The former teacher and educational psychologist won the Hudson Private and Corporate Award.

She has been CEO of Undamine Industries for seven years. It is one of the largest privately owned contracting companies in the Bowen Basin coal industry.

She also leads Coal Train Australia, which achieved registered training organisation status in 2012.

Way-McPhail said the business began on the kitchen table of her Middlemount home and grew into a multimillion-dollar operation.

“Mining offers fabulous opportunities for women at every level,” she said.

“We are constantly looking for ways to ensure our employees are well trained and operate at the highest level of safety and productivity.”

Telstra Awards spokeswoman Katie McKenzie said the judges praised Way-McPhail’s “holistic perspective to sustainability, leadership and financial growth, her design and establishment of a successful RTO, and her extensive contribution to community and charitable groups.”

Way-McPhail credits her 20-year career as a teacher and qualifications in educational psychology and standardised testing as building blocks for the mining industry companies she leads.

She manages business development, contracts, accounts and human resources, having won every tender submitted in seven years.

Undamine, a black coal contracting company servicing the Bowen Basin, has contracts with AngloAmerican, Xstrata and the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance.

Undamine’s focus on safety identified an opportunity to build a state-of-the-art training facility in Yeppoon, specialising in the resources sector.

After two years planning, Way-McPhail achieved registered training organisation status for Coal Train Australia in January 2012. As CEO her role includes course development, training, mentoring and corporate relationship building.