Guthrie, the first woman to chair MCA, will hold the position for the next two years.
She replaces outgoing chairman, MMG CEO Andrew Michelmore.
"Andrew has led the MCA during an extremely volatile and challenging period. Like the sector it represents, the MCA has refocused its efforts on core priority issues and delivered more with less,” Guthrie said.
“The reality is that a diversified mining industry is more important to the Australian economy than ever.
“The dividend of the mining investment boom is a much larger mining industry.”
Guthrie has qualifications in geology, law, environment and business management.
She is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and was last year appointed to the Australia-India CEO Forum by then-Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
