Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (12 month rolling average)

Iron Ore

July 2003Volume No. 389

Boodarie Iron - Finucane Island - Nelson Point - Yarrie - Yandi - Area C - Newman - Perth

IRON CHRONICLE

The annual Marble Bar races and ball are always well patronised by Port Hedland residents and 2003’s event was no exception.The day is a significant tourist attraction in the Pilbara and this year drew a large number of both Iron Ore and Boodarie Iron employees to the town to kick up their heels.

Annual visitor Roger Richardson has attended the races for over three decades.

“Its always a great event not only for local Marble Bar residents but for people across the State,” he said.

“They are drawn to the lure of the races and the social activities across the weekend in a real outback setting.”

Graeme Hunt President

Jamie Fisher and Matt Newcombe giving John Elliott a few pointers on horse racing in thePilbara

Richard O’Connell, Mark Swinnerton, Regina Stene and Gemma Rapsonenjoying the Marble Bar masquerade ball.

MARBLE BAR LURES HEDLAND PEOPLE

THE YEAR IN REVIEWIn the year ending June 2003, Iron Ore and Boodarie Ironhave once again delivered a solid business performance.I would not be surprised if readers felt a sense of déjà vu with thesecomments. They reflect the comments I have been making about ourbusiness for some time now.

The expanding demand for iron ore across the globe continues to provide a window of opportunityfor our business reminiscent of the growth period in the 1960s, when our business was built. Wehave been successful in YEJ03, but the challenge remains to capitalise on this further in YEJ04.

PERFORMANCE SUMMARYThe table below summaries our business performance over the past financial year.

BUDGET ACTUAL CHANGE

Classified injuries 1 11 CIFR 2 6.6 CIFR - 40.0%

Iron Ore Sales 3 73.6 mwt 80.3 mwt + 9.1%

Iron Ore Railed 77.5 mwt 77.7 mwt + 0.3%

Boodarie Iron Sales 1.82 mt 1.57 mt - 13.7%

Boodarie Iron Production 1.77 mt 1.67 mt - 5.6%

Notes

1 Classified Injury Frequency Rate

2 Stretch target

3 Excludes DES shipmentscontinued page 4

Boodarie Iron Production (tonnes)

Shipments (million wet tonnes)

PAGE 2 IRON CHRONICLEGENERAL NEWS

The Australian Customs Service will be substantially upgrading its services inthe North West, thanks to BHPBIO.By using existing optic fibre cabling throughthe subterranean tunnel, Customs will bringnew Closed Circuit TV (CCTV) cameras online on Finucane Island. This has resulted ina significant capital saving to Customs.

Minister for Justice and Customs, SenatorChris Ellison visited Port Hedland recently tooffer his thanks and gratitude to BHPBIO forproviding infrastructure to Customs.

Senator Ellison indicated that CCTVcoverage is an important element in Customscapability to secure the port against threats.

“The cooperation of BHP Billiton is a leadingexample of the Customs-business partnershipwhich is strengthening border protection inthe Pilbara,” he said.

Around 800 bulk carriers arrive in Port Hedlandeach year and it is among the ten busiest ports inAustralia.

BHPBIO has been a member of the CustomsFrontline program for some time. It is a programwhich brings industry and Customs together toprotect Australia’s borders.

As a member of Frontline, BHPBIO staff receivetraining to identify suspicious border activities andalso to review our own security arrangements.

Customs would like to acknowledge the supportfrom Roger Richardson, Mark Frost and LloydJones from Shipping for playing an integral role inthis initiative.

Connecting Customs for greater control

A/Vice President Ports, Bob Goodwin beinginterviewed by GWN Television regardinginfrastructure for Customs.

Senator Ellison recognising the supportprovided by BHPBIO.

Dust levels were at an all time lowaround Newman recently with only onehigher reading due to activitiesunrelated to mining.As part of the Company’s ongoingcommitment to the environment, BHP BillitonIron Ore has been carrying out air qualitymonitoring in and around its Mt Whalebackmine site since 1998.

The program consists of seven High VolumeAir Samplers (HiVols) located near the mineand around the Newman township. TheHiVols are designed to draw air through afilter paper at a known constant rate over a 24-hour period, and are run every six days, allyear round, as recommended by the AustralianStandards.

Collected dust is weighed to determine theconcentration in the air.

The objective of this monitoring is to detail thedust levels near the mine site and the Newmantownship and determine whether the miningactivities of BHPBIO are impacting on thelocal community.

Environmental Superintendent Wendy Howellsaid the original locations of the samplingmachines were chosen to give the best resultand provide easy access. They are inpermanent locations so that recorded data can

be compared and a verifiable data baseestablished.

“Most of the machines are located out towardsthe highway and the airport, allowing us tomonitor any dust generated by bothWhaleback and Orebody 23/25 operations,”Wendy said.

“One machine, located so as to providebaseline data by recording any naturallyoccurring dust in the air, will allow us tomeasure what is produced by mining and whatis not.

“The machines are very sensitive and recordeverything, including animal activity (likecattle) and dust from earthworks in the area.Our monitoring has shown that if the standardhas been exceeded it has been due to theseother activities, rather than our miningoperations.

“From January to March 2003 only one TSP(Total Suspended Particulates) guideline wasexceeded, outside the Newman airshed andunrelated to BHPBIO’s mining activities.Some heavy rains in January led to an overalldecline in ambient dust levels within theNewman airshed following the higher dustlevels experienced during the drier weatherfrom October to December 2002.

Low dust levels around Whaleback

As shown in the February 1999 Chronicle, then Environmental Officer WendyHowell and Environmental Assistant (now Environmental Technician) DavidKaljuste collect data from the two types of High Volume Air Monitors located southof Mt Whaleback.

