An onslaught of four back-to-back cyclones has played havoc with Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO) iron ore operations in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, savaging shipments by 13 million tonnes and leaving a $150 million clean-up.
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The company chalked up shipping of 70.7 million tonnes of iron ore between January and March, a 17% decrease from the prior quarter and 9% lower than the same period last year.
“Production was affected by extreme weather events, with heavy rainfall and flooding in January and February decimating key infrastructure, including a railcar dumper critical for loading ore onto ships,” CEO Jakob Stausholm said.
The knock-on effect now means full-year production will be a little lower than expected – around the bottom end of Rio’s 323 to 338 million tonne target.
While recovery efforts are underway to make up about half of the lost output, Rio estimates it will cost around $150 million to get operations back up.
The company also flagged future iron ore guidance may be impacted by delays in approvals for new mining areas and heritage clearances.
At the time of writing, RIO has been $109.80 a share.
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