Australian miner Rio Tinto has announced that its iron ore operations in the Pilbara region, Western Australia, are progressively resuming following the passing of Tropical Cyclone Damien. The cyclone caused infrastructure damage across the entire Pilbara network, including impact to access roads, electrical and communications infrastructure and accommodation. Rio Tinto said that all mine sites experienced some disruption and will take time to return to normal operations.
As a result, the company now expects its Pilbara shipments in 2020 to be between 324 million mt and 334 million mt, versus previous guidance of between 330 million mt and 343 million mt. Rio Tinto is working with its customers to minimize any disruption in supply.