QLD’s first woman in mining: Deb Fisher retires after 41 years 

We would like to acknowledge and celebrate the incredible career of Queensland’s first woman in mining, Deb Fisher, who has retired after 41 years at Callide Mine. 

Deb started at Callide Mine on January 23, 1984, paving the way for future generations as the first woman to work on a mine site in Queensland – shattering the glass ceiling and kicking off a successful career that would span more than four decades. 

So momentous was the occasion, back in ‘84, that the Central Telegraph posted the achievement as Deb was welcomed to the mine by Deputy General Manager CSR Coal Division, Stan Honey. 

While mine sites around Queensland today represent a diverse and inclusive working environment, back in the 1980s Deb took a bold step, joining an industry that was male dominated. 

“I started at Callide as the first female Trainee Plant Operator, which was a two-year apprenticeship,” Deb said. 

“It involved training on loaders, dozers, graders, scrapers, service trucks, backhoe, forklift, mobile cranes, overhead cranes and even some time on the 1350 dragline.” 

This training set the foundation for Deb’s long career as an operator, with her first eight years spent at Boundary Hill where she attained her 395 B-Rope Shovel qualifications. 

Deb has worked on many noteworthy projects at Callide Mine, but she recalls a few of her proudest achievements in the ‘90s. 

“In 1990, I worked with Tech Services Manager, Warren Seib and fifth-year Mining Engineering Student, Mandi Nelson, on a high wall mining project that involved multiple pass auguring,” she said. 

“This involved the drilling of several sets of holes, each 1.3 m wide, parallel to the coal seam, with a pillar of coal left between each hole to support the wall.” 

Deb’s career continued to progress, moving on to operate the RH-200 face shovel, where she spent a further eight years operating the machine until it was parked up. 

“After that I was mainly shuffled from the dozers to the loaders, until 2010 when I was appointed into the Training Department as Head Trainer,” she said. 

“I started all the New to Industry workers in group-based training and made up training packages to name a few tasks. I did this job for three years.” 

After a successful stint as Head Trainer, Deb was drawn back to the machinery as an operator – getting back to her roots operating the EX 8000 face shovel. 

“I did that until the machine was parked up several years later,” she said. 

“After that, I was mainly on the Cat 994K loader, loading coal on the ROM, or floating machinery across sites on the low loader.” 

In 2024, Deb was celebrated at Batchfire’s Annual Awards Dinner, for 40 years of loyal service at Callide Mine – putting her among a small group of longstanding employees that have cracked the 40-year milestone. 

This year, Deb made the call to retire, hanging up the boots after an incredibly successful career in mining. She paved the way for women in mining, and for that we would like to acknowledge her as a true pioneer. 

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