It comes as Debbie strengthened to a category 4 cyclone overnight, bringing winds of 175km per hour with wind gusts of up to 250km/h.

At 11am AEST, the storm was 65km east of Bowen and was moving southwest at 9km/h.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Debbie is expected to make landfall between Bowen and Airlie Beach early this afternoon, local time.

Evolution Mining has temporarily suspended production at its Mt Carlton operation, 80km south of Ayr.

The company has taken steps to protect infrastructure, and all personnel have been evacuated from the site.

Resolute Mining has also taken precautions at its Ravenswood gold mine, 130km south of Townsville.

The company expects the cyclone to have weakened to category 1 or 2 by the time it passes the mine this afternoon, but yesterday released staff to be with their families and assist with preparation.

Resolute also offered locals shelter at the Ravenswood camp if required.

The mine has been temporarily suspended, though the halt is not expected to materially impact quarterly gold production.

Citigold executive chairman Mark Lynch expects the company’s Charters Towers operations will ride out Tropical Cyclone Debbie safely.

“Our tailings dam facility is dry and it has a more than 4m run-off catchment,” he said.

“I think, generally, the region will welcome the rain.”

Lynch said the drainage channels around Charters Towers ran away from the town so it normally handled big rainfall events well.

The Queensland government also reported that the Yabulu nickel refinery in Townsville was “cyclone ready”.

Environment Minister Steven Miles said recent inspections confirmed there was good rainfall capacity in water management infrastructure and the tailings storage facility.

BHP Billiton is understood to have suspended some operations, but a spokesman did not confirm prior to publication.

A Glencore spokesman said the company was well-prepared for cyclones and floods and had enacted inclement weather procedures at each of its operations to ensure the health and safety of people and the security of mine sites.

“For these types of events we make informed decisions based on consultation and information from government emergency management groups,” he said.

“We are preparing to temporarily suspend production at our Collinsville and Newlands coal mines but do not envisage any impact on our annual production forecasts.”

Glencore has reduced staffing levels at both mines and provided the local workforce with the opportunity to get home to their families and secure personal property.

“It remains business as usual at our Oaky Creek, Clermont and Rolleston coal mines,” the spokesman said.

“Port operations in Townsville, Abbot Point and Dalrymple Bay have been suspended and we are receiving regular updates from their operators.”   

Macquarie expects Glencore to be the worst-impacted, but doesn’t expect a major impact on global coal prices unless rainfall severely impacts mine production in the Bowen Basin.

Additional reporting by Noel Dyson and Lou Caruana.