BHP BILLITON PLC - Citigroup Mining Exploration Day Presentation

Citigroup Mining Exploration Day Presentation

BHP Billiton Plc
Registration number 3196209
Registered in England and Wales
Share code: BIL
ISIN: GB0000566504

Issued by:                    BHP Billiton Plc


Date:                         27 June 2016


To:                           London Stock Exchange
                              JSE Limited


For Release:                  Immediately


Contact:                      Helen Ratsey +44 (0) 20 7802 7540



                BHP Billiton Plc – Citigroup Mining Exploration Day Presentation



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 The following document has today been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism
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                   -   Citigroup Mining Exploration Day Presentation

 The document may also be accessed via BHP Billiton’s website - www.bhpbilliton.com

 BHP Billiton Plc Registration number 3196209
 Registered in England and Wales
 Registered Office: Neathouse Place London SW1V 1LH United Kingdom

 A member of the BHP Billiton Group which is headquartered in Australia



 Sponsor: UBS South Africa (Pty) Limited


NEWS RELEASE

Release Time      IMMEDIATE
Date              27 June 2016
Release Number    15/16




BHP BILLITON DETAILS VALUE-FOCUSED APPROACH TO
EXPLORATION


BHP Billiton today outlined its value-focused approach to exploration which will
see the Company target opportunities across copper and oil to enhance its
long-life, tier 1 portfolio.

Speaking at Citigroup’s Mining Exploration Day in Sydney, BHP Billiton Head of
Geoscience, Laura Tyler, said the Company is focusing its exploration
approach through targeted analysis and the establishment of a Geoscience
Centre of Excellence.

Ms Tyler said exploration is seen as a key source of value creation for BHP
Billiton.

“We are investing at a time when most in our sector continue to reduce
discretionary spend,” she said.

“Next financial year, we intend to invest approximately US$900 million dollars
in exploration, which represents 18 per cent of our overall capital budget.

“We are also challenging existing paradigms with a scientific based and
disciplined approach to exploration. We have reduced exploration operating
costs by 70 per cent since 2013, and this year we have increased the targets
tested by 44 per cent.”

BHP Billiton’s Petroleum exploration program is focused on three conventional
deepwater basins in:

   -   the Gulf of Mexico,
   -   the Caribbean (in Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados), and
   -   the Northern Beagle sub-basin off the coast of Western Australia.

“Over the last four years we have developed a new approach to Petroleum
exploration that is much more focused,” Ms Tyler said.

“We have commenced drilling in Trinidad and Tobago and have secured an
additional rig which will soon commence drilling in a prospective block north of
our Shenzi operations in the Gulf of Mexico.”

BHP Billiton’s Copper exploration program is targeting tier 1 greenfield mineral
deposits, with a particular focus on:

    -   copper porphyry and skarn deposits in Chile, Peru and the south west of
        the United States,
    -   sedimentary hosted copper deposits in the north of Canada, and
    -   Iron Oxide Copper Gold deposits in South Australia’s Stuart Shelf,
        adjacent to Olympic Dam.

“We execute our Copper exploration both directly and through investment in
joint venture opportunities and we continue to seek partnerships with junior
explorers,” Ms Tyler said.

The Company’s regionally based exploration teams are supported by a globally
integrated geoscience team to facilitate a faster adoption of best practice and
new technology.

“Internal collaboration is very important and we are leveraging our Petroleum
business geoscience to identify prospective sediment hosted copper deposit
basins,” Ms Tyler said.

“Similarly, we are adopting technology from Petroleum and applying directional
drilling techniques to copper exploration.”


Further information on BHP Billiton can be found at: bhpbilliton.com


Media Relations                                Investor Relations


Australia and Asia                             Australia and Asia


Eleanor Colonico                               Tara Dines
Tel: +61 3 9609 2360 Mobile +61 407 064 748    Tel: +61 3 9609 2222 Mobile: +61 499 249 005
Email: Eleanor.Colonico@bhpbilliton.com        Email: Tara.Dines@bhpbilliton.com


Paul Hitchins                                  Andrew Gunn
Tel: +61 3 9609 2592 Mobile +61 419 315 001    Tel: +61 3 9609 3575 Mobile: +61 402 087 354
Email: Paul.Hitchins@bhpbilliton.com           Email: Andrew.Gunn@bhpbilliton.com


Amanda Saunders                                United Kingdom and South Africa
Tel: +61 3 9609 3935 Mobile +61 417 487 973
Email: Amanda.Saunders@bhpbilliton.com         Rob Clifford
                                               Tel: +44 20 7802 4131 Mobile: +44 7788 308 844
Fiona Hadley                                   Email: Rob.Clifford@bhpbilliton.com
Tel: +61 3 9609 2211 Mobile +61 427 777 908
Email: Fiona.Hadley@bhpbilliton.com            Americas


United Kingdom and South Africa                James Wear
                                               Tel: +1 212 310 1421 Mobile: +1 347 882 3011
Ruban Yogarajah                                Email: James.Wear@bhpbilliton.com
Tel: +44 207 802 4033 Mobile +44 7827 082 022
Email: Ruban.Yogarajah@bhpbilliton.com         Joseph Suarez
                                               Tel: +1 212 310 1422 Mobile: +1 646 400 3803
Jennifer White                                 Email: Joseph.Suarez@bhpbilliton.com
Tel : +44 207 802 7462 Mobile +44 7827 253 764
Email: Jennifer.White@bhpbilliton.com


North America


Jaryl Strong
Tel: +1 713 499 5548 Mobile: +1 281 222 6627
Email: Jaryl.Strong@bhpbilliton.com




BHP Billiton Limited ABN 49 004 028 077           BHP Billiton Plc Registration number 3196209
Registered in Australia                           Registered in England and Wales
Registered Office: Level 18, 171 Collins Street   Registered Office: Neathouse Place
Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia                 London SW1V 1LH United Kingdom
Tel +61 1300 55 4757 Fax +61 3 9609 3015          Tel +44 20 7802 4000 Fax +44 20 7802 4111


Members of the BHP Billiton Group which is
headquartered in Australia

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