BHP Press Release

["Chris Stratton" <stratton.chris.cp@bhp.com.au>]

BHP has just issued the following Press Release.

Date 16 June 2000

Number 58/00

BHP AND MONASH ANNOUNCE RAILWAY & MAINTENANCE

TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTES

The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP) and Monash University
(Monash) today announced the formation of two world-class research and
development facilities.

The BHP-Monash Maintenance Technology Institute and the BHP Institute of
Railway Technology have been established to assist BHP and the broader
industry to improve plant reliability, safety, and undertake railway
research and technology development activities.

The institutes will be located at Monash's Caulfield and Clayton campuses
and will be staffed primarily by former BHP Research employees, supplemented
by university personnel.

BHP Managing Director and CEO Paul Anderson said the new facilities were
designed to address the current and future needs of Australian industry at a
time of great change.

"The partnership with Monash University and the formation of the two
institutes represents a collaborative approach to R&D and recognises growth
opportunities in Australia and overseas that go beyond those being pursued
by BHP," Mr Anderson said.

"The new entities will combine the technical resources of BHP and Monash to
provide a world-class facility servicing the railway, mining and heavy
manufacturing industries."

"These commercial R&D activities will deliver value to BHP and the broader
industries involved and represent a win-win outcome which will strengthen
the relationship between industry and academia."

Both the BHP Institute of Railway Technology and the BHP-Monash Maintenance
Technology Institute will be operated by the University's Department of
Mechanical Engineering and will be based on technologies developed by BHP
over the past two decades.

The new institutes will provide a portfolio of services to their respective
industries including:

Contract and pre-competitive R&D to companies, State authorities and
industry participants;

Education services in the form of short and post-graduate courses and
seminars;

Consultancy services across the industry - similar to those currently
provided by the university.


Head of the Mechanical Engineering Department Prof Rhys Jones said prior to
the formation of the institutes, industry had been supported by internal
efforts, the CSIRO and interested universities.

"The positioning of the institutes within Monash has provided greater
opportunities for the entire railway industry to utilise the institutes'
internationally renowned services as well as draw upon expertise from other
related disciplines within the university," Prof Jones said.

"Similarly, capital-intensive industries which are reliant on maintenance
systems and technologies to capture greater efficiencies from their
investments will also benefit from the institutes at Monash."

BHP will support the establishment of the institutes by contracting R&D
services for its major divisions (Minerals, Steel and Petroleum) through
2000/2001. The Company will also donate some of its current research assets
to support ongoing activities.

This funding will be supplemented by other non-BHP research contracts,
consultancy income and research and educational grants.

Monash will support the institutes through the provision of dedicated space
and administrative support.



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--
Regards,
Chris Stratton
Wollongong, NSW, Australia