The mining giant posted a $5.9bn (ÂŁ4.6bn) annual net profit, but there is pressure to offload US shale. : Mining giant BHP Billiton will sell its US shale assets after pressure from shareholders to offload the underperforming business. The miner said a number of parties are interested in the assets and it is "actively pursuing options to exit". Shareholder Elliott Management has campaigned for strategic changes at BHP including the sale of its shale operations. BHP said on Tuesday that it deemed the shale business "non-core" and was exploring options to offload the assets.