in Resources Awards announced last month.
Superintendent Port Production at Roy Hill, she has led initiatives to improve efficiency and safety, helping achieve a record 64Mt shipped in FY24.
The award citation said that growing up in Port Hedland, Krystal pursued a hands-on career in mining, initially working with Boom Logistics where she developed her technical and leadership skills.
To propel her career, she paid for her own rigging and crane tickets, a bold move that paved the way for her first role as a processing operator.
Despite encountering harassment and discrimination, Krystal persevered, taking on high-risk shutdown logistics and training herself in crane and rigging operations.
In her current role, Krystal developed a digital maintenance tracking system that decreased downtime, cutting de-ballasting delays from 34 hours to just six, enabling 378,000 additional tonnes to be shipped in six months.
Krystal also developed innovative safety training to prevent fatal incidents around mooring lines and championed a day services team at the port, creating flexible work opportunities for Indigenous women and local mothers.
Krystal mentors five young professionals and is an advocate for autism support, inspired by her children’s needs.
She balances her demanding career with the responsibilities of raising two children with disabilities and is also deeply engaged in her community.