In 2003, Environmental Superintendent Wendy Howell discusses the operation ofanother HiVol Sampler north of Mt Whaleback with Environmental Officer SamanthaMorley.

On the back of successfully recycling Remet to the reactor plant feed,Boodarie Iron has been searching for a way to recycle Flight SeparatorMaterial.Flight Separator material is generated in the briquetting section of the plant and consists ofDRI fines and briquette chips.

Normally most of this material is recycled by the bucket elevators for re-pressing. Howeveroperating difficulties with the bucket elevators have resulted in a stockpile of approximately165,000t of Flight Separator material.

Most of this is a suitable size to feed to the reactors as an alternative to Remet; the remainderis oversize and is screened out and can be sold as briquette chips.

Following test work by Newcastle Technology Centre confirming the suitability of thematerial to be fed to the FINMET process, a plant trial was conducted during February.

The trial in partnership, with the Technology and Development Department, involved testingthe ability of the plant to process increasing amounts of Flight Separator Fines up to amaximum of 15 percent. The trial was a success.

A consumption strategy is now being developed to ensure that all the stocks of Remet andFlight Separator Fines are used on the plant.

Boodarie Iron recycles FlightSeparator Fines

Fortune meets Hedland on maiden voyage

(L-R) Vice President PortsDean Dalla Valle, withNippon Steel’s ChiefEngineer T Ono, DirectorOsamu Nagano andCaptain S Yasutake.

The 290 metre long vesselNSS Fortune on its maiden

voyage.

Last month’s busy shippinground saw the departure ofthe NSS Fortune’s maidenvoyage from Port Hedland.NSS Fortune is the sixth and lastin the current program of newvessels for Nippon SteelShipping. To celebrate thevoyage, a morning tea was heldon board where BHP Billiton IronOre and Nippon Steel exchangedcommemorative gifts.

BHPBIO has broken its previousshipping record with 80.6million tonnesof iron ore shipped from Port Hedlandin the year to June 30. The recordbroken was 71.3 million tonnes shippedin the year to June 2002.The NSS Confidence departed Port HedlandHarbour on Sunday 29 June at 8:30am under acloudy drizzling sky headed for Japanese steelmills.

To the many onlookers standing in the BHPBilliton Marapikurrinya Park the departing shipwas just another of the increasing number usingthe harbour however the moment was asignificant milestone for the company.

Vice President Dean Dalla Valle who was thereto watch the vessel help break the 80 million

tonne mark said, the new record is a result ofthe enormous work performed by employees atthe mine, rail and the port.

“From the worker driving the haul truck, to arail maintenance crew fixing sleepers downtrack and a worker replacing rollers on aconveyor, everyone played a part.

“Breaking the 80 million tonne mark helps usrealise that previously unthinkable targets canbe achieved. The next challenge is to headtowards 100 million tonnes.

“I’m certain we can make it if we all continueto improve our performances and work as aunited team.

“We all should be extremely proud of what wehave achieved,” he said.

Ore shipments grow

Dean Dalla Valle watches on as the NSS Confidence leaves Port Hedland harbour with itsrecord-breaking shipment.

PAGE 3IRON CHRONICLE GENERAL NEWS

Shovel 23’s recentboom change wascompleted ahead ofschedule and almostinjury free.The Shovel, MtWhaleback’s largest, wascommissioned in 1987 andis the only remainingelectric rope shovel on site.It weighs in at about 950tonnes and has a bucket thatcan pick up 60 tonnes witheach pass.

The boom requiredreplacing due to thecomponent hours andworn shipper shaftbushes. It wasaccomplished using arefurbished and reconditioned boom from Shovel 24.

Mechanical Engineer Marcus Lang, who oversaw the job, said the good result was due to co-operation and planning.

“The replacement boom was at the Shovel Pad for a few months while we fitted inrefurbishment jobs on it around our other work, and when we had it ready to go, we liaisedwith Planning and Mining for an appropriate window to take the machine out of production.Mining also constructed the earth pad where we completed the job at short notice due toanother site becoming unsuitable.

“Some of the tasks on the replacement boom included replacing gearbox components, theshipper shaft, boom foot pins, sheaves and bushes. The replacement of the boom was plannedto take a week, but we had the machine back to work two days ahead of schedule.

“All Field Maintenancecrews participated in thepreparation work for the job,as well as personnel fromMining, Electrical andCrane Services, and itwouldn’t have been possibleto achieve such a good resultwithout the co-operationreceived from all.”

“Having said that, the B5and B6 crews must becommended on theirexcellent effort in bringingthis job in ahead of time andwith only one minor first aidinjury,” said Marcus.

Orange hard hats all ‘round

A recent visit to the Yarrie and Nimmingarra mine sites by the Finucane IslandBeneficiation Plant Crew has been seen as a significant step forward in employeesbetter understanding the part they play in the BHP Billiton Iron Ore business.

Leading the day’s tour was Maintenance Improvement Coach, Rick Hockey.

“The idea of a tour was generated by the team and strongly supported by Peter Priestly,Superintendent Maintenance on Finucane Island Once Peter got the go ahead, the enthusiasm forthe trip grew,” he said.

The visit included touring the Yarrie pit and understanding the challenges, such as managing oresizes and dewatering, which are faced by the mine teams.

“Better understanding the jobs on the mine provided an insight that is difficult to grasp over atelephone or through an email. The trip back was filled with enthusiastic discussion on just whatgoes on at the mine.

“The benefit of team building shouldn’t be overlooked either. Having the opportunity to get toknow each other was appreciated by all involved,” Rick said.

