Cyclone Zelia: Rio Tinto, BHP, FMG and MinRes halt operations as category five brews off Pilbara coast

WA’s major iron ore producers are battening down the hatches in anticipation of a category five cyclone that’s due to strike the Pilbara imminently. Severe tropical cyclone Zelia has been building strength over the past 24 hours and is now set to cross the coast between Karratha and Port Hedland late on Friday. The forecast impact would be in the heart of WA’s iron ore mining district and comes just three weeks after tropical cyclone Sean — a category four event — caused carnage for miners in the region. Pilbara Ports has closed the Port Hedland, Cape Lambert and Dampier ports before winds that are expected to reach more than 200km per hour make land. Port Hedland — the most active Pilbara port — is BHP’s iron ore gateway to Asia. “For the safety of our people and our community, our Port Hedland operations have been paused, and our teams have been instructed to shelter at home or at camp until emergency authorities have advised otherwise,” a BHP spokesman said. “Our well-tested cyclone response plans have been implemented, with sites made safe and all equipment tied down as we wait for the cyclone to pass.” Fortescue also uses Port Hedland to ship its iron ore. “In preparation for tropical cyclone Zelia, non-essential travel to our Pilbara operations has been suspended,” a Fortescue spokeswoman said. “We are preparing our sites in accordance with current cyclone alerts, working with the relevant authorities, and continuing to monitor the cyclone including its forecast path.” Rio Tinto exports from Cape Lambert and Dampier ports, which are both to the west of Port Hedland near Karratha. “Dampier Salt operations at Port Hedland and Dampier are also closed,” a Rio Tinto spokesman said. “It is too early to say how long port and rail operations will be closed and what the impact will be.” Iron ore production is not the only mining activity set to be dampened by Zelia. Mineral Resources confirmed its Wodgina lithium mine has been paused. “We are constantly monitoring the direction and intensity of tropical cyclone Zelia and implementing our response plans,” a MinRes spokesman said. “As a precaution, operations have been suspended at our Wodgina lithium mine and non-critical personnel are being returned to Perth via MinRes Air flights.” MinRes was one of the hardest hit by cyclone Sean. The torrential rain damaged its newly-built Onslow haul road, which connects MinRes’ most important operation — the Ken’s Bore iron ore mine — to the Port of Ashburton. Rio Tinto also suffered at the hands of cyclone Sean after a railcar dumper — a piece of equipment that transfers tonnes of ore from rail cars on locomotives to ships for export — was flooded by a downpour and knocked out of action for up to a month. The port facility near Karratha that the railcar dumper connects to is responsible for more than 13 per cent of Rio’s annual WA iron ore output. BHP’s operations were largely unaffected by cyclone Sean, but six workers at the Mount Whaleback mine required medical treatment for minor injuries after a freak lightning storm caused a mining dump truck’s tyre to explode and damage buildings being used as shelter.