BHP Group Limited — Major Shareholding Notification 2012

Aug 28, 2012

Issued by: BHP Billiton Plc Date: 28 August 2012 To: London Stock Exchange Australian Securities Exchange cc: JSE Limited New York Stock Exchange For Release: Immediately Contact: Elizabeth Hobley +44 (0) 20 7802 4054

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BHP Billiton Plc – Notification of Major Interest in Shares

The following notification was received on 24 August 2012, by BHP Billiton Plc from Norges Bank relating to major interests in shares of BHP Billiton Plc.

BHP Billiton Limited ABN 49 004 028 077 BHP Billiton Plc Registration number 3196209 Registered in Australia Registered in England and Wales Registered Office: 180 Lonsdale Street Registered Office: Neathouse Place Melbourne Victoria 3000 Australia London SW1V 1BH 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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TR-1: NOTIFICATION OF MAJOR INTEREST IN SHARES[i]

1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer	1. Identity of the issuer or the underlying issuer
of existing shares to which voting rights are**attached:**ii			BHP Billiton PlcGB0000566504
2 Reason for the notification(please tick the	appropriate box or		boxes):
An acquisition or disposal of voting rights				X
An acquisition or disposal of qualifying financial instruments which			may result in the
acquisitionofshares alreadyissued towhich votingrights are attached
An acquisition or disposal of instruments with similar economic effect to qualifying
financial instruments
An event changing the breakdown of voting rights
Other (please
specify):
3. Full name of person(s) subject to the**notification obligation:**iii	Norges Bank
4. Full name of shareholder(s) (if different from 3.):iv	N/A
5. Date of the transaction and date on
which the threshold is crossed or	22ndAugust 2012
reached: v
6. Date on which issuer notified:	24thAugust 2012
7. Threshold(s) that is/are crossed or**reached:**vi, vii	3%

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8. Notified details:

A: Voting rights attached to shares

8. Notified details:	8. Notified details:	8. Notified details:	8. Notified details:	8. Notified details:	8. Notified details:	8. Notified details:	8. Notified details:
A: Voting rights attached to shares viii, ix
Class/type ofsharesif possible usingthe ISIN CODE	Situation previousto the triggering**transaction **		Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
	NumberofShares	NumberofVotingRights	Numberof shares	Number of votingrights		% of voting rightsx
			Direct	Directxi	Indirectxii	Direct	Indirect
GB0000566504	63,516,359	63,516,359	63,247,753	63,247,753		2.99%

B: Qualifying Financial Instruments

Resulting situation after the triggering transaction

B: Qualifying Financial Instruments	B: Qualifying Financial Instruments	B: Qualifying Financial Instruments	B: Qualifying Financial Instruments	B: Qualifying Financial Instruments
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Type of financialinstrument	Expirationdatexiii	Exercise/Conversion Periodxiv	Number of votingrights that may beacquired if theinstrument is**exercised/ converted. **	% of votingrights
N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instruments xv, xvi

Resulting situation after the triggering transaction

C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instrumentsxv, xvi	C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instrumentsxv, xvi	C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instrumentsxv, xvi	C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instrumentsxv, xvi	C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instrumentsxv, xvi	C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instrumentsxv, xvi	C: Financial Instruments with similar economic effect to Qualifying Financial Instrumentsxv, xvi
Resulting situation after the triggering transaction
Type of financialinstrument	Exerciseprice	Expirationdatexvii	Exercise/Conversion**period **xviii	Number of voting rightsinstrument refers to	% of voting rightsxix,xx
CFD	N/A	N/A	N/A	3,000	Nominal	Delta
					0.0001%	0.0001%

Total (A+B+C)

Total (A+B+C)	Total (A+B+C)
Number of voting rights	Percentage of voting rights
63,247,753	2.99%

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9. Chain of controlled undertakings through which the voting rights and/or the financial instruments are effectively held, if applicable:[xxi]

N/A

Proxy Voting:
10. Name of the proxy holder:			Norges Bank
11. Number of voting rights proxy holder willto hold:	cease		N/A
12. Date on which proxy holder will cease to holdvoting rights:			N/A
13. Additional information:	None
14. Contact name:	Jonas Lexmark
15. Contact telephone number:	+47 2407 3134

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