British-Australian metal producer Rio Tinto today began loading iron ore onto ships at its East Intercors Island facility in Dampier Port, ending more than a month of weather-related export disruptions.
Cyclone Sean flooded one of the company's dump trucks passing by Dampier on January 20, damaging it and halting exports from the iron ore terminal.
But Rio Tinto did not stop all shipments in February. The company has been hauling ore out of Australia's Pilbara region for most of the month using other dump trucks in Dampier and nearby Port Walcott.
Rio Tinto announced on February 20 that severe weather events in January and February, including cyclones Sean, Zelia, Talia and Vince, disrupted the supply of 13 million tons of ore. The company's mitigation plans cover only about half of the losses, she added at the time.
On March 3, Rio Tinto maintained its forecast for ore shipments for 2025 at 323-338 million tons, but announced that it would inform investors again in mid-April, when the company will publish a report on its activities for the first quarter.
Iron ore prices have increased slightly over the last quarter. The price of 62% Fe (ICX) cfr Qingdao iron ore was $106.50/t on February 28, which is 4.3% higher than $102.10/t three months earlier.
