BHP seeks another day in court over iron ore line

SYDNEY (Reuters) - BHP Billiton (BHP.AX)(BLT.L) said on Tuesday it was seeking to further appeal a court ruling that threatens its exclusive use of a railway linking rich Australian iron ore mines with coastal ports.

BHP Billiton, the world's third-largest iron ore miner, was seeking legal permission to appeal a Federal Court ruling made last December and upheld earlier this month declaring the company's railway lines in the Pilbara region of Western Australia were not part of the production process.

BHP, which is spending heavily to expand iron ore mining in the Pilbara, counts on operations there to generate more than A$2 billion (875,000 pounds) a year in operating profits.

If upheld, the decision, which BHP hopes to appeal in Australia's High Court, could lead to the railway being declared open to other miners hungry to tap the region's deposits under Australia's Trade Practices Act.

BHP has lodged a special leave application with the High Court effectively asking for permission to pursue another appeal.

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (FMG.AX), which wants to use the rail line to ship ore has been fighting to gain access to BHP's 426 kilometres Mt. Newman line.

The Mt. Newman and nearby Goldsworthy rail lines transport about 100 million tonnes of iron ore each year to Port Hedland on the Indian Ocean for blending, processing and shipping.

Rival Rio Tinto (RIO.AX)(RIO.L) operates a rail network spanning about 1,300 kilometres in the Pilbara and also is against sharing it with other mining companies.

BHP, which earlier on Tuesday reported a 7 percent rise in first-quarter iron ore production in the Pilbara, was little changed at A$45.88 in late trading.

($1=A$1.13)