  A sizable rate of events, with several pairs of $b$-quarks produced
contemporarily by multiple parton interactions, may be expected at very high
energies as a consequence of the large parton luminosities. The production
rates are further enhanced in hadron-nucleus reactions, which may represent a
convenient tool to study the phenomenon. We compare the different contributions
to $b{\bar b}b{\bar b}$ production, due to single and double parton
scatterings, in collisions of protons with nuclei at the CERN-LHC.
