A severe storm that has formed off Australia's eastern coast has halted shipping at the world's largest coal export terminal and was limiting production at some coal mines. The Australia Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe weather warning for areas stretching from the city of Sydney to the coal-rich region of Hunter Valley in New South Wales state, and said the Hunter region has received between 25-100 millimeters of rainfall over the past 24 hours.
Producer sources said heavy rainfall over the past few days means most firms would have either halted or slowed mining at the open-cut coal pits, which could potentially lead to delays in shipments if it continues to pour for the rest of the week.
"We've already closed one of our pits. We can use the stockpiles for the time being but things would get a lot harder if heavy rainfalls continue," said a producer source.
Newcastle port, which exports mostly thermal coal used for power generation, has already halted shipping due to rough seas caused by the storm, a port official said on Wednesday, and would review conditions again on Thursday morning.
Traffic was halted overnight and shipping remains restricted, with only one vessel sailing from the port so far on Wednesday, said Keith Powell, a spokesman for the port.
Coal loading operations remained unaffected.
About 80 percent of the coal shipped through the port is thermal coal used mainly by power stations. Companies shipping through the Newcastle port include Xstrata Plc, Coal & Allied Industries Ltd, majority-owned by Rio Tinto Ltd, and Centennial Coal Ltd.
The weather bureau warned on Wednesday that the Hunter Valley region, home to some of Australia's largest thermal coal mines, would continue to see widespread showers that may be briefly heavy, although flash flooding was no longer a major concern.
BHP could not immediately comment on its coal operations at the Hunter Valley, while Xstrata and Rio Tinto could not be reached.
Producer sources said heavy rainfall over the past few days means most firms would have either halted or slowed mining at the open-cut coal pits, which could potentially lead to delays in shipments if it continues to pour for the rest of the week.
"We've already closed one of our pits. We can use the stockpiles for the time being but things would get a lot harder if heavy rainfalls continue," said a producer source.
Newcastle port, which exports mostly thermal coal used for power generation, has already halted shipping due to rough seas caused by the storm, a port official said on Wednesday, and would review conditions again on Thursday morning.
Traffic was halted overnight and shipping remains restricted, with only one vessel sailing from the port so far on Wednesday, said Keith Powell, a spokesman for the port.
Coal loading operations remained unaffected.
About 80 percent of the coal shipped through the port is thermal coal used mainly by power stations. Companies shipping through the Newcastle port include Xstrata Plc, Coal & Allied Industries Ltd, majority-owned by Rio Tinto Ltd, and Centennial Coal Ltd.
The weather bureau warned on Wednesday that the Hunter Valley region, home to some of Australia's largest thermal coal mines, would continue to see widespread showers that may be briefly heavy, although flash flooding was no longer a major concern.
BHP could not immediately comment on its coal operations at the Hunter Valley, while Xstrata and Rio Tinto could not be reached.