It is reported that BHP Billiton Limited is yet to set a date to restart its giant Yandi iron ore mine in Australia after a fatality last week led to the idling about a third of total Australian ore production.

Ms Samantha Evans spokeswoman of BHP said that BHP's other Australian mines, also halted temporarily after the death, were restarted on September 6th 2008.

The Yandi lode, which churns out about 41 million tonnes of the iron ore remained shut pending the outcome of investigations. She added that "There is not yet a date to restart Yandi."

The Yandi mine is central to BHP's iron ore business, accounting for about 40 million tonnes of the 91 million tonnes of iron ore, roughly 10% of the globally traded market, which BHP mined in Australia in 2007.