UK-Australian miner Rio Tinto is facing shipping disruptions in Western Australia (WA) after Cyclone Sean damaged a railcar dumper as it swept down the state's coast, the firm announced today.
A dumper at Rio's East Intercourse Island (EII) port facility — a part of the Pilbara Port Authority's (PPA) Port Dampier — was flooded on 20 January, sustaining some damage, when 274mm of rain poured down on WA over a single day. EEI handled 45mn t of Rio Tinto's iron ore shipments in 2024.
"Initial indications suggest the dumper at EII could be offline for three to four weeks, as rectifications works are required to repair flood damage," the company said on 24 January.
Rio Tinto said its overall 2025 production guidance of between 323mn-338mn t of iron ore remains unchanged, but the disruption may affect first-quarter shipments.
WA's coastal areas received the bulk of Cyclone Sean's rainfall earlier this week, limiting disruptions to the state's lucrative iron ore mines. Rio Tinto operates seven railcar dumpers across WA, six of which remain operational. The company will continue to move iron ore out of the state over the next month, using its other dumpers.
Cyclone Sean forced the PPA to shutter its facilities at Port Hedland, Dampier, Ashburton, Varanus Island, and Cape Preston West on 18 January. All five of the sites resumed operations on 20 January, after the Bureau of Meteorology advised that Cyclone Sean was moving away from WA's Pilbara region.
