Floods Hammer Australia's Mines

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Floods in eastern Australia have affected the states of New South Wales and Queensland. In Queensland, the affected areas stretch from Bundaberg to Port Macquarie, and in the New South Wales, from Armidale to Canberra.

The floods have impacted operations at various mines throughout the region, causing damage and safety issues, which have resulted in some sites suspending operations. Mines in the key Hunter valley region of New South Wales are waterlogged after heavy rainfall caused the evacuation of parts of the region. It will take a couple of weeks before mine operators can fully assess all the damage.

The Hunter Valley mines that have been affected include BHP's (NYSE:BHP) Mount Arthur mine; Hunter Valley Operations, a joint venture between Yancoal and Glencore; Yancoal's Mount Thorley Warkworth complex; Glencore's Mount Owen Mine; and the United Wambo joint venture between Glencore and Peabody Energy Company (NYSE:BTU). The Dargues gold mine operations have also been suspended due to the catastrophic floods. The Port Kembla coal terminal has had to reevaluate its contracts on coal exports because of the slumping of the company's stockpiles. South32's Appin and Dendrobium mines in the area also were affected but are expected to return to normal quickly.

Port Kembla coal terminal declared a force majeure, after floods disrupted loadings.

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