Rio Tinto salt managing director named 2010 Telstra Business Woman of the Year

Rio Tinto’s own Denise Goldsworthy was tonight named winner of the 2010 Telstra Business Women’s Awards, beating a field of quality candidates from around Australia. Denise was also named the category winner of the Hudson Private and Corporate Sector Award.

As managing director of Dampier Salt Limited (DSL) and HIsmelt, the award recognises the strong leadership Denise has brought to these Rio Tinto business units.

Chief executive of Rio Tinto Australia Sam Walsh said Denise’s passion and commitment to the mining industry is reflected in the recent success of DSL.

"Denise’s impressive leadership of Dampier Salt since 2008 has resulted in a significant turnaround in the fortunes of the business. Not only has improvement been seen in DSL’s financial performance, but most importantly there has been a very marked improvement in safety.

"Just recently, DSL was named WA Exporter of the Year in the Minerals and Resources category of the WA Export and Industry Awards which illustrates DSL’s achievements are being recognised by its peers and the wider exporting sector.

"Denise and her team continue to pursue her vision for the business unit - one of global market leadership - with passion, energy and integrity.

As the mother of two teenage children and the State Tournament Director for the Western Australian Institute of Taekwondo, the award also recognises Denise’s ability find a balanced approach to success in business and support for family and community.

“I congratulate Denise on her well-deserved win and know that she will continue to be an inspiration to all women in Australia.”
About Dampier Salt Limited

A member of the Rio Tinto Group, Dampier Salt is the world’s largest exporter of solar salt. The business achieved record shipments of 8.8 million tonnes in 2008 with record earnings $58million. This was more than doubled in 2009 with earnings of US$129million. Dampier Salt was the first supplier of imported salt to China in 2004, and has remained the largest importer with excess of 60% of the import market. In striving for global leadership, Dampier Salt is currently selling to salt to customers in Asia, Europe, Africa, Middle East and North America.
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.