The Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) announced that they had resumed mining operations at two of its mines in the Pilbara region after flooding due to Tropical Cyclone Heidi had forced operations to be suspended. The company is the third largest producer of iron ore in Australia.
Elizabeth Gosch, a spokeswoman for Fortescue Metals Group said that they had resumed mining at Cloudbreak and Christmas Creek. She did not make any statement about how the short suspension of mining operations was likely to affect the production.
Cloudbreak produces 40 million metric tons a year while Christmas Creek produced 15 million tons a year. Work was stopped temporarily at both mines when the cyclone hit the coast east of Port Hedland as a tropical low on Jan. 12.
Port Hedland is the largest iron ore terminal in the world. It is located 830 miles north of Perth in Western Australia. It was subjected to heavy rain and strong winds in the aftermath of Tropical Cyclone Heidi. The harbor was reopened on Jan 12. The port is primarily used by BHP Billiton.
Fiona Martin, a spokeswoman for BHP Billiton said that the world’s largest mining company was monitoring the storm and was prepared to stop operations if needed. It will publish any potential impact on its mines in the next production report. BHP Billiton has seven iron ore mines in the Pilbara region.