Australia’s Iron Ore Hub Reopens, Rio Mines Resume After Cyclone

By Bloomberg

Feb 16, 2025

image is BloomburgMedia_SRRG5UT0AFB400_17-02-2025_11-00-09_638753472000000000.jpg

Stockpiles of iron ore sit next to conveyors at the port in Port Hedland, Australia, on Monday, March 18, 2019. Port Hedland is the nexus of Australia’s iron-ore industry. For a decade, residents, mining companies and the state government have been tussling over the effect on people’s health of the dust generated by the transfer of the ore and what can be done to mitigate the pollution. Photographer: Ian Waldie/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Australia’s biggest iron ore port reopened and Rio Tinto Plc mines resumed operations after being spared any major damage from Tropical Cyclone Zelia.

Port Hedland, which handled almost 760 million tons of commodities last fiscal year, reopened late Saturday following inspections of channels and berths, according to a statement from Pilbara Ports Authority.

Rio’s port, rail and mine operations have resumed, the mining company said in a statement Sunday. The company’s Pilbara iron ore shipment guidance for 2025 remains unchanged at 323 to 338 million tonnes.

A spokesperson for Fortescue Ltd., said minimal damage had been reported at its facilities. While some operations have experienced temporary disruptions, the company is working to resume normal activities as quickly and safely as possible, according to the spokesperson.

The powerful cyclone crossed the Western Australia coast on Friday about 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of Port Hedland, where the export harbor is located, with destructive wind gusts of around 270 kilometers per hour near its center. While the cyclone has dissipated, flooding is still impacting communities across the remote and sparsely populated Pilbara region.

The harbor in the coastal town of Port Hedland, which has around 16,000 residents, was shuttered earlier this week along with other ports in the area that also export natural gas.

Australia is the world’s biggest shipper of iron ore, with the steelmaking material accounting for 21% of total goods and services exports in the year to June 2024, worth A$138 billion ($88 billion).

While export ports have been lashed by heavy rain this year from a series of storms, this is the first cyclone of the season to make landfall and threaten mining operations and their rail links.

Rio said that the East Intercourse Island loading facility at Dampier Port is expected to begin commissioning this week after a railcar dumper was damaged by Cyclone Sean last month.

By Peter Vercoe