The crew in front of Nimmingarra train loading facility (from left) Ahmad Morshid, AbdulColin, Gary Annal, Andrew McLean, Omar Ridwan, Nick Mladenovic, Alan Pickles, SidArripin, Paul Rafferty, Peter Priestly, Rusdu Kalzee, Matthew Fry, Jessica Cowe, AbdolKalzee, Eric McInnes and Rick Hockey.

Finucane plant crew learn from mine

2nd year Mechanical Apprentice Sally McIlrath modeling a blue visitors hard hat and 3rdyear Electrical Apprentice Justin Dhu sporting a new orange hard hat.

From 1 July 2003 all Nelson Point and Finucane Island employees will receivebrand new orange hard hats.With hard hats having a life span of only two years it is crucial replace retired hard hats across siteregularly.

Environmental Officer Chris Serginson said the issuing of new hard hats across site provided anexcellent opportunity to recycle the old hard hats all at one time.

“Instead of the hats ending up in landfill, the old hard hats will be sent to a plastics recyclingcompany in Perth called SARPOL, which will melt down the plastic and use it to construct itemssuch as bollards and fence posts.”

Once employees have received their orange hard hat, they are asked to recycle their old hard hat byplacing it in one of the recycling skip bins. The bins are marked “Hard hat Recycling Only” andhave been placed at the following locations:

• Finucane Island, behind the First Aid building

• Nelson Point, in front of Shift Operations

• Nelson Point, TCB1 Sample Prep

• Nelson Point, main carpark in front of Loco Overhaul Workshop

• Nelson Point, washbay near Vehicle Maintenance Workshop

Alternatively, old hard hats can be stockpiled in work areas and collected by Cleanaway. Toarrange this please contact the Cleanaway Site Coordinator on 0417 723 466.

All visitors hard hats will remain blue.

For further information, please contact

Mark Laverty on 9173 6764 or Chris Serginson on 9173 6623.

Working on the Shovel 23 replacement boom are (left toright) Scott Bull, Des Fu (Terex Mining), Richard White,Dave Cabassi and Chris Outram.

The Shovel 23 boom replacement job nears completion. Aloaded 240 tonne truck is used to adjust the saddle blocksfor the dipper handles

Refit for Shovel 23

Football Update

Chris Salmon presented the annual “Charlie Salmon Medal” to Newman’s fairest andbest player, Andrew Host at Saints Clubrooms.

The annual Telstra Countrywide Challenge football match was held recentlybetween Newman and Fortescue leagues.

The main game was won by Newman, while in the warm up match Jigalong defeated theNewman Colts.

The Jigalong team travelled in to town at short notice, on a bus provided by BHPBIO,following the inability of the Tom Price Colts to attend the competition.

The main match was followed by the presentation of Charlie Salmon Medal to Newman’sfairest and best player, Andrew Host.

The medal is in honour of Charlie Salmon, who died in June 2000, while umpiring a localfootball match on the Capricorn Oval. Charlie was very well respected across the Pilbara,particularly in the Newman and Tom Price communities, and dedicated a significant amount ofhis time to all aspects of football.

IRON CHRONICLEPAGE 4 GENERAL NEWS

THE YEAR IN REVIEWIron Ore Sales Per Customer Country Year Ending 2003 Boodarie Sales Per Customer Country Year Ending 2003

Railroad - Locomotive Fuel Consumption Ore Railed Per Mine (million wet tonnes)

continued from Page 1

SAFETY PERFORMANCEBefore I turn to our operating results, I would like to applaud all our employees andcontractors on achieving an exceptional level of safety throughout the year. We not onlyachieved the stretch target established 12 months ago for classified injuries (11 CIFR), butreduced them by half as much again (5.6 CIFR) and with much lower rates of severe injuries.This continues a trend that has been established over the past 5 – 10 years.

This is an outstanding result and I would like to extend my congratulations to everyone acrossthe organisation. Our workplace has been safer in the last 12 months than it ever has in thepast. This is in no small part due to strong leadership on safety matters and a growing cultureof people looking after and caring for their colleagues.

As always, I deliver this message with caution. In the year just ended, there were 27 incidentsthat had the potential for fatal results, such as heavy / mobile equipment accidents andelectrical shocks. Although this number of significant incidents is an improvement over thepast, it underscores the need for continued vigilance and commitment to working in a safe andresponsible manner.

OPERATING PERFORMANCEIn the February 2003 edition of The Chronicle, I made the following statement:

“It was extremely satisfying to report that BHP Billiton’s Iron Ore operations in WesternAustralia set new operating records in the quarter. I hope these results bring a great deal ofsatisfaction to you as well.”

I reiterate these comments for the full year results that we have just announced. The details ofour record operating performance are covered in the feature section of this edition. Right now,I want to concentrate on the WHY.

I see three critical factors behind the results that we, in Iron Ore and Boodarie Iron, aredelivering for our owners and other stakeholders.

The single most critical factor that has driven our performance has been the surging globaldemand for iron ore. The recent period of demand growth has been extraordinary, and ourforecasts indicate that this trend will continue in the short term at least. The main driver of thisdemand is the growth in China, and we are making sure our iron ore products are able to meetthe requirements of this market, as well as our traditional markets, especially Japan.

Securing higher sales to China and other markets is critical to our long-term growth and wemust be able to demonstrate to these customers that we have capacity and the will to be areliable and flexible partner.

Over the past year, we have demonstrated this type of flexibility through innovation and newpractices across the business. We will need to continue in this vein if we are to capitalise onthe opportunities in the current iron ore market. In essence, we cannot remain shackled to thepier, if we are to rise with the demand tide.

