BHP Billiton Iron Ore regrets to advise that an incident occurred during the night at its Yandi mine site, which resulted in the death of an HWE Mining employee.

Details of the incident are still being established but an investigation into the incident is underway. The Yandi mine is located approximately 140km north west of Newman in Western Australia and is operated by HWE Mining.

The onsite emergency team has been activated and external emergency services including police are attending the scene. BHP Billiton Iron Ore is working closely with HWE Mining on this incident.

The family of the deceased have been notified and our highest priority at this stage is their welfare and for the safety of those people involved in the incident. Counselling services will be provided.

Yandi operations have been suspended until further notice.

We will be providing more information as soon as it is available and verified.