BHP was one of the first to give details of its restart, sending confirmation through at 11.30am (WST).

"Port and rail operations have resumed in Port Hedland following the passing of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Christine, with only minor damage sustained to equipment. All mines are also fully operational," a spokesperson told MiningNews.net.



"No personnel were injured on site as a result of cyclone preparation or recovery efforts. If there is any material impact to production it will be reported in the Company's next Operational Review."

Among other major iron ore miners in the Pilbara, Rio Tinto also said its operations were starting to return to normal.

"Following ex-Tropical Cyclone Christine, Rio Tinto's inland mines have resumed operations," a Rio spokesperson told MiningNews.net this morning.

"We have commenced recovery processes in our ports, rail operations and our coastal towns, with employees starting to return to work today.

"We are continuing to focus on the safety and wellbeing of our employees, their families and our Pilbara communities."

Before confirming the restart this morning BHP told MiningNews.net some operations were still monitoring the storm as it moved inland.

"We continue to monitor Christine as it moves inland from the Pilbara coast," it said.

"Some of our personnel have returned to site to assess the damage and plan for the resumption of operations.

"Our highest priority remains the safety of our people and work will only recommence when it is safe to do so.

"Our mining operations will continue to implement emergency response procedures in line with alerts issued by the Department of Fire and Emergency Services as the cyclone moves further inland."

The Port Hedland Port Authority said initial assessments indicated only minor storm damage to the wider port infrastructure, with one small craft sunk and located off its mooring.

The craft is not impacting other vessel movements.

Overall the storm forced the port closed for 66 hours.

Further surveys of the channel and beacons at Port Hedland continued this morning, while bulk carriers returned to inner anchorage.

The storm has now moved well inland and has weakened below cyclone intensity but authorities are still warning of damaging gusts continuing today as it moves across southeastern Western Australia.

At this stage the storm appears to have made only minor disruptions to most Pilbara communities but damage assessments continue.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services said more than 30 SES volunteers from Karratha, Port Hedland and Roebourne had been busy clearing fallen trees and broken fences as well as attending to roof damage.

Heavy rainfall over the past two days also contributed to moderate flooding in the Pilbara coastal area.