UPDATE 1-BHP: No restart date set for Yandi iron ore mine

(Adds company comment)

SYDNEY, Sept 8 (Reuters) - BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc (BHP.AX) BLT.L> has 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, a company spokeswoman said on Monday.

BHP's other Australian mines, also halted temporarily after the death, were restarted on Saturday. The Yandi lode, which churns out about 41 million tonnes of the steelmaking ingredient, remained shut pending the outcome of investigations, BHP spokeswoman Samantha Evans said.

"There is not yet a date to restart Yandi," Evans said. The fatality occurred on Sept. 4 after a collision between a light vehicle and a truck, according to BHP.

In the case of past fatalities, including the death of another worker at Yandi on Aug. 26, operations have resumed within a day or two following police and special emergency mine investigations.

The Yandi mine, 500 km (310 miles) from the western coast of Australia in the Pilbara district, is central to BHP's iron ore business, accounting for about 40 million tonnes of the 91 million tonnes of iron ore -- roughly 10 percent of the globally traded market -- that BHP mined in Australia last year.

BHP is the world's third-largest supplier of iron ore, after Brazil's Vale (VALE5.SA) and Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc (RIO.AX)(RIO.L). BHP shares were up 1.5 percent at A$37.55, outpacing a 0.64 rise in takeover target Rio Tinto, in a broader market .AXJO up 3.5 percent. (Reporting by James Regan)