Sth African Aluminium Smelter

BHP Billiton Limited
17 September 2001





Release Time       Immediate

Date               17 September 2001

Number             14/01





    BHP Billiton Limited is issuing this announcement to fulfil disclosure
 obligations arising from its secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange.

  The text of  this release is identical to that issued by BHP Billiton Plc
                                   earlier.



          BHP BILLITON ADVISES MINIMAL IMPACT FROM POWER DISRUPTION

                     AT SOUTH AFRICAN ALUMINIUM SMELTERS



BHP Billiton advises that power was disrupted for a short period to its
Bayside and Hillside aluminium smelters owing to unprecedented snowfalls in
the northern KwaZulu Natal region in South Africa on Friday 14 September 2001.



Bayside operations returned to normal soon after the interruption. However the
process of restoring production at Hillside led to the closure of some pots
and about 20,000 tonnes of production may be lost as a result.  Hillside's
annual production capacity is 500,000 tonnes.



                                     ****

Further news and information can be found on our Internet site:
www.bhpbilliton.com




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Relations
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