Sydney : Australia’s $44 billion iron ore sector has suffered two rare train derailments in less than a week, scattering wagons into twisted wrecks in the rust-red earth of Western Australia.
Even so, it’s little cause for wider alarm for the world’s top exporter of the steel-making ingredient, with the two cases in the vast state striking about 1,000 miles apart and in very different circumstances.
Mineral Resources Ltd. said about 30 empty ore wagons derailed from a track early Sunday, in a region south of the town Norseman, on a return journey from the state’s southern port of Esperance. It’s likely the accident happened after heavy rains washed out ballast from a small section of track and repairs will take about a week, the producer said Monday.
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It follows a more serious incident involving BHP Group, the world’s top miner, which last Monday deliberately derailed an out-of-control train that hurtled through Western Australia for about 90 kilometers (56 miles) without its driver aboard. While the company and authorities are still investigating, the cause of the incident south of Port Hedland, on the state’s northern coast, is related to train systems, Chief Executive Officer Andrew Mackenzie said Thursday.
