Quote from [url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200603/s1588808.htm

ABC NEWSONLINE[/url]]The Queensland Resources Council says the mining industry is stepping up efforts to attract women into the sector.

The council has presented its first Resources Award for Women to the manager of BHP Mitsui Coal's Poitrel Mine in central Queensland, Tina Marcovic.

The council's chief executive officer, Michael Roche, says only 6 per cent of the industry's workers are female.

"We're not tapping into half the potential or half the state's work force, that is, the female half," he said.

"So you'll be seeing a wide ranging action plan rolled out by the resource sector to present to women the resource sector as a serious career option."