core sector communique

BHP Billiton - Restart of Pinto Valley

February 14, 2012

​BHP Billiton is to restart mining at its Pinto Valley operation in Arizona, USA. The mine, which will produce copper and molybdenum concentrate, will have annual production capacity of approximately 60,000 tons of copper in concentrate. The project will create approximately 650 new jobs with mining expected to resume at the end of the 2012 calendar year.

BHP Billiton Base Metals North America Asset President, Wayne Isaacs, said: “We are pleased to be resuming mining operations at Pinto Valley given the robust investment case and the potential for an extension to current reserves. We will be hiring more than six hundred new team members and look forward to working with local communities to safely restart the mine.”

Peter Beaven, President BHP Billiton Base Metals, said: “The US$195 million investment at Pinto Valley will add valuable copper production to our Base Metals portfolio. As we look forward, our business is particularly well placed given strong growth anticipated at both Escondida and Antamina in the short to medium term.”

^{Pinto Valley Mine is located in the State of Arizona, USA. BHP Billiton has a 100% ownership interest in the Pinto Valley operation.}