ESCONDIDA

SULPHIDE LEACH PROJECT

APRIL 2004
BACKGROUND
Since the start of mining operations, Escondida has been segregating and stockpiling run-of-mine (ROM) low-grade
copper sulphide ore. In the absence of an economic technology to process this material it was mined as waste. Since
the mid 1990s, Escondida and, in particular, BHP Billiton has been developing technology to process low-grade
sulphide ores through bacterially assisted leaching to produce copper cathode. The development of this technology
would allow Escondida to unlock additional economic value through processing the low-grade sulphide ore.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Escondida Sulphide Leach Project (SLP) has been designed to initially produce 180,000 tonnes-per-annum (tpa) of
high quality copper cathode through a process of bacterially assisted leaching of low-grade ROM sulphide and oxide
ore. The sulphide ore will be sourced from the existing Escondida pit and oxide and sulphide ore will be sourced from
the Escondida Norte pit when it is under operation. Copper production will rise to a maximum of 250,000 tpa as the
sulphide leach solutions progressively take up the future spare capacity on the existing Escondida Oxide Plant when
current oxide ores are depleted and those operations begin to ramp down.

Low-grade sulphide material to be produced during the life of the Escondida and Escondida Norte pits is currently
planned for stockpiling. This material is extracted as waste under the current mining operations. The new, combined
sulphide leach ore reserve generated from this material and to be mined from both the Escondida and Escondida
Norte pits is estimated at a total of 1.134 billion tonnes at an average copper grade of 0.52%, contained within a
copper cut-off grade range of 0.3 to 0.7%. These ore reserves are sub-divided into 249 million tonnes at 0.52%
copper of proved reserve and 884 million tonnes at 0.52% copper of probable reserve. In addition to this low-grade
sulphide ore, which will now be treated by the Sulphide Leach Project, Escondida Norte has an estimated probable
reserve of 117 million tonnes of oxide ore at an average soluble copper grade 0.77%, above a soluble copper cut-off
grade of 0.2%, which also can be processed by the new sulphide leach operation.

Upon construction, the low-grade ore feed will be dumped onto an engineered pad located to the northeast of the
Escondida pit and to the southeast of the future Escondida Norte pit. The existing Escondida stockpile of 100 million
tonnes of low-grade sulphide material will now be rehandled and placed onto the leach pad as required by the
production plan during the project life. In contrast to other dump leach operations, this leach pad will be sealed at its
base and leaching will be managed using air injection to control sulphide oxidation.

Metallurgical testwork carried out to date has included a 300,000 tonne test dump and associated solvent-extraction
(SX) and electro-winning (EW) operations. The results of the testwork have indicated that an overall copper recovery
of 36% is achievable. Experimentation with the temperature at which leaching occurs has shown that copper recovery
increases with increasing
temperature. There is
potential for increased
copper recovery if the
temperature in the
dumps rises above a
critical threshold of 45C.

ESCONDIDA SULPHIDE LEACH PROJECT

ESCONDIDA SULPHIDE LEACH PROJECT

MAIN ELEMENTS Solvent-extraction (SX) plant facilities located adjacent to the

leach pad with capacity to handle solutions for an annual
The investment provides for the construction of new copper copper production rate of 330kt. This facility has been designed
production facilities, water supply, power supply/distribution and to utilize the capacities of both the new EW facilities as well as
worker housing facilities and equipment, as follows: the existing oxide EW facilities.

Leach Pad, lined and engineered for the leaching of ROM ores in Electro-winning (EW) production facilities with an annual
a manner that will optimize copper recovery. Ultimate pad area production capacity of 180kt of copper cathode. These facilities
will reach 4,900m in length by 2,000m in width. Ore will be will be located adjacent to the existing 150ktpa oxide
stacked in 18m lifts to a final height of 126m. electro-winning plant.

A sea water desalination plant located at the Port of Coloso

with a 24 inch connecting pipeline and pumping stations with
capability of delivering 500 litres per second of process water to
the mine site. The distance from the port to the mine site is
approximately 170 kilometers, going from sea level at the port
to approximate altitude of 3,000 meters at the mine site.

Two 16 km buried stainless steel pipelines required for the

transfer of copper electrolyte solutions between the SX and
EW facilities.

Administrative and supply warehouse facilities, located near

the SX plant, to provide operations support.

