Death halts mining

The suspension reflects BHP's alarm at the group's safety performance. The chief executive of BHP's ferrous and coal unit, Marcus Randolph, has flown to Western Australia to lead the company's response.

More than 6000 iron ore workers were sent home yesterday as part of an urgent refocus on safety. The group's Pilbara iron operations have now recorded three deaths in five weeks, with a July 29 death at BHP's South African coal operations taking the toll at the group's global operations to four.

Last financial year, BHP reported 11 deaths. Five were in a helicopter crash in Angola. Managing director Marius Kloppers said last month the 2007-08 fatalities showed that "despite our best efforts, despite having made great progress on safety, we've got more to do".

The latest death at Yandi late on Thursday involved a collision between a light vehicle and a haul truck. The driver of the light vehicle was killed. He was 19.

The previous death at Yandi was on August 26 when a 29-year-old man was killed in a workshop accident. In July, a 52-year-old man was killed at BHP's locomotive workshop at Nelson Point.

Operation of the 40 million tonne-a-year Yandi mine is contracted out to HWE Mining, owned by Leighton Contractors. HWE has operated the mine since its inception in 1991 and only recently won a three-year contract extension worth $600million.

Yandi is an open-cut operation, where light vehicles and big haul trucks share roads under strict right-of-way protocols.

BHP said yesterday its immediate priorities were to "provide the best possible assistance to the family and close colleagues of the deceased, and to ensure the safety of all other personnel".

Production at all the company's iron ore mines in the Pilbara has been temporarily suspended as part of the response to refocus on safety. BHP said safety remained its priority ahead of production.

A spokeswoman said the decision to suspend operations was taken because "incidents such as this may distract employees' attention away from that task". "By suspending operations, we can reduce the risks associated with that," she said.