Singapore (Platts)--3Jul2009

BHP Billiton has agreed to sell its Yabulu nickel refinery in Queensland
to Australian billionaire Clive Palmer, and will book an estimated $675
million write-down in relation to the business, the company said Friday. The
financial terms of the agreement was not disclosed.
     BHP will write down the carrying value of Yabulu by an estimated $500
million and a further estimated $175 million of unrecoverable tax benefits.
The write downs will be reported as exceptional items in the group's full year
results ended June 30, 2009.
     "The terms of the sale are confidential, however both BHP Billiton and
Professor Palmer have sought to provide that, at sale completion, working
capital and access to funds are sufficient to enable the business to commence
as a going concern," BHP said in the statement lodged with the Australian
Securities Exchange.
     A global decline in nickel prices forced BHP Billiton to shut its
Ravensthorpe mine in Western Australia and axe 1,800 staff from Ravensthorpe
and Yabulu in January this year. Yabulu, which used to process product from
Ravensthorpe, is now processing only ore.
     Clive Palmer is Australia's fifth-richest man, with an estimated personal
wealth of A$3.4 billion ($2.70 billion). His private company, Mineralogy, owns
about 160 billion mt of iron ore reserves in Western Australia's Pilbara
region.
--Li Anne Wong, newsdesk@platts.com