Australia’s Tombador Iron (ASX: TI1) has temporarily halted production at its flagship iron ore mine in Brazil, as an ongoing blockade in the state of Bahia is disrupting logistics.
Unrest hit Brazil in early January as supporters of ex President Jair Bolsonaro who refuse to accept his electoral defeat stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential palace.
Protests have continued despite government efforts to boost security, with right wing leaders calling for blockades and power lines being brought down in a coordinated efforts to cause chaos and prompt a military coup to overthrow Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s government.
Tombador said it was working with key stakeholders to reopen the mine, but did not provide further details.
The company and its trading partner, Trafigura, secured last month contracts to supply two export shipments of its high-grade iron ore to the Asian market.
Tombador first produced premium-grade lump and fines hematite iron ore in May 2021.
Last year, it produced over 754,000 tonnes of high-grade iron ore last year, according to its annual report.
Shares of Tombador fell as much as 14.3% on the news, closing 7.4% lower at A$0.026 each. That left the company with a market capitalization of A$55.56 million ($39m).