Electrical power supply and distribution required for copper

production and water supply operations. This includes a new
15 km transmission line from the New Zaldivar Substation to the
mine site and a new substation located at the EW area.

ESCONDIDA SULPHIDE LEACH PROJECT

 Employee and contractor camp facilities to accommodate an The project will include a 170 kilometre, 24 diameter carbon steel,
increased workforce. These include a new camp module at Villa fusion bonded epoxy lined, pipeline installed in the existing
San Lorenzo and three additional modules at Camp 2000.
Escondidas right of way from Coloso to the mine site. This pipeline
Additional mine haulage and support equipment to deliver ROM will discharge into the existing Los Colorados freshwater tanks.
ores to the leach pad from the mines and enable consistent pad
stacking. Initial equipment will include: 6 mine haul trucks, POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
1 track dozer, 1 rubber tire dozer, and associated spare parts.
Chile is currently undergoing a political debate around its mining
EPCM CONTRACT investment and taxation framework. Since the start of operations

The project will be developed by Fluor Chile on an Engineering, Minera Escondida and its owners have paid in excess of

Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) contract basis US$1.7 billion in income taxes to Chile. Based on current reserves,

whereby the work will be performed to achieve mechanical the remaining life time for this operation is estimated at 40 years.

completion and final completion. The work will include engineering, BHP Billiton has agreed to this further investment based on their
procurement of equipment and materials, construction and long-term presence in the country, the confidence in the national
installation, pre-commissioning, commissioning, testing and political players ability to reach reasonable outcomes, the clarity of
start-up. However, Escondida will be responsible for the their rights as investors under the Chilean legal framework, and the
procurement of the mine equipment (6 haul trucks, dozers, fact that the project transforms material previously mined as waste
grader, etc.) and for the construction of the main haul road into an economically valuable resource.
between the Escondida pit and the new leach pads.
MARKETING
CONSTRUCTION PERIOD AND PROJECT LIFE
The country of Chile is located in a region of the world that makes
The SLP will have a construction period of 25 months from EPCM shipment of copper cathode to all of the consuming regions of the
award to first copper cathode production, and will achieve full world possible and economical. It is anticipated that cathode
production within 18 months of first production. Total project life is produced from the Sulphide Leach Project will be shipped to
in excess of 25 years. fabricators of copper, such as wire, rod and tube manufactures, in
Asia, Europe, North and South America. Prices for this product will
LOCAL HIRING
reflect those set by the major international commodity exchanges
Fluor Chile has been advised that the owners prefer to hire locally whilst premiums will be negotiated with buyers.
from the north of the country as it was the case in the construction
The additional exposure to the cathode market that this project
of Escondida Phase 4. The construction manning plan indicates a
provides, allows BHP Billiton better visibility to the true
peak onsite workforce of 5,000.
consumption of copper.
DESALINATION PLANT
Project water will be supplied by a 500 litres per second
desalination plant as there is no existing source with the capacity to
provide the water required by the project. The desalination plant
will be installed in the unused electrowinning building at Coloso,
and will produce industrial quality water. The existing seawater
intake sump, seawater intake pipeline and discharge pipeline will be
upgraded for the project. The existing facilities such as storage
tanks, pipe racks, and electrical rooms will be re-used or upgraded
where possible.

ESCONDIDA SULPHIDE LEACH PROJECT

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains forward-looking statements about BHP Billiton's development and capital expenditure plans and future production. Words such as "will," "is expected to," "is
estimated to" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. The statements are based on management's current expectations, estimates and
projections; are not guarantees of future performance; and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond BHP Billiton's control and are
difficult to predict. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are discussed in the sections entitled "Risk Factors" and "Operating and Financial Review and
Prospects - General factors affecting our operating results" included in our annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2003, which we filed with the US Securities
and Exchange Commission. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Unless legally required, BHP
Billiton undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

The information in this report that relates to Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Dr. Jonathan M. Gilligan Ph.D., B.Sc. (Hons), FGS, MAusIMM, who is a Member of the
Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and is a full time employee of Minera Escondida Ltda. Dr Gilligan has sufficient experience, which is relevant to the style and type of
deposit and to the activity that he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 1999 edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Minerals Resources and
Ore Reserve. The Competent Person consents to the inclusion in this report of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which they appear.

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