BHP seeking up to A$1 bln for nickel mine-report

SYDNEY, July 15 (Reuters) - Global miner BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc (BHP.AX)(BLT.L) is asking for as much as A$1 billion ($793 million) for its idled Ravensthorpe nickel mine in western Australia, the Australian Financial Review reported on Wednesday.

Citing a well-placed source, the paper said BHP had made initial appraoches to potential buyers and was seeking between A$800 million and $1 billion, but added that was well above the valuation put on the mine by most analysts.

"Analysts' valuations are wildly divergent. Some say the nickel laterite operation could go for just A$1, while others say it is worth A$500 million," the paper said.

Earlier this month BHP announced the sale of its Yabulu nickel refinery in northeast Queensland state, which had processed nickel ore from Ravensthorpe, taking a writedown of $675 million.

BHP spent more than $2.2 billion developing Ravensthorpe but the mine operated for little more than a year before being closed down in January amid weak global nickel prices.

The paper said majors such as Xstrata (XTA.L) or Vale (VALE5.SA) were not seen potential buyers due to moves to cut capital expenditure, with Australia's Poseidon Nickel (POS.AX) standing out as the only serious possibility. ($1=1.261 Australian Dollar) (Reporting by James Thornhill; Editing by Cecile Lefort)