BHP Billiton announced that it received a section 45 notice from the "State Mining Engineer" requiring us to commission an independent engineering assessment of the underground operations at Leinster's Perseverance Mine. We will work with the relevant authorities to demonstrate that the underground operations at Leinster's Perseverance Mine are safe.

Mr Wayne Isaacs president and COO of BHP Billiton Nickel West inspected the underground operations today with the Government Mine Inspector to assess the impact of the seismic event that occurred on Monday evening. Wayne is confident that we can demonstrate that the underground operations at the Perseverance Mine are safe.