Second, there is no question that the business is performing a whole lot better thanks to theimprovement processes that we have introduced, using the Operating Excellence (OE)framework as the driving force. Delivering the value from business improvement has becomemore critical as the rising A$ means we get relatively less for our products.Improvement projects are now delivering some $30 million in added value to the business andI am committed to improving on this. There is an enormous amount of value to be extractedyet, and this can only be achieved through greater integration with our daily businessprocesses.

I should point out that in Iron Ore and Boodarie Iron, we now have 10 accredited OE coaches,which is equivalent to one-third of the 29 accredited coached across BHP Billiton globally.This is a remarkable figure and one of which I am immensely proud. The expertise andresources of these coaches (and those currently in the training and accreditation phase) willassist the improvement projects deliver the value required to take us to the next level ofefficiency.

Finally, I’d like to recognise the commitment of our employees and contractors in assistingthe business to keep pace with demand. There is no doubt that the changes we have made inrecent years have been the catalyst for the impovements in operating performance at all levelsof the business. More than 75% of our employees are now working in a way that provides thebusiness flexibility to be able to respond quickly to meet rapid changes in market demand,such as we are currently experiencing. I believe that the working arrangements we haveintroduced have also led to greater job satisfaction and personal reward for effort.

For these reasons, over the past year we were able to stretch the capacity of our existingoperations to participate in this growth period and maintain our market share. Importantly, wehave also been driving an expansion program worth over $1 billion that includes a new mine(Area C), a spur line linking with our existing railway and the development of a new westernstockyard at Finucane Island. This program will deliver additional capacity over the upcomingmonths and enable us to meet the continued growth in demand that we expect to see over thecoming years.

The year ending June 2003 provided a fistful of challenges, not least of all the cyclone-induceddeluge in the early months of this year. Our ability to tackle these challenges and deliverconsistently good results is very pleasing and I look forward to delivering similarimprovements over the next 12 months.

In appreciation of the business performance over the past year, I have requested that anappropriate memento be produced for all employees. This will be distributed to you over thenext month.

Thank you once again, and I look forward to announcing that we have further increased thecapacity of our business at the conclusion of the year ending June 2004.

Graeme HuntPresident

PAGE 5IRON CHRONICLE GENERAL NEWS

OVERVIEWEveryone at BHP Billiton Iron Ore and Boodarie Iron should now be aware of ourcapacity expansion program that involves the development of a new mine, calledArea C as well as port and rail expansions to cope with increased throughput.The authorised capital cost for these expansion projects is over A$1 billion, comprising US$213m(100% terms) for Area C and US$351m (100% terms) for the product and capacity expansion,otherwise known as PACE.

As you can see from the progress chart below, these projects have progressed ahead of schedule.Importantly, they are also running according to budget.

The official opening of the Area C mine is due to be held on 30 October.

ASSET DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS UPDATE

Project Completion %

Plan Actual

Area C 86.5 92.1

Area C Rail 89.9 92.1

PACE 56.4 54.2

Overall ADP Progress* 71.5 72.8

* see chart below

PROJECT SNAP SHOTSAREA C• Plant and supporting infrastructure installation work is virtually complete.

• Load Commissioning occurred on 21 July 2003.

• Rehabilitation work is generally complete at the aerodrome, old bulk sample campsite and

access road.

• Work on demobilising the Packsaddle construction village is due to commence soon.

RAIL• The bulk earthworks are now complete. Track laying is well advanced with all concrete

sleepers placed onto the formation, and steel laying past the half way mark.

Total of 3.3M bcm of excavation on the project with over 2.4M bcm drill and blast through

hard rock.

• The Yandicoogina Creek Bridge is also complete and ready for traffic.

• The BHPBIO mobile flashbutt welding crew is carrying out all the rail welding using their

new machine and have achieved excellent welding rates.

• A new high speed turnout has also been installed at the Yandi Mine to allow the train from

Area C to maintain track speed.

PACE• The structural/mechanical contractor at Nelson Point has successfully completed all major

shutdowns.

• The construction of the new berth at Finucane Island is progressing to schedule.

• The structural/mechanical contractors at Finucane Island have successfully mobilised and

commenced structural steel erection.

• The erection of new stackers and reclaimer is progressing to schedule.

• Erection of the shiploader is underway in Fremantle. It is due to be transported to the new

Finucane Island berth in mid October 2003.

• The Finucane Island electrical contractor has successfully mobilised and commenced

construction.

• The water supply upgrade contractor has successfully mobilised to site and commenced

works at the Water Corporation Port Hedland Pumping Station.

ADP PROGRESS

LIVING WORKS

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Mar-02 Jun-02 Sep-02 Dec-02 Mar-03 Jun-03 Sep-03 Dec-03 Mar-04 Jun-04

Project Months

Pro

gre

ss

Planned Cumulative

Progress

Forecast Cumulative

Progress

Actual Cumulative

Progress

Current Plan Cumulative

Progress

Current Plan 71.5%

Actual 72.8%

OVERALL PROJECT PROGRESS (AREA C & PACE)

SAFETY At BHP Billiton Iron Ore and Boodarie Iron, we have made a great commitment to the goal ofbecoming not just the most efficient and profitable iron ore producer in the Pilbara, but also thesafest.

Achieving change that provides a safer workplace is a difficult, yet critical challenge, especially inthe context of our accelerated expansion projects.

The safety record of these projects, which is set out below, is enviable and sets a benchmark forother projects to achieve in the future.

Classified Injury Frequency Rate• Area C 2.3

• PACE 3.2

• Area C Rail 2.0

ADP TOTAL 3.4

This record has been achieved by maintaining a focus on the foundations of our safety approach,which apply right across the business:

• Strong leadership and commitment to achieving zero harm to our people, which starts at the

top and goes right through the length and breadth of our workforce;

• Safety management systems that are developed in collaboration with the workforce; and

• Developing a more mature perception of hazards and approach to risk taking behaviour by

our employees.

