Mining giant BHP has reached a settlement with the train driver who was fired over a huge derailment in Western Australia's Pilbara region last year.
The nearly 3km-long train hurtled along BHP's Newman to Port Hedland line for about 50 minutes on November 5, leaving behind driver Peter Frick, who had stepped out to inspect one of its 268 wagons.
The locomotive was derailed by staff at a remote control centre more than 1500km away in Perth, and about 1.5km of track was damaged.
Mr Frick took his case to the Fair Work Commission but a confidential settlement has now been reached.
BHP refused to comment on Monday about the settlement, but a spokeswoman reiterated that an internal investigation found the incident was the result of "procedural non-compliance by the operator" and "integration issues with the electronically controlled pneumatic braking system".
Iron ore production from BHP's WA operations fell six per cent in the December quarter, compared to the previous quarter, but the company's full year production guidance remains unchanged.
