Reuters — Canada’s PotashCorp, set to merge with rival Agrium to withstand a fertilizer slump, reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit Thursday and narrowed its full-year forecast, pressuring its stock. Prices of crop nutrient potash have leveled off this year after hitting eight-year lows late last year due to low crop prices and excessive production capacity. […] Read more

PotashCorp Q3 profit disappoints ahead of merger

K+S to pool salt, potash units amid overhaul
Berlin | Reuters — German minerals miner K+S plans to integrate its salt and potash units as part of a strategic overhaul, it said on Monday as it set itself a new profit target for 2030. K+S, the world’s largest salt producer and the fifth-largest seller of potash, is grappling with a slow recovery in […] Read more

Shutdowns planned for two PotashCorp mines
Fertilizer firm PotashCorp plans to temporarily halt production at two Saskatchewan potash mines this winter to curb excess supply. The Saskatoon company, in the midst of seeking regulatory approvals for a merger with Calgary competitor Agrium, announced last week it will “curtail” production at its mines at Allan and Lanigan, Sask. The shutdowns will run […] Read more

Canada’s antitrust watchdog clears Nutrien merger
Canada’s Competition Bureau will put up no reasons why PotashCorp and Agrium shouldn’t be joined in Nutrien. The federal antitrust regulator on Monday issued a “no action” letter on the all-stock merger-of-equals that Saskatoon’s PotashCorp and Calgary’s Agrium proposed in September last year. The two companies, when merged, are to be headquartered in Saskatoon under […] Read more

BHP said exploring stake sale in Saskatchewan potash mine
Toronto/New York | Reuters — Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton is considering selling a 25 per cent interest in its Saskatchewan potash mine project, a stake that could be worth close to US$2 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The move comes as activist investor Elliott Management Corp. has been pushing the company […] Read more

BHP Billiton puts off decision on Prairie potash mine
With its Saskatchewan potash mine project about 70 per cent dug, major Australian mining firm BHP Billiton now says it won’t be seeking board approval to bring the mine into production in 2018. The company had said in May it expected its mine at Jansen, Sask., about 70 km southeast of Humboldt, to start producing […] Read more

Mosaic shares tumble on disappointing fertilizer guidance
Reuters – U.S. fertilizer producer Mosaic Co on Tuesday forecast slower phosphate sales and weaker prices for the current quarter, causing shares to plunge as much as 9 percent. The Minnesota-based company predicted third-quarter phosphate sales of 2.2 million to 2.5 million tonnes, down from 2.6 million in the second quarter. Mosaic forecast third-quarter diammonium […] Read more

Farmers wait for fertilizer prices to fall amid oversupply
CNS Canada — As more fertilizer plants are built around the world and U.S. corn acreage shrinks, the typical thinking holds that prices for urea and nitrogen should fall, but that hasn’t been the case so far for Canadian farmers. “They’re more on the steady side,” said Todd Lewis, president of the Agricultural Producers Association […] Read more

BHP stays course on potash mine few expected built
New York | Reuters — BHP Billiton’s Canadian potash mine will use advanced, cost-saving technology, giving it a competitive edge in a currently oversupplied fertilizer market, the executive in charge of the business said on Thursday. Australia-based BHP aims to start potash production at Jansen, Sask., about 70 km southeast of Humboldt, in 2023, eventually […] Read more

Undaunted by glut, new potash players bank on fertilizer rebound
New York | Reuters — The owners of several new potash mines that are adding fertilizer to an already oversupplied market are banking on better times, bucking industry thinking that the projects may snuff a modest price recovery. The drive to build new mines began when potash prices were higher, but last year prices slid […] Read more