Photo by: Reuters
BHP Billiton expects to take about a week to recover from the derailment of one of its iron-ore trains that’s halted its rail operations in Western Australia, potentially bolstering prices of the steelmaking raw material.
The company was forced Monday to derail the train that traveled 92 km without a driver across the Pilbara, the nation’s major iron-ore producing region. BHP’s iron-ore mine operations are unaffected and it’s working with authorities to investigate the cause of the incident, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Stockpiles at Port Hedland will be used over the coming days to maintain port operations, BHP said in a statement. It estimated that about 1.5 km of track has been damaged and anticipates the recovery process to take about one week.
Iron ore surged in October as steel mills in China churn out record volumes before anti-pollution curbs kick in over winter and the government beefs up stimulus. The rail mishap for BHP, the world’s third-largest exporter, could give prices a short-term boost, according to analysts.