Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Carrie. I’m the First Nations Programs Coordinator with Glencore Coal Australia, working on lands where Glencore operate in both Queensland and New South Wales. I’m originally from the Hunter Valley, and have worked in Indonesia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and now across Queensland and NSW.

When did you start in the mining industry and what was your first job?

My start in the mining industry was 27 years ago at PT Freeport Indonesia, a gold mine in West Papua where I worked in the Emergency Response Team as an Open Water Scuba Instructor and Rescue Diver.

How different is your job now to what you wanted to be when you were a kid?

Growing up in mining towns and on residential mine sites meant that I was never short of role models or career advice. I’m a big believer in ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ and I’m very grateful for the people, experiences, and industry exposure I have had from a young age. By age 15 I knew that I wanted to work in Community Relations and Social Performance.

What’s a usual day at work entail?

A usual day starts with packing or re-packing a suitcase and heading to an airport. I work with 12 Glencore operations across two states, and across many Aboriginal nations. Many of the graduates from our Glencore First Nations Pathway Program are employed at our sites, so I spend time catching up with them to see how they are tracking with their career development, as well as planning for the next intake of new-to-industry participants.

What’s the best thing about your job?

My team. Working with such amazing people who live by their values and also inspire me to achieve a positive social impact.

The worst thing?

Nothing. Even bad days have good lessons.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?

Cultural diversity and working with cultural differences. This is my biggest challenge, and biggest intrigue. It’s a journey of learning and respect, and I enjoy creating culturally safe environments in our workplaces.

What has been your proudest achievement?

It’s more of a proud moment, or a proud 48 hours.

While working at a Glencore mine in the Northern Territory, we were asked to assist the Australian Government to evacuate the local community of 1000 people under threat of an oncoming tropical cyclone.

I was coordinating people to bus to the mine site, where my dad was coordinating the Emergency Response Team responsible for getting people onto RAAF planes for evacuation to Darwin.

The RAAF planes were being coordinated by my brother.

It was a proud family moment to be working together and to see the whole site coming together to achieve the evacuation of so many people to safety.

What’s something about your job that would surprise people to know?

That no two days are the same.

What’s a funny story about work that you can tell?

I was at a community sports day when a little kid asked me to look after his coins while he played basketball. He put the coins in my hand, along with three redback spiders! I screamed, dropped them and stomped on them. But the little fella cried “they were my friends!”

What do you do in your downtime?

Play Minecraft.

The mining industry gets more than its fair share of criticism. What is your view of our industry and the impact it has?

In my role, and particularly with the employment initiatives I work on, I get to experience and see first-hand the real and positive impacts that the industry has on individuals, families, and communities.