Iron ore miners wait to assess Australian cyclone damage

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Iron ore miners were waiting for conditions to ease before assessing damage caused by a cyclone that ripped across northwest Australia on Tuesday, closing ports and threatening mining operations in the sparsely populated Pilbara region.

The key shipping ports of Dampier, Cape Lambert and Port Hedland, the world's largest iron ore export terminal, bore the brunt of the storm after clearing dozens of iron ore freighters and evacuating staff over the weekend.