26 March 2002 Number: 18/02 BHP BILLITON DECLARES FORCE MAJEURE AT BOODARIE IRON BHP Billiton today advised that it had declared 'force majeure' on sales contracts and some supply contracts at the Boodarie Iron Plant in north Western Australia. Production at the plant has been suspended since 12 March 2002 following a tube failure in a gas re-heating furnace. Nobody was injured in the incident (which occurred on only one production train) and all four trains were shut down pending an investigation into the cause of the failure. Safety of personnel is the paramount consideration at all BHP Billiton operations and for this reason production will not resume until the detailed investigation and necessary rectification work is completed. Declaration of 'force majeure' will minimise cash flow losses during this period. BHP Billiton is working with customers, suppliers and contractors to minimise disruptions and will provide further information when it becomes available. Plans to demobilise a large portion of the casual contractor workforce following the completion of technical modifications have also been brought forward and will be implemented immediately. Recent performance of the Boodarie Iron plant had been within the forecast band for ramp-up. Further BHP Billiton information can be found on our Internet site: http://www.bhpbilliton.com Australia Dr Robert Porter, Investor Relations Tel: +61 3 9609 3540 Mobile: +61 419 587 456 mailto:Robert.Porter@bhpbilliton.com Mandy Frostick, Media Relations Tel: +61 3 9609 4157 Mobile: +61 419 546 245 mailto:Mandy.J.Frostick@bhpbilliton.com United States Francis McAllister, Investor Relations Tel: +1 713 961 8625 Mobile: +1 713 480 3699 mailto:Francis.R.McAllister@bhpbilliton.com South Africa/United Kingdom Michael Campbell, Investor & Media Relations Tel: +27 11 376 3360 Mobile: +27 82 458 2587 mailto:Michael.J.Campbell@bhpbilliton.com Ariane Gentil, Manager Communications Tel: +44 20 7747 3977 Mobile: +44 7881 518 715 mailto:Ariane.Gentil@bhpbilliton.com BHP Billiton Limited ABN 49 004 028 077 Registered in Australia Registered Office: 600 Bourke Street Melbourne Victoria 3000 Telephone +61 3 9609 3333 Facsimile +61 3 9609 3015 BHP Billiton Plc Registration number 3196209 Registered in England and Wales Registered Office: 1-3 Strand London WC2N 5HA United Kingdom Telephone +44 20 7747 3800 Facsimile +44 20 7747 3900 A member of the BHP Billiton group which is headquartered in Australia