COMMUNITYAs part of its commitment to being valued by the communities in which we operate, the ADP teamsupports LivingWorks to conduct suicide intervention and training programs in the Pilbara.

The LivingWorks program is designed to raise awareness of suicide and suicidal behaviours andprepare the community to be able to engage and intervene with those at risk of suicide.

During the year ending June 2003, the program trained 135 people through 9 applied SuicideIntervention Skills Training Workshops. More importantly, there were 18 known cases wherepeople who were suicidal were identified and treated through the program.

The ADP team has raised nearly $160,000 over the life of the projects, an outcome that everyoneinvolved should be very pleased with.

The new shiploader is being constructed in Fremantle.

Donations for JunePort Hedland

• Burrup Bouncers Skipping Demonstration Team

• South Hedland Bowling and Tennis Club

• St Cecilia’s Middle School

• South Hedland Junior Football

• Port Hedland Primary School

• Port Hedland Junior Cricket Association

• Port Hedland Regional Hospital

• Boodarie Bowls

• Matt Dann Cultural Centre

• Young Achievers Australia

• HARTZ

• Port Hedland Chamber of Commerce

• Hedland Tee Ball Association

• Youth Involvement Council

Newman

• St John’s Ambulance

• Newman Campdraft & Rodeo

• Newman Community Centre

• Electrical Expo

• WA Police Legacy

IRON CHRONICLEPAGE 6 GENERAL NEWS

Graduating mechanical apprenticeMathew Wheeler was namedBHPBIO 2003 Apprentice of the Yearat the Apprentice and ClericalAwards held at the Cooke PointRecreation Club during June.In a new addition to the apprentice Awards,Leila Pattison was recognised for heroutstanding achievement with the ClericalTrainee of the Year Award.

Awards were also presented to individualapprentices as formal recognition of theirhigh level of achievement and performancethroughout the year.

Candidates were assessed on areas such aslevel of skills knowledge, attendance records,rotation reports, commitment and dedication,enthusiasm, attitude and college or trade testmarks.

The final results are as follows:

Best 1st Year Apprentice for 2002 - Adam Drury

Best 2nd Year Apprentice for 2002 - Jairus Angel

Best 3rd Year Apprentice for 2002 - Remy Syed

Best 4th Year Apprentice for 2002 - Glenn Edmonds

Overall Apprentice of the Year - Mathew Wheeler

Encouragement Award for 2002 - Glen Sadler

Encouragement Award for 2002 - Andre Charlesworth

4th Year Achievement Award for 2002 –Shaun Edmonds

The evening was well attended attractingapproximately 120 guests made up of thosenominated for awards, their friends andfamilies.

Dean Dalla Valle, Vice President Ports,commented on the importance of investmentinto the community because it providesskilled young people who can help bolster ourlocal economy.

“I’m also extremely proud that BHP Billitonare helping young men and women in ourcommunity build their futures,” he said.

A special thanks is extended to the followingsponsors for making the night a huge success:

Rexcel, Coventry’s, Blackwoods Hardware,Pilbara TAFE, Department of Training,Apprenticeships Western Australia,O’Donnell Griffin, New ApprenticeshipCentre, Inline Engineering and Downer RML.

The Apprenticeship & Training SupportNetwork sponsored the new Clerical Traineeof the Year Award

New apprentices commencing with BHPBIOwere formally recognised with the signing oftheir indenture papers. These included:

Natasha Arnold

Raimie Ayat

Andre Blagotinsek

Tim Forbes

Ivan Knezovic

Colin McKie

Shaun Montague

Nathan Podmore

Steven Sclater

Kane Stocker

The successful 2003 Engineering Cadet(Mechanical), Darryl Jones was alsocongratulated and welcomed to BHPBIO.

Nelson Point welcomed the following clericaltrainees for 2003:

Evelyn Craig

Stephanie Hyde

David Kitaura

Kristy McMaster

Emma Mollet-Wright

Electrical and mechanical fourth yearapprentices were congratulated for theirefforts and success. These included:

Electrical apprentices:

Damien Barbi

Shaun Edmonds

Jason Browning

Mathew Stanley

Mechanical apprentices:

Mathew Wheeler (Apprentice of the year)

Glenn Edmonds

Robert Bertram

Kai Shanks (Left earlier this year)

Presentations were also made to the followinggraduating clerical trainees for theircommitment over the past 18 months toBHPBIO:

Shaun Cowe

Sally Denton

Amanda Foster

Leila Pattison (Trainee of the year)

Shaydeen Thompson

Home electrical safety in BHPBIO housing will be upgraded in a pilot project whichis currently underway.Over the coming year, 180 properties within Port and South Hedland will have improved electricalcircuitry.

Items to be upgraded include:

• replacement of existing electrical switchboards with a new unit complete with earth leakage

protection (residual current device or RCD)

• installation of smoke detectors and emergency lighting; and

• installation of functional switches for stoves.

Current vacant and rental properties will be first to receive the safety upgrades. They will also beincluded on the list of eligible improvements under the company’s Home Purchase Schemes.

Details of the arrangements will be notified to employees by the Housing Office.

“We are very proud to be leading the way in Australia by retro-fitting RCDs to our employeehousing. We have been retro-fitting RCDs to upgraded properties, but this project is a proactiveadditional step to improve household safety,” said Manager Site Administration Services, TimO’Neill.

RCDs have been mandatory in new houses and when modifications are made to existing housessince 1992. More recently it has included lighting circuits.

Functional switches on stoves are a requirement under AS3000, and provide the ability for thehouseholder to cut power to the stove in the event of an emergency. Hard-wired smoke detectorsare also becoming mandatory in new houses.

