BHP Group Limited — Capital/Financing Update 2008

Mar 10, 2008

ASX & TSX: WSA

March 11, 2008

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News Release

HIGH GRADE NICKEL DISCOVERY AT MT ALEXANDER JOINT VENTURE AND UPDATES ON THREE OTHER NICKEL PROJECTS

The Board of Western Areas is pleased to announce exciting results from a number of nickel projects in Western Australia. The results provide support for the interpretation that the central part of the Yilgarn Craton is a previously unrecognised and significant nickel province extending 500km from north to south. Western Areas has interests in seven nickel projects (including Forrestania) and is the most active nickel explorer in this province.

Mt Alexander Joint Venture

BHP Billiton Ltd has provided Western Areas with preliminary results from what appears to be a high grade nickel/copper discovery at the Mt Alexander Joint Venture, 350km north of Forrestania. BHP Billiton is the operator of the joint venture and Western Areas holds a 25% free carried interest in the project to a decision to mine.

BHP Billiton recently drilled two diamond drill holes spaced 90 metres apart at the Cathedrals Prospect at Mt Alexander. BHP has advised Western Areas that both drill holes intersected significant widths of massive, matrix and disseminated sulphides at shallow depth. The holes were designed to test coincident EM and magnetic anomalies associated with nickel/PGE gossans in an area of granite north of the Mt Alexander greenstone belt. The nickel/PGE gossans reportedly occur along a 1km long zone (Figure 1).

Two representative chip samples of massive sulphide in the drill core have been analysed by BHP Billiton and have returned the following results:

Drill hole MAD 012 5.95% nickel and 2.2% copper (approx 94m depth) Drill hole MAD 013 7.49% nickel and 2.8% copper (approx 58m depth)

Formal assay results from systematic sampling of the drill core are required to confirm the widths and grades of the nickel/copper intersections in drill holes MAD 012 and 013. The drill core is also being analysed for PGEs due to the occurrence of highly anomalous PGEs in the surface gossans. Western Areas will release formal assay results with additional details of the intersections at the Cathedral Prospect as soon as they are received from BHP Billiton.

Discussion

The style of mineralisation seen in the BHP Billiton drill core is interpreted to be remobilised massive nickel/copper sulphides occurring near the base of a 50m wide ultramafic sequence within a large, possibly flat lying granite intrusion. Importantly, the style and tenor of the mineralisation at Cathedrals already show a number of similarities to the mineralisation at Western Areas’ 100% owned Flying Fox mine at Forrestania, 350km to the south.

The results suggest this style of granite hosted mineralisation is not confined to Forrestania and may occur elsewhere within the 500km long ‘Central Yilgarn’ nickel province (Figure 2).

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Figure 1: Magnetic Images of the Cathedrals Prospect (showing location of drill holes) and Mt Alexander area.

Lake King Joint Venture

Western Areas recently completed a follow up geophysical survey (IP) at the Nickel Hill Prospect at Lake King, 60 km south of Forrestania. The survey was successful in extending a previously identified IP anomaly at least 200m southeast from drill hole LKRC006 which intersected 15m @ 0.36% nickel including 1m @ 0.78% nickel from 180m downhole depth.

The intersection in LKRC006 (announced previously) is significant as it is the first recorded intersection of nickel sulphides in the Lake King greenstone belt. Lake King is effectively unexplored for nickel. A drilling program is planned to test the source of the IP anomaly and the potential for economic nickel mineralisation south of LKRC006.

Western Areas is earning a 70% joint venture interest at Lake King from unlisted company, Swanoak Holdings.

Sandstone Joint Venture

Western Areas is conducting a geochemical survey covering a large area of the Sandstone Nickel Project, 400km north of Forrestania. A portable XRF analyser (Niton) is being used to analyse selected samples for nickel, copper and related elements from hundreds of existing drill holes. Kennecott Exploration Incorporated conducted limited exploration for nickel between 1969 and 1972 and most drilling at Sandstone during the past 36 years has targeted gold mineralisation.

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Although the geochemical program is at a very early stage, results to date are considered encouraging. Anomalous nickel and copper values have been identified in several areas targeted by Western Areas which were not previously drilled for nickel by Kennecott.

Western Areas is earning a 70% interest in nickel and related minerals at Sandstone in a joint venture with Troy Resources Ltd.

Southern Cross Goldfields Ltd

Western Areas has restructured its interests in the former Bullfinch North joint venture (with Polaris Metals Ltd) and has subscribed to 5 million shares in Southern Cross Goldfields Ltd (SXG). As a result, Western Areas expects to become the second largest shareholder in SXG after Polaris. SXG is due to list on the Australian Stock Exchange on 20[th] March.

SXG is a gold and nickel exploration company whose main asset is a large tenement holding in the central part of the ‘Central Yilgarn’ nickel province. Western Areas also retains a right to claw back a 55% interest in any nickel discovery at Bullfinch North before September 2010.

-ENDS-

For further details, please contact:

Julian Hanna Craig Oliver Managing Director – Western Areas NL Finance Director – Western Areas NL Telephone +61 8 9334 7777 Telephone +61 8 9334 7777 Email: jhanna@westernareas.com.au Email: coliver@westernareas.com.au

Ann Nahajski Investor Relations – Porter Novelli Telephone +61 8 9386 1233 Email: anahajski@wa.porternovelli.com.au Or visit: www.westernareas.com.au

COMPETENT PERSON STATEMENT: The information within this report as it relates to exploration results is based on information compiled by Mr Julian Hanna from information supplied by BHP Billiton Ltd. Mr Hanna is a member of AusIMM and is a full time employee of the Company. Mr Hanna has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.’ Mr Hanna consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENT AND DISCLAIMER: This release contains certain forward-looking statements. Examples of forward looking statements in this release are: ‘the central part of the Yilgarn Craton is a previously unrecognised and significant nickel province’ and ‘what appears to be a high grade nickel/copper discovery at the Mt Alexander Joint Venture’. Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's ability to control or predict which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements.

This announcement includes nickel and copper values provided by BHP Billiton, which are based on Niton analyses of limited samples of drill core. Niton analyses are estimates only and require confirmation by formal assays. In addition, this announcement does not include reference to all available information on the Company or the Forrestania Nickel Project and should not be used in isolation as a basis to invest in Western Areas. Any potential investors should refer to Western Area’s other public releases and statutory reports and consult their professional advisers before considering investing in the Company.

For Purposes of Clause 3.4 (e) in Canadian instrument 43-101, the Company warrants that Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

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Figure 2: Interpreted plan of Central Yilgarn Nickel Province showing Western Areas nickel interests

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