SYDNEY (Reuters) - Iron ore shipments to China from Australia's Port Hedland terminal fell 4.1 percent to 35.2 million tonnes in October from 36.7 million tonnes in September, port data released on Thursday showed.
Overall, October iron ore shipments from the world's biggest export terminal for the steelmaking raw material dipped to 41 million tonnes from 43.4 million tonnes in September, according to the Pilbara Ports Authority.
Port Hedland is used by three of Australia's top four iron ore miners, BHP <BHP.AX>, <BLT.L>, Fortescue Metals Group <FMG.AX> and Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.
Rio Tinto <RIO.AX>, <RIO.L> uses the nearby Dampier and Cape Lambert ports to ship iron ore.
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)