DEPARTURES

PORT HEDLAND (Boodarie)Rory MacKinlay, Maintenance Technician.Garry Baker, Crew Leader Gold. Jeffrey Tite,Turnaround Coordinator. Kerrie Waldron,Human Resources Administrator.

PORT HEDLAND (BHPB Iron Ore)Edward Roberts, Rail Transport Coordinator.Jeffrey Powell, Mineworker. Abbas Maswari,Electrical Tradesperson. Luciano Pecoraro,Stephen Clark, Engineering Technicians. GaryAhrens, Resource Coordinator. Andrea Healey,Supply Officer.

NEWMANDavid Cartwright, Engineering Tradesperson.Carolyn Jensen, Peter Jensen, ProductionTechnicians. Boris Jovanovich, ProcessTechnician.

NEW STARTERS

PORT HEDLAND (Boodarie)Randall Findlay, Conveyor Technician. MarkBushell, Emergency Services Team Leader.Samantha Thompson, Joseph Stadler, FinancialAnalysts. Bryan Hughes, HSE Advisor. CraigIbbs, Heath Parish, Maintenance Technicians.Segundo Delgado, Senior Operations Engineer.Akhilesh Khare, Shutdown Planning TeamLeader.

PORT HEDLAND (BHPB Iron Ore)Shayne Pettersen, Wayne Mascord, ProductionControllers. Gemma Rapson, Public AffairsOfficer. Lindsay Tynan, Track Technician.

NEWMANTara Jones, Administration Assistant. DavidGerrard, Mine Geologist. Michael Hawkins,Natasha Rutherford, Timothy Bell, ScottAdshead, Catherine O’Brien, Ernie Hodder,David Parke, Mark Reynolds, Timothy Hudson,Mark Draper, Production Technicians.

PERTHDavid Reid, Resource Geologist.

TRANSFERS OUTDavid Daines, Mine Study Coordinator(Newman to Perth). Matthew Carson, SeniorPlanning Geologist (Yarrie to Perth).Christopher Newman, Program Manager(Newman to Perth). David Tibbles,Communications and Monitoring Engineer(Boodarie to NSW Dendrobium).

TRANSFERS INChristopher Allen, Business Analyst(Melbourne to Perth).

Training awards build futures Safety pilot program for Hedland housing

Geoff Stocker watches while son Kane Stocker signs his 1st year ApprenticeIndenture papers in the presence of Dean Dalla Valle, Vice President Ports.

Mathew Wheeler (left), recipient of the BHPBIO 2003 Apprentice of the Yearaward with presenter Clint Watson of Coventry’s.

Photographed in the operators seat of the simulator is Senior Production Technician –Lloyd Shay, watched by Supervisor Operations Training - Geoff Green and GraemeRutherford from Immersive Technologies.

Personnel on the move -July

Training method stimulates interestInterested employees from Mt Whaleback and the Satellite Orebodies wererecently invited to try their hand at operating an earth moving truck simulatorwith Immersive Technologies.The machine was en route to an expo in Darwin, and the owners agreed to stop off at the mine togive our operators and supervision the chance to experience the sophisticated technology.

The Australian owned and manufactured simulator is designed to safely train haul truck operatorsin a workplace environment, without wear and tear on machinery, and avoids having to take anexpensive machine out of production.

BHP Billiton Coal operations share a simulator at their operations at South Walker Creek withBHP Mitsubishi Alliance mines in Queensland. Ekati Diamond Mine in Canada and Escondidacopper mine in Chile also use them to effectively train operators.

IRON CHRONICLE PAGE 7GENERAL NEWS

Onsite learning for St Cecilias

5 Year celebratory dinner at Boodarie

Barry Allen

Wayne Archer

Steve Attkins

Garry Baker

David Bercene

Benita Breslin

Graham Burton

Adrian Button

Kaye Cagney

John Cheape

Mark Cleaver

Colin Connelly

Allyn Cooper

Andrew Cox

Chris Dul

Tony Elliott

Christopher Englebrecht

Marcus Etto

Noelito Fabio

Bryan Goldsbury

Danni - Lee Grace

Bruce Grange

Paul Hannan

Chris Hart

Paul Hinton

Stephen Hubbard

James Keijzer

Simon Kingdon

Dougal Lamph

Peter Long

Jim McNish

Shoena Messner

Glen Oliver

Mark Ontronen

Mark Palladino

Stephen Prior

Jamie Procter

Peter Razbocan

Sunil Rodrigues

David Ross

Brian Scott

Walter Stocco

Walter Tugby

Gavin Watts

Keith Wenban

Richard Whittaker

Stewart Wilson

Boodarie Iron recently recognised their employees who had reached 5 years of continuous employment at the plant whichdominates the Port Hedland landscape. Forty seven employees plus partners were invited to celebrate this milestone at a celebratory dinner at the Mecure Inn Port Hedland.

We would like to acknowledge the following employees on their tireless efforts over the last 5 years of continuous service at Boodarie Iron.

The park, located on Mindarra Drive, Newman, is under construction at presentand is expected to be completed before the end of the year. Fundraising for theproject has been a joint effort between the Newman community, the Shire(which will maintain the area) and BHP Billiton Iron Ore.

BHPBIO funds Skatepark

Vice President Mining James Shaw recently presented a cheque for $20,000 towardsthe construction of a new Skate Park to Skatepark Committee Chairperson andManager Recreation & Sport Danielle Cooper (centre) and Committee Member JacquiStutt.

1978 was a good yearCelebrating his 25th anniversary in Redmont Accommodation Village thismonth was Track Foreman, Joe Marevich. Josip (Joe) Marevich joined the company in 1978 as a mineworker in the Hedland TrackMaintenance gang. He then became a motor vehicle driver until 1979 when he waspromoted to Thermit Foreman.

