Local woman Melissa Hayes is the first graduate and first female to successfully complete the traineeship program at McArthur River, about 730km southeast of Darwin in the Northern Territory.

The zinc and lead mine is on the traditional lands of the Gudanji and Yanyuwa people.

Through the IEP people of the Gulf of Carpentaria region have entry pathways to a range of roles across McArthur River Mining's operations.

Hayes is working as a qualified geotechnical technician at the mine in charge of slope stability monitoring equipment.

She said while proud of her achievements, she was already looking to the future.

"I really enjoyed the traineeship, it was challenging but really exciting learning something new every day," she said.

"I'm thankful to my team for the opportunity to learn practical skills while on-the-job and I'm really excited about the opportunities this qualification will bring as a good stepping-stone towards an engineering degree, which is something I'm looking at doing next."

McArthur River Mining acting general manager Adam Hatfield congratulated Hayes on her achievement.

"Melissa Hayes is an exemplary young woman and we are all incredibly proud of her achievements within the mine's technical division," he said.

"A geotechnical technician traineeship sets a really strong foundation to further develop within the geotechnical science fields and we fully support Hayes as she continues to progress in her career."

Hatfield said McArthur River was committed to increasing Indigenous and female employment participation through a range of career development pathway programs.

"We're incredibly proud that one-in-five of our workforce are female, while also having a strong representation of females in leadership positions," he said.

"We're also incredibly proud that currently 25% of our employees are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and our Indigenous Employment Program is key to increasing this participation rate, ensuring our workforce reflects the communities where we operate."