BHP Billiton the world's biggest miner, is considering selling all or part of its diamond assets, which include the EKATI mine in northern Canada, as it focuses on large, long life, scalable assets.

BHP said that it had begun a review to examine whether a continued presence in the diamond industry was consistent with its strategy of investing in expandable assets. The review is due to be completed by the end of January 2012.

The miner said that "EKATI is a world class operation and Chidliak is a promising exploration opportunity, but many years of extensive exploration suggest there are few options to develop new diamond mines that are consistent with this approach.”

Diamonds represent only a fraction of BHP's global portfolio. The diamonds and specialty products division which includes its titanium minerals and potash projects as well as diamond mining accounted for roughly 2.5% of 2010 operating profit.

Analysts at BMO Capital Markets value BHP's 80% stake in the EKATI mine at USD 2.7 billion, just over 1% of the company's value.

(Sourced from Reuters)