During 1983 Joe wasappointed Foreman of Thermit4 (welding gang) at Newman.After 11 years in the positionhe was promoted to TrackForeman – Newman beforebeing transferred to TrackForeman – Redmont in 1997where he remains until now.

Whilst in Redmont for ameeting with IO VicePresident, Graeme Huntcelebrated the anniversarywith Joe and his workmates.

Joe thanked BHPBIO for thejob opportunity and declaredthat it was more rewardingthan driving trucks aroundPerth.

Congratulations Joe on reaching this milestone. Joe Marevich receives his watch and certificate from

Graeme Hunt.

During the presentations, the audience were captivated.

Al makes 30 years on the job

Manager Port Operations, Paul Donaldson congratulates Al Jessop.

Senior Production Technician, Al Jessop recently celebrated 30 years of servicein Port Headland with friends and colleagues of past and present. Al enjoyed reminiscing over morning tea about the early days with the company. He proudlyhighlighted his time in A-Shift Operations and their achievement of 22 consecutive years with nolost time injuries.

“The only reason this record was achieved was because of the team work – guys workingtogether for a common goal,” he said.

He went on to say that he’d enjoyed working for BHPBIO.

“One thing I can say about Port Hedland is that it’s a great community with great people.”

Al was congratulated by Manager Port Operations, Paul Donaldson.

“Al is viewed as a true gentleman who has a strong commitment to both work and thecommunity,” he said.

“Thirty years is truly a remarkable achievement and we look forward to Al’s contribution in thefuture.”

Al’s commitment to the Port Hedland community is evident by his role as President to the localRSL.

Earlier this term, St Cecilia’s Middle School students asked Nelson Point employeesto assist them with their Term 2 focus on “Our Community”.The students were asked to study BHP Billiton Iron Ore to determine how it fits in to the PortHedland community. It was an opportunity for the students to get a sense of how the companyoperates and gave them an insight to possible career options.

They applied the knowledge they gained from the company across all of their subjects includingSocial Economics, Environment, Maths and Science.

The project commenced on 5 May with a site tour of Nelson Point and welcomes from BHPBIOstaff. During the project, employees were asked to assist by providing information in talks to classesand by participating in group discussions.

At the conclusion of the five week project, the students presented their findings to their teachers,parents and BHPBIO.

According to staff from BHPBIO the presentations were highly professional and the students werecommended for the effort and research that they put into their assignments.

Year 9 student Shakira Shaik who was involved in the project said she had fun learning about thedifferent roles at BHPBIO.

“I learnt about what the Occupational Health & Safety Officers do and what rules employees haveto follow. The project was much more interesting than working from text books because it wassomething relating to our community and us,” she said.

Teacher Terri Van Zetten said the project was a great success.

“It was the first time the students and teachers had undertaken such a large integrated project.

“It was amazing to see students who wouldn’t read a sentence out loud in class two months ago,present a well polished presentation to a room full of peers, employees, teachers and parents. Weare lucky to have a company in our community so supportive of the education of our children.”

IRON CHRONICLEPAGE 8 GENERAL NEWS

The 33rd annual Black Rock Stakes ranrecently with BHPBIO team 10Megahurts once again featuring asstrong contenders.With the 5:36:14 overall record under their beltsince 2001, 10 Megahurts unfortunately fellshort of breaking their record this year comingin at 5:48:00.

Commencing the race in high spirit at the WhimCreek start line chanting “Eye of a Tiger”, anoverwhelmed 10 Megahurts crossed the WedgeStreet finish line bearing sore limbs, althoughthrilled to finish the race for another year.

Perth based team Oresome Power attempted tosnatch the record on the day, but fell short byjust under two minutes. However, they didmanage to achieve a new mixed team record.

Asked what makes them fill a wheelbarrowwith 11kg of iron ore, and run for six hoursthrough 120km of Australia’s hottest country,here is what 10 Megahurts said;

“Charity, madness and a desire to tryeverything at least once!” said Rachel Curry.

“The race itself is horrible, grueling, tiring

(mentally and physically) but the fundraisingfor the charity, backed by tradition and MrWalsh (founder of Black Rock Stakes) alongwith the sense of achievement and absoluterelief after crossing the finish line make it anunforgettable event,” from Ryan Harrington

And from Trina Yardley; “you may think we areinsane … but the feeling you get when you crossthat finish line is a HUGE sense ofachievement.”

10 Megahurts were the highest fundraisers thisyear handing over a cheque for $5,100. Moniesraised through the event will be distributed tolocal organisations during the coming months.

Congratulations 10 Megahurts for keeping thetradition alive.

BHPBIO continues to sponsor the organisingcommittee and providing support vehicles toteams competing.

Thanks must go to the major sponsors C & FBoilermaking, Hedland Sheetmetal and Auslecand the minor sponsors Blastworks. Geographe,Trevelle Engineering, Excel, Blackwoods, J.K’sAluminium and Astute Promotions.

Twenty-four talented andenthusiastic junior cricketers fromPort Hedland and Newman wereselected for the annual BHP BillitonPilbara Talent Camp in July.During the four day camp the Under 13players benefited from daily skill sessionsand specialist coaching by WACA CricketOfficers Joe Sarsero, Noel Knight andAndrew Dawe.

The camp concluded with a hotly contestedtest match, which also gave the parents theopportunity to attend a Level One coachingcourse.

This is the first time the talent camp hasbeen held in Newman. It has previously beenhosted by the Port Hedland Junior CricketAssociation.

