CEO.CA Chairman's Briefing

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - April 01, 2016) - Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a national investor-rights law firm alerts investors in BHP Billiton Limited ("BHP Ltd.") (NYSE: BHP) and BHP Billiton Plc ("BHP Plc") (NYSE: BBL) ADRs of the April 25, 2016 lead plaintiff deadline in a securities fraud class action lawsuit against related to the massive dam burst disaster at the Fundão Dam on November 5, 2015 and alleged misstatements concerning the BHP's commitment to safety.

If you suffered significant losses of greater than $500,000 because of your purchases of BHP ADRs between September 25, 2014 and November 30, 2015, or have information that will help our investigation contact Hagens Berman Partner Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm's investigation by calling 510-725-3000, emailing BHP@hbsslaw.com or visiting https://www.hbsslaw.com/cases/BHP. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and investors have until April 25, 2016 to move the court to participate as a lead plaintiff.

Fundão Dam was built to accommodate the waste that results from extracting iron ore from the mines in the region. The dam was operated by Samarco Mineração SA, a joint venture between Vale and BHP Billiton Ltd. The November 5, 2015 catastrophic rupture released a large volume of toxic sludge and mud into Brazil's Santarém river valley and Bento Rodrigues valley. On November 27, 2015, Brazilian Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira told reporters that Brazil's federal and state governments plan to sue BHP Billiton in response to the Fundão Dam disaster.

The class action complaint alleges BHP and certain of its directors and officers knew or recklessly disregarded warnings about Fundão Dam's ability to handle increased mining waste associated with BHP's expanded mining activities, yet made false and misleading statements about BHP's commitment to safety, its implementation of safety and monitoring protocols at mine sites, and its compliance with applicable laws and regulations. When the true details entered the market, BHP ADRs stock plummeted as much as 26%.

Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding BHP should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new SEC whistleblower program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at (510) 725-3000 or email BHP@hbsslaw.com.

About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is headquartered in Seattle, Washington with offices in 10 cities. The Firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the Firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Read the Firm's Securities Newsletter, and visit the blog. For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw.