BHP Billiton Assets to Create Olympic History

8 August 2007

Escondida, Cannington & Spence to provide the raw materials for the Olympic Medals

BHP Billiton is proud to be playing a major role in contributing to the success of the 2008 Beijing Games by providing the raw materials for the Olympic and Paralympic medals.

While we have many world class sites that could have contributed to this project, it was determined that the materials for the medals will be sourced from our Escondida and Spence operations in Chile and our Cannington mine in Queensland, Australia.

Cannington will supply the silver that is used in the production of both the gold and silver medals. Escondida will supply copper concentrate which will contain the gold for the gold medals, while Spence will provide copper cathode that is used to produce the bronze medals.

The materials will be shipped to China where they will be crafted by the China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation in Shanghai to form the medals for the Games.

For Cannington, this decision will add to its proud sporting heritage, having provided the material for the silver medals at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as well as Melbourne’s 2006 Commonwealth Games.

Commenting on the announcement, CEO Chip Goodyear said: “As the Official Diversified Minerals and Medals Sponsor of the Games, we are proud to be supporting Beijing 2008.

“The Games present us with many unique opportunities including the chance
to showcase our position as the world’s largest diversified minerals company and our continued support for China’s long-term development and its emerging role in the international community.

“Our sponsorship also allows us to illustrate the alignment between the Olympic ideals and BHP Billiton’s Charter Values,” he said.

Mr Goodyear added that a determining factor in selecting the assets for the project was the ability to involve as many BHP Billiton employees as possible.

“While many of our employees around the world will participate in the Olympic effort, our employees in Chile and Australia have the opportunity to directly contribute to the Olympic program,” he said.

BHP Billiton Olympic Hero, Raelene Boyle, who claimed three Olympic silver medals throughout her decorated running career, visited Cannington staff in Townsville, Australia to help celebrate its critical role in the company’s Olympic sponsorship.

“The people at Cannington, Escondida and Spence who are doing the hard work to mine these materials should feel very proud when they watch the medals being awarded to athletes in Beijing,” Boyle said.

“Having won medals at Olympic Games, I can honestly say that it is the highlight of an athlete’s career. Those medals will be treasured,” she said as she happily showed Cannington staff the silver medal that she won as a 17-year-old at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, running in the women’s 200 metres.

According to BHP Billiton’s President of Base Metals, Diego Hernandez, staff at Escondida and Spence have reacted to the announcement with delight, knowing that they will be playing a major role in creating Olympic history by supplying the materials from its two assets to produce the gold and bronze medals.

“Our staff here in Chile are very proud that the result of their tireless efforts will be on display to the whole world throughout the Beijing Olympic Games,” Mr Hernandez said.

“It just goes to show what a truly global event the Olympic Games really is and the many ways it can bring people together.

“Chile, Australia and China will all be competing against one another at the Games, but in the case of the medals production it has brought together people of different cultures in the pursuit of one common goal,” he said.