People familiar with the situation said that three potential bidders remain in the running for BHP Billiton Limited's failed Ravensthorpe nickel operation in Western Australia State, with final bids due November 25th 2009.

Two people familiar with the bidding process said that Australia's Minara Resources Limited as well as Poseidon Nickel Limited and China Metallurgical Group Corporation are all still taking part in the sales process for the idled nickel laterite operation.

Confirmation that there are three potential bidders and that a date is set for final offers will raise market hopes that BHP may yet be able to extract some value from the failed USD 2.1 billion operation, which it wrote off in January just eight months after it was commissioned.

Some analysts had predicted BHP could be forced to sell the mine for a nominal amount, given the risks and costs associated with restarting it, while others think BHP will still aim for several hundred million dollars.

A spokeswoman for BHPB said that it is evaluating divestment, restart or closure options, adding that a formal evaluation of the divestment as an option is progressing well and as planned.

One person familiar with the situation said that MCC, Poseidon and Minara all remain in the bidding, adding that there is also interest from other companies without elaborating. However, Poseidon moving ahead seems doubtful because of its small size and the participation of MCC in the bid.

(Sourced from Dow Jones)