BHP Billiton has written to Caroona Coal Project stakeholders advising them that:

• BHP Billiton will delay the lodgment of a mine proposal so the findings of the independent Namoi Catchment Water Study can be

incorporated;

• BHP Billiton will provide funding to the Ministerial Oversight Committee chaired by Mal Peters to enable the Namoi Catchment Water Study to proceed;

• BHP Billiton’s Exploration Licence conditions have been changed so the floodplain within EL 6505 is now protected from long wall and open cut mining; and

• Any land outside the defined targeted area as set out in the August 2008 Interim Report to Shareholders is a “no go zone” for mining of any description.

Caroona Coal Action Group spokesman Tim Duddy said the announcement BHP was committed to waiting on the results of the water study was very welcome.

The CAG took “real comfort” from statements from the Minister about the lack of intent to mine under the floodplains.

“This is ... not statutorily binding and the Caroona community will only be happy when mining has been removed from the land titles as a land use for the floodplain,” Mr Duddy said.

“At the recent ... hearings in Canberra, BHP made it clear ... they do not necessarily agree with the department definitions of floodplain and the argument, once again, will come back to definitions of certain

practices.”

Mr Duddy said the Caroona Coal Action Group was concerned that BHP said it was interested in

building tunnels under the

floodplain.

“If these tunnels are built in a coal seam and they are removing that coal, is this not a mine?” he asked.

“As long as they are not going to mine, tunnel or dig under the floodplain in any way and can prove they are not going to damage any water supplies in the Liverpool Plains, we’ll happily accept whatever

develops.

“They haven’t been good to their word to date, so why should we trust them now?”