1st Apr 2019 06:52
LONDON (Alliance News) - Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto PLC on Monday said Cyclone Veronica will cause 2019 iron ore shipments to come in at the lower end of guidance.
The cyclone has caused some damage at the Cape Lambert A port facility in Western Australia, near the Pilbara region where Rio Tinto mines iron ore.
Rio Tinto has had to declare force majeure on a number of contracts as a result. A force majeure is when a company is forced to tell a partner it cannot meet contractual obligations due to forces outside of its control, such as a natural disaster.
"The impact of the disruption to production caused by the cyclone and repairing the damage sustained at the port facilities, combined with the damage caused by the fire at Cape Lambert A in January, will result in a loss of approximately 14 million tonnes of production in 2019," said Rio Tinto.
"As a result Rio Tinto's Pilbara shipments in 2019 are expected to be at the lower end of the 338 and 350 million tonnes guidance provided."
In 2018, Rio Tinto shipped 338.2 million tonnes of iron ore from Pilbara, 2% higher year-on-year.
Related Shares:
Rio Tinto