Salt of the Earth

Last updated: 14 February 2024

Sebastian – a proud Yupungathi man – was one of the first participants in our Indigenous Leadership Program (ILP) in 2021. A diesel fitter by trade, he’s worked in many specialist and leadership roles at Weipa in Queensland, Australia over the past 14 years. Now, he’s putting his leadership skills to the test with a cross-country move to the Pilbara region of Western Australia, tackling a new challenge as Production Superintendent for Dampier Salt Limited.

I didn’t know the first thing about salt before I came here.

I always thought I’d have a long career working in rail. I’d previously worked at Weipa for 14 years, mostly in rail and port operations. So landing in a new team, on a new site on the other side of the country, mining a product that’s completely new to me, was always going to be a challenge.

In this role, I’m basically responsible for everything from when we harvest the salt to when we load it onto the vessel. All the processes and procedures are brand new to me. But I think that's also the thing that I enjoy about it the most.

To be honest, if I’d seen this job come up a few years ago, I don’t think I’d have applied for it – I may not have had the confidence to put myself forward for things like this. But the Indigenous Leadership Program was a life-changing experience, personally and professionally.

I was one of the first to apply for the program when it started. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and because we were the first cohort, nothing was really mapped out for us. But that also gave us a lot of freedom to work with our mentors and shape how we wanted to develop with their guidance.

It honestly surpassed everything I could have hoped for. At the start it was a steep learning curve – I was given a large rail team to manage, and my leaders gave me the space to really sink my teeth in and make my own decisions, but they were still always there to guide and coach me along the way. It was such a great, hands-on way to build my abilities as a leader.

I was lucky enough to have some incredible mentors. Not only were they there for the formal program meetings, but they'd also check in casually every day to see how I was going, actively refer me to other managers to build my profile as an up-and-coming leader and advise me to think outside the box – like suggesting that I should visit sites in other regions to see different approaches. They also encouraged me to start my Graduate Certificate in Minerals and Energy Management at the University of Western Australia, as an entry pathway to a Master of Business Administration. Without their guidance, I don’t think I’d have even known opportunities like these were out there.