The camp was organised under the guidanceof BHPBIO Junior Cricket Program Co-

ordinator Greg Haines. It is part of theWACA talent identification anddevelopment pathway and provides playersin Newman and Port Hedland theopportunity to aspire to regional and statelevels.

Greg Haines said during the BHP BillitonIron Ore / WACA partnership, the numberof under 13s players had grown markedly inboth towns.

“Recently, NJCA President Grant Withersand I organised two teams that visited PortHedland for inter-town matches. This augurswell for both towns as they develop squadsfor the Pilbara Championships, heldannually in the under 16’s age-group.

“The camp was a great success and theWACA Cricket Officers commended theplayers on their behaviour, attitude and skillslevel shown during the camp,” said Greg.

Pub to port for charity

Sponsors of the 10 Megahurtsteam.

The 10 Megahurts team(from left) RyanHarrington with barrow,driver Terry Burnham,Andrew Shearing, NicolePlint, Rachel Curry,Doug Yardley, ReginaStene, Trina Yardley,Gordon McLeod andMark Bray (absent areCatherine Properzi andPaul Hanley).

Andrew Shearing takesover from Doug Yardleycheered on by 10Megahurts (from left)Jason Brooks, ReginaStene, Gordon McLeodand Paul Hanley.

Under blustery conditions at thetown oval, the South HedlandWarriors came up against the PortHedland Bulls to decide who wouldbe the 2003 BHP Billiton Iron OreJunior Cricket season premiers.The Warriors won the toss and elected tobat, but the Bulls struck early to take threequick wickets, before a match winningpartnership between Jamie Rasmussen(24no) and Mitchell Williams (44no)steadied the innings.

Further contributions from Aaron Neech(33no) and Drennan Goodall who made 21

pushed the total to an imposing 186.Waisea Emmitt was the pick of the Bulls’bowlers and claimed 2/8 from his twoovers.

In reply the Bulls batted without everthreatening the target, eventually reaching105 off their allotted 24 overs. BryceLiddle batted well to make 20 and MarkLynch, Alan Cowen and Will Thomas allmade 14. Mitch Williams capped off a manof the match performance to claim 2/3 andWarriors captain for the day MichaelRasmussen bowled a wicket maiden tohelp his team to victory.

Back row L-R -BeaudeeHarris, JamieRasmussen, AaronNeech, Mitchell Williams,Kim Rasmussen ( COACH ) Jake Saville,Jake Barrett, NathanMiller. Front row L-R -Jason Gaugg, BradleyPodmore, MichaelRasmussen, DrennanGoodall, Felix McKenzie-Rae, Heath Johncock.

Warriors win BHPBIO cricket premiership

BHP Billiton Iron Ore Junior Cricket Program Co-ordinator Greg Haines, (third left)with WACA Cricket Officers Joe Sarsero, (left) Noel Knight and Andrew Dawe, thetalented junior cricketers from Port Hedland and Newman and parents from PortHedland John Gibbons and Peter Harris (at rear).

Cricket camp prepares for Pilbara game

Newman Under 15’s team at theNorthwest Championships in Newmanrecently. Back row (from left) RachaelHoupapa, Jenni Cumbers, TarianReuben, Skye Reuben. Meray Baramily.(Front row): Katherine Evans, ReginaNelson, Amy Downes, Sophie Tomalin.

Newman hosts Northwest NetballThe annual Northwest RegionalNetball championship was hostedrecently in Newman, with 392participants from 28 teams. Results for the Newman Teams were –

Newman Under 13s - runner up.

Newman Under 15s - third.

Newman B - third.

Newman Masters - Runner up.

Newman A – third.

Newman Netball Association PresidentTamara Dearlove said the championshipweekend went very well, despite the rainon Sunday during the finals.

“This year more individuals were selectedfor talent identification opportunities thanin previous years, and this is partly due tothe expanded partnership between BHPBilliton Iron Ore and WA Netball, and alsoto the efforts of the local coaches andplayers.

“I was very pleased with the achievementsof all the Newman teams and would like tothank all of those who were involved in

organising the weekend, including all ofour sponsors, particularly the Ministry ofSport and Recreation, Healthways and BHPBilliton Iron Ore for their support,” saidTamara.

Doctor crosses the lineCompany Doctor Martyn Flahive andhis wife Sandra ran in the grueling 89kilometre Comrades Marathon in SouthAfrica recently.The race began in 1921 and was organised byVic Clapham, a returned soldier who establishedthe event as a living memory to those who hadfallen in the Great War.

The direction of the race alternates each year,creating the ‘up’ and ‘down’ runs, each withtheir own set of challenges, not the least beingthat the runners need to finish inside 12 hours orthey will be recorded as not finishing.

This year’s race attracted about 12,500 starters,with around 11,400 finishing the run inside thespecified cut-off time of 12 hours. Martyn andSandra crossed the line together in just eight

hours and 53 minutes.

Martyn is a strong advocate for running as aform of exercise, however, he acknowledges it isnot necessary to train as hard as he and Sandrado to gain an improvement in general health.

“Recent studies have shown running promotes alonger and healthier life. It has a positive effecton general physical health, lowering bloodpressure and reducing the incidence of heartdisease and obesity. Walking is also known tohave good results, however the more vigorousthe exercise, the better.

“A good target to meet is 45 minutes to an houra day of exercise, five days a week. Running isgood, however you must have healthy joints soit’s a good idea to be checked by a doctor beforeyou start an exercise program.

Company Doctor Martyn Flahive and wife Sandra cross the finish line of the 2003Comrades Marathon in Durban, South Africa in a time of eight hours and 53 minutes. Therace follows a hilly 89 kilomEtres course from Pietermaritzburg to Durban and runners needto complete the race inside the cut-off time of 12 hours or their efforts are unrecognised.