Michelle Elvy

Michelle possesses more than 20 years of professional and management experience, predominantly in mining, resources and construction. Michelle has worked at all levels of organizations - designing, constructing, commissioning, operating, and across multiple commodities and business models from Alliances, Public-Private Partnerships, EPCM and Joint Ventures.

During her tenure in Brazil, Michelle provided technical and managerial counsel, steering strategic initiatives like the Fundao failure rehabilitation, the Germano tailings dam, and the resumption of mining operations at Samarco, including post-failure processing and port operations over a five-year period. She played a pivotal role in ensuring the successful execution of five community resettlements, delivering water supply to 41 identified regions, restarting the Risoleta Neves hydroelectric power station, and overseeing other critical infrastructure projects.

In her leadership and governance capacity at Rio Tinto, Michelle managed bauxite operations, overseeing four mines and two townships in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Her responsibilities included managing an annual production of 42 million tonnes across mines, ports, beneficiation plants, camps, an airport, and associated infrastructure. Michelle held the Senior Site Executive statutory position for Queensland and served as the Nominated Operator for the Northern Territory. She actively cultivated strong relationships with Traditional Owners, government agencies, and workforce union representation.

Currently, as the General Manager for Development at South 32, Michelle shoulders the responsibility of facilitating the execution of the operations' strategic plan, with a specific focus on decarbonization initiatives.

Michelle is a scientific advisor on the UNSW Scientific Advisory Committee for Materials and Manufacturing Futures Industry, and Engineers Australia College of Leadership and Management where she is the Deputy Chair, and the Energy Transition and Hydrocarbons group.