BHP may sell idle U.S. copper mine

Mining giant BHP Billiton is considering the sale of its Pinto Valley copper mine in the U.S. Arizona state, in the latest sign that the company is offloading non-core assets to be prepared for a lesser demand for commodities. The mine is idle since 2009 as a result of the financial crisis, around the same time the mining group closed its Ravensthorpe nickel project in Western Australia. Back in February, BHP said it would restart activities at Pinto Valley, which returns copper and molybdenum.

It is uncertain how much will be the price tag for Pinto Valley, and uncertainty as to whether it will return to full production, which peaked at 60,000 tonnes of copper concentrate a year, would make the mine worth less than US$ 1 billion, analysts said.