BHP says Port Hedland iron ore reserves not expected to cover derailment disruption

MELBOURNE – BHP Billiton said on Wednesday its reserves of iron ore at Australia’s Port Hedland are not expected to cover the entire period of disruption under way since it was forced to derail a runaway train in northern Australia on Monday.

The miner will be liaising with its customers in relation to its contractual commitments over the period, it said in a statement. The global miner expects to have partial rail operations back up and running in about one week.

(By Melanie Burton; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)