Sydney — BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest shipper of coking coal, said on Wednesday that it would not meet its export commitments from cyclone-struck northeast Australia, while hard running floodwaters threaten to delay repairs to rail lines. BHP is the fourth miner in the region to declare force majeure — a clause typically invoked after natural disasters — leaving rivals in the US to cash in on a surge in prices as Chinese steel makers scramble for supplies. Landslides at a mountain pass on the railway connecting coking coal mines in Queensland state to ports have halted operations on the busiest network, called Goonyella, which line operator Aurizon said would take about five weeks to repair. Aurizon said its second busiest coal haulage network, Blackwater, would be operational by week’s end, but a miner that uses the line said a restart would likely be delayed due to floodwaters "running harder than predicted".
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