Rio Tinto has appointed a female president to oversee operations of its Diavik diamond mine – a first in the history of the Canada-based facility, the Australian miner announced recently. 

The company named Angela Bigg as president and chief operating officer of the mine, succeeding Richard Storrie. Bigg was previously general manager for operations at Diavik.

She joined the Diavik team in November of 2017 as vice president for finance but began her career with Rio Tinto in 2005. She has worked in Mozambique, South Africa and Australia, where she is from. 

Rio Tinto Minerals chief executive Sinead Kaufman commented, “Angela has a deep knowledge of our people and our operations as well as established relationships with local communities. I’m delighted she will be Diavik’s first female president as we continue to focus on supplying customers with high-quality, responsibly sourced Canadian diamonds.”