Mining: Billiton nickel draws bidders

Trafigura and Sherritt International were among six companies to enter the sale process for BHP Billiton’s Australian nickel unit, the Australian Financial Review reported yesterday. Glencore, X2 Resources, Jinchuan Group and MMG, a unit of China Minmetals, were also among the bidders that had started due diligence on BHP Billiton’s Nickel West business, the newspaper reported. Emily Perry, a spokeswoman for BHP Billiton, declined to comment. The mining house said in May it was considering selling all or part of its Australian nickel unit. The business might be worth more than A$800 million (R8 billion), the newspaper said. – Bloomberg