The Aspermont editor was recognised before her peers at last night’s awards ceremony held by peak industry body, the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies.
 
Batten won the electronic media award at the AMEC awards and Australian Prospectors & Miners’ hall of fame induction dinner in Perth.
 
She was recognised for a series of online articles published on MNP, namely articles headlined “Iron ore’s fall from grace”, “New normal for gold reporting” and “Sirius the dazzling star of 2012”.
 
The award, which was presented by Keryn Cook from sponsor Platform Communications, recognised excellence in Australian internet news journalism.
 
It was awarded to Batten as the author of a series of reports published in the preceding 12 months that contributed to a wider understanding of the mineral exploration and mining industry.
 
To win the award, Batten met strict criteria of clarity and relevance, with quality of research evident and the level of impact on industry stakeholders as well as the overall contribution to the mineral exploration and mining industry.
 
Batten joined Aspermont five years ago and was appointed editor of MNN and MNP last May.
 
She said it was an honour to be recognised and thanked AMEC for putting on the awards, now in their 24th year.
 
Fellow Aspermont journalist Ron Berryman also scooped the print journalism (magazine) award for his series on Australian mining towns, which was published in the April, May and June 2013 editions of Australia’s Mining Monthly magazine.
 
The West Australian’s Nick Sas won the Joe Keeling award for journalists with less than five years experience, while Luke Forrestal of the Australian Financial Review won the print journalism (newspaper) award, with an honourable mention going to the Kalgoorlie Miner’s Jarrod Lucas.
 
Speaking at the event, AMEC president Will Robinson thanked those who had contributed to the mining and exploration industry over the past year.