News Releases

Xstrata Copper news release: Xstrata launches Eliza the Robot at Mount Isa Hospital

Mount Isa, Monday 9 October 2006

Xstrata today launched an innovative new telepaediatric service at Mount Isa Hospital – Eliza the Robot – that will save many Mount Isa families the inconvenience and costs of extensive travel away from home.

Through the Xstrata Community Partnership Program Queensland, Xstrata is providing $335,000 over three years to the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation to support the University of Queensland Centre for Online Health’s development of telepaediatric robots for regional Queensland hospitals, including Mount Isa’s Eliza.

Officially launching the new service at Mount Isa Hospital, Mr Barry Grant, Xstrata’s Chief Operating Officer, North Queensland Copper Division, said the telepaediatric service was an initiative that will greatly improve regional families’ access to specialist care.

“This is a wonderful service which Xstrata is proud to support. Eliza the Robot will provide support to clinicians, families and their children in Mount Isa and the broader region,” Mr. Grant said.

“Specialist referrals often require considerable travel to the nearest major hospital, which for Mount Isa children would be either Townsville or Brisbane. One of the benefits of this new service is that many sick children will be spared the need to travel the long distance to another hospital as Eliza will be wheeled to their bedside to enable direct video-conference consultations with specialist staff thousands of kilometres away at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.

“Xstrata’s partnership with the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation means four robots will be developed and installed in regional hospitals throughout Queensland this year and in 2007, ultimately benefiting thousands of children and families throughout the State.

“Xstrata is committed to supporting the communities in which we operate, and I believe this new service will make a long-lasting and positive contribution to regional Queensland,” he said.

Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation CEO, Ms Karenlee Spillane said Xstrata’s commitment to funding telepaediatric services will allow the Centre for Online Health to expand on the success of its first robot, and to provide cost-effective specialist care for children in regional Queensland.

“Eliza is based on a prototype known as Roy the Robot, a unit installed and tested in Gladstone in 2004 which has since demonstrated great success in allowing children access to specialist health care across great distances while minimising disruption and costs for patients and their families.”

The initiative is part of the $2.48 million Xstrata Community Partnership Program in Queensland, which supports a range of State-wide initiatives in the areas of health, social and community development and education. Xstrata’s partners in the program, launched earlier this year, are the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation, the Leukaemia Foundation, Centacare, The University of Queensland and The Wesley Research Institute. More details about the program, and the Xstrata Community Partnership Program North Queensland, are located at http://www.xstrata.com/sustainability/social/corporate

Xstrata, The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation and the University of Queensland’s Centre for Online Health gratefully acknowledge the support of Qantas, who generously covered the costs of flights from Brisbane to Mount Isa for the project team for today’s launch.

ends

Notes to editors:

Xstrata
Xstrata is a major global diversified mining group, listed on the London and Swiss stock exchanges. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Xstrata maintains a meaningful position in seven major international commodity markets: copper, coking coal, thermal coal, ferrochrome, nickel, vanadium and zinc, with a smaller but profitable aluminium business, recycling facilities, additional exposures to gold, lead and silver and a suite of global technologies, many of which are industry leaders. The Group's operations and projects span 18 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Jamaica, New Caledonia, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Peru, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, the USA and the UK.

Eliza the Robot
Eliza is the latest member of a family of state-of-the-art mobile and wireless telemedicine systems helping to provide specialist care for children in regional areas of Queensland. Eliza is designed to be child-friendly built in the shape of a robot and is wheeled directly to the bedside of sick children in Mount Isa Hospital for a video-link with specialists in Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. Eliza is part of a major research project run by the University of Queensland’s Centre for Online Health (COH).

Xstrata contacts
Kirrily Kuc (Brisbane)
Telephone +61 7 3295 7519
Mobile +61 434 600 245
Email kkuc@xstrata.com.au

Melissa Trim (Mount Isa)
Telephone 07 4744 2965
Mobile 0428 109 162
Email mtrim@xstratacopper.com.au