Gold Fields’ Kuupol Kuutor is Mining Personality of the Year

Dr Catherine Kuupol Kuutor of Gold Fields Ghana Ltd has been crowned Mining Personality of the Year at the 11th Ghana Mining Industry Awards (GMIA), becoming the first woman to receive the industry’s top individual honour.

The ceremony, organised by the Ghana Chamber of Mines and held in Accra on Friday December 5, 2025, celebrated excellence under the theme “Celebrating Excellence in Mining: Creating Value Beyond Minerals.”

The awards highlighted achievements in safety, innovation, technology, gender inclusion, community development and responsible mining. Dr Kuupol Kuutor, Manager of the Tarkwa Mine, has been widely recognised for breaking barriers and demonstrating transformative leadership in Ghana’s mining sector.

She was earlier honoured in February 2025 by Mining Review Africa as one of the African Mining Elites, receiving their Most Outstanding Leader award — another first for a woman leading a major mine in Ghana.

Appointed Tarkwa Mine Manager in May 2024, Catherine became the first woman to lead a major mine in Ghana. Prior to this, she served as Gold Fields’ first female Metallurgical Manager, overseeing metallurgical operations at both the Tarkwa and Damang mines.

She joined the Damang Mine in 2013 as a superintendent and rose steadily through the ranks, earning promotion to Unit Manager in 2015. Her leadership drove several successful business improvement initiatives that significantly increased gold recovery.

Advocate for women in mining

Dr. Kuupol Kuutor is widely celebrated for her role in empowering young professionals, particularly women pursuing careers in mining and mineral engineering. She sponsors two annual academic prizes at the University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) for outstanding mineral engineering students — one for overall best student and another for best female student.

She is active in professional bodies, including the Ghana Institution of Engineers, Women in Mining Ghana, Ladies in Mining and Allied Professions, and the West Africa Institute of Mining.

Academic and professional excellence

Catherine holds a PhD in Minerals Engineering from UMaT. Her doctoral thesis examined the “Effect of Grinding Balls Quality on Mining Expenditure, Pulp Chemistry and Reagents Consumption.”

She also holds a Master’s degree in Mineral Engineering from UMaT and began her academic journey with a Diploma in Mineral Engineering at the KNUST School of Mines in 2002.

Her two-decade career began at Golden Star’s Wassa Mine in 2004, where she gained extensive experience in metallurgical operations, including roles as shift supervisor, senior plant shift supervisor and Cyanide Management Code coordinator.

Over the years, she has received multiple recognitions from the Ghana Chamber of Mines and Gold Fields leadership, including being named Female Mining Professional of the Year at the 2020 GMIA.

With over 20 years of experience in gold mining, Dr Kuupol Kuutor is celebrated as a symbol of resilience, excellence and the rising influence of women in Ghana’s mining industry.Her win at the 2025 GMIA marks a historic milestone and reinforces her reputation as one of the most influential figures shaping the future of mining in Ghana.

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