SYDNEY, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Australian mining companies BHP and Rio Tinto have revealed the impact that Cyclone Veronica had on their operations after it struck the Pilbara coast in Western Australia last week.
Both companies have downgraded their yearly production figures of iron ore in the magnitude of millions of tonnes.
On Monday, Rio Tinto estimated production loss of around 14 million tonnes.
"Rio Tinto's Pilbara shipments in 2019 are expected to be at the lower end of the 338 and 350 million tonne guidance provided," the company said in a statement.
The day after, BHP released a statement saying that their full year guidance of 273-283 million tonnes could be affected by around 6-8 million tonnes.
The statement added that their operation is yet to return to full capacity after the storm forced a shutdown of their port facilities.
"While initial inspections show no major damage to our operations, isolated flooding both on site and sections of the rail leading into the port has limited train movements," they said.
"Consequently, the port is currently operating at reduced rates and not expected to return to full capacity until later this month."
Both companies share price continued to climb on Tuesday as the result of a global tightening of iron ore supplies.
