CHANGES TO XSTRATA PLC BOARD

Zug, 3 March 2009 

Peter Hooley has been invited to join the Xstrata plc Board as an independent non-executive director and will be proposed by the Board for election by shareholders at the annual general meeting on 5 May 2009. Mr Hooley has agreed to act as an independent external consultant to the Board with effect from 2 March 2009 until the annual general meeting.

Until 2006, Mr Hooley was Group Finance Director of Smith & Nephew plc, a global medical devices business, listed on the FTSE100 index. He was previously Group Financial Controller of BICC plc. Since 2002, he has been a non-executive director of Cobham plc, the aerospace and defence group and is Chairman of its Audit Committee. He is also a director and chairman of BSN medical, a medical textiles business and from 1997 to 2000 was a non-executive director of Powell Duffryn plc.  

Robert MacDonnell has indicated that he intends to retire from the Xstrata plc Board and will not stand for re-election as an independent non-executive director at the next annual general meeting. Mr MacDonnell has served as a director of Xstrata plc since its initial public offering and before that was a non-executive director of the former Swiss company, Xstrata AG.

Willy Strothotte, Xstrata plc Chairman, said; “During his tenure, Robert MacDonnell has overseen the significant growth of Xstrata into a global mining major and I thank him on behalf of Xstrata’s management and Board for the contribution he has made to Xstrata’s development over the past several years.

“We are delighted that Peter Hooley has accepted our invitation to join the Board, subject to shareholders’ approval. With his extensive financial markets experience and a strong track record of creating shareholder value, the Board is confident that Mr Hooley will add significant value to Xstrata. I look forward to working with him and my fellow Board directors in achieving our commitment to Xstrata’s long-term strategy of growth and diversification in pursuit of value.”