2nd UPDATE: Australian Iron-Ore Exporters Brace for Cyclone

-- Port Hedland, Cape Lambert, Dampier expected to shut later Tuesday

-- Tropical storm off Western Australia may become a cyclone Wednesday

-- Shipments halted at eastern port of Weipa

(Recasts the first paragraph, and adds details on the expected closure of Cape Lambert and Dampier and shipments halted at the port of Weipa.)

 
   By Robb M. Stewart and Rhiannon Hoyle 
 

MELBOURNE--Companies in Australia's resource-rich Pilbara region were braced for a cyclone that threatens to disrupt exports of raw materials to Asia as it passes along the country's northwest coast.

Australia, the world's biggest exporter by sea of the steelmaking ingredient iron-ore, is regularly battered by severe weather from December through April. The government's Bureau of Meteorology said the latest storm may develop into a cyclone on Wednesday, with gale winds of up to 100 kilometers an hour forecast for the remote Pilbara region between Pardoo and Dampier.

At Port Hedland, in Western Australia, vessels were ordered to leave Tuesday before the port was officially closed. The port is used by BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FMG.AU) and Atlas Iron Ltd. (AGO.AU).

Rio Tinto PLC (RIO), Australia's biggest iron-ore exporter, said the nearby ports of Cape Lambert and Dampier where it loads iron-ore shipments were also likely to close.

A separate cyclone hit the country's east on Monday, halting shipments at the port of Weipa on the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland state, used by Rio's Alcan aluminum division. Mining operations had restarted with exports being stockpiled until the port reopens, a spokesman for the global mining company said. A spokeswoman for the port operator said a decision has yet to be made.

Earlier this month, Cyclone Narelle briefly shut the Dampier and Cape Lambert ports, although Rio Tinto said its mine sites and rail haulage to the ports continued to operate at full capacity.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at [e-mail] and Rhiannon Hoyle at [e-mail]

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