South32 restarts GEMCO operation

South32 has resumed exporting manganese from its Groote Eylandt Mining Company (GEMCO) operation in the Northern Territory for the first time in a year.

Following Tropical Cyclone Megan causing severe infrastructure damage in March 2024, South32 said during initial assessments it identified flooding in the mining pits, as well as significant damage to a critical haul road bridge that connects the northern pits of the Western Leases mining area and the processing plant. Wharf and port infrastructure also incurred significant structural damage.

As a result, mining and shipments were suspended, with South32 initially expecting exports to resume between January and March 2025.

Now, the company has confirmed that export sales have recommenced following a “recovery effort of immense scale and complexity”.

South32 chief operating officer Vanessa Torres told the ABC’s NT Country Hour the first shipment departed from the rebuilt wharf on May 19.

“That will be the first export of ore from GEMCO over the last year since Cyclone Megan hit,” she said.

“I think what we experienced was a one-in-1000-year event.”

The company undertook a significant rebuild of the 60-year-old wharf, involving approximately 317,000 hours of labour and the removal of 970 tonnes of steel and 740 tonnes of concrete.

Torres said the new facility was equipped with upgraded technology designed to withstand future weather events.

Despite the extended suspension, GEMCO retained its workforce of about 1000 employees throughout the recovery.

South32 said it expects export volumes to ramp up over the June 2025 quarter and return to normalised rates during the 2025–26 financial year.

While the cost of the rebuild is yet to be finalised, the company previously estimated it would spend $US125 million ($184 million) on repairs, having already incurred $US93 million in losses from the operational halt.

South32 received $555 million in insurance payments for the cyclone damage.