Miners brace as Cyclone Narelle hits Australia

Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle made landfall on Western Australia’s coast on Friday prompting port closures, operational precautions and supply disruptions across key mining regions.

The system peaked at category 4 near Exmouth before weakening to category 3 by Friday afternoon as it moved inland south of Coral Bay, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. It had warned of sustained winds near 120 km/h, gusts up to 165 km/h, heavy rainfall and flash flooding risks, and forecast a further downgrade to category 2 by Saturday as it tracks down the West Australia coast. 

Pilbara Ports began clearing berths at Ashburton, Cape Preston West, Dampier and Varanus Island on Tuesday night, with closures in place by 9 a.m. Thursday, while Port Hedland remained open.

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) said port operations were suspended but mining and rail continued. Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) activated its cyclone plan and halted marine operations at Ashburton, citing worker safety. BHP (ASX: BHP) and Fortescue (ASX: FMG) reported no impacts. 

Four landfalls

The same storm forced bauxite mine closures in Queensland a week earlier. Narelle has made landfall four times in Australia in the last week. Its path underscores how a single system can disrupt operations across regions, tighten logistics and expose fuel supply vulnerabilities.

A spokesperson for Mineral Resources, which operates iron ore and lithium mines in the Pilbara, told the Northern Miner Group the company was closely monitoring the storm and had enacted its cyclone management plan.

“As a precaution, MinRes has suspended marine operations at the Port of Ashburton. The safety of our people remains our highest priority,” he said.

While there were no reports of damage to iron ore operations, local media reported that multiple liquified natural gas plants were experiencing weather-related outages.

Shipments affected

Further south, the Mid-West Ports Authority shut Geraldton Port, affecting shipments. Junior iron ore producer Fenix Resources (ASX: FEX) warned the cyclone could worsen diesel shortages linked to the Middle East conflict, forcing a scale-back of non-essential mining and haulage activity.

The company warned the cyclone could exacerbate diesel fuel supply constraints being experienced due to the Middle East conflict.

“The company is expecting disruptions to supply resulting from both the impact of Tropical Cyclone Narelle and due to a lack of fuel supply availability from Fenix’s contracted diesel suppliers,” Fenix said.

“In response, Fenix is taking steps to scale back non-essential activity at the company’s mining and haulage operations.”

The company noted that March quarter shipments would be hit by the closure but maintained 2026 guidance of 4.2–4.8 million tonnes at C1 costs of A$70–A$80 per wet tonne, free-on-board Geraldton, contingent on early April shipping resumption and fuel availability.

Gold miners

Gold producers Westgold Resources (ASX: WGX) and Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS) also took precautions, with Ramelius noting expected heavy rainfall near Mount Magnet and possible short-term fuel sourcing from Perth instead of Geraldton.

“Mount Magnet is not in the direct line of the system as it moves down the Western Australian coast, but we are expecting significant rainfall and preparations have been made in line with our standard approach for weather events of this kind,” Ramelius Managing Director Mark Zeptner said in a statement.