BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP) will decide by year-end whether to sell or return to production its idled Ravensthorpe nickel mine in Western Australia, the chief executive said Thursday.

"By the end of the year we will decide whether we are going to sell it or restart that asset," Marius Kloppers said at the company's annual general meeting.

BHP has been conducting a review since mid-year of the nickel laterite mine, which cost the company $2.1 billion to build but was closed only a few months after commissioning last year.

BHP has written down the value of Ravensthorpe to zero, Kloppers said.

Company Web site: http://www.bhpbilliton.com

-By Jeffrey Sparshott, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 9347; jeffrey.sparshott@dowjones.com