Will BHP Billiton Sell Nickel Assets?

The Motley Fool reported that speculation is rife that BHP Billiton Ltd. (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BLT) plans to sell its largest nickel assets in a bid to reduce costs and focus on its core operations.

As quoted in the market news:

As reported by The Australian Financial Review, it is believed that the miner had placed its Nickel West and Cerro Matoso mines up for sale earlier in the year. This belief was bolstered when the company’s new CEO, Andrew Mackenzie, notably excluded nickel from his ‘four pillar’ strategy in May, which outlined the company’s core operations and focus areas moving forward.

Speculation has once again heightened that the sale of the assets could be a very real possibility – particularly after the company was forced to impair its Nickel West asset by US$1.2 billion, according to BHP’s annual report.

Click here to read the full report from The Motley Fool.