Rio May Re-Enter Potash Business, Seeks ResourcesRio May Re-Enter Potash Business, Seeks Resources (Update1)
Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Rio Tinto Group, which last year sold its potassium project to Vale SA, may re-enter the potash business, Chief Executive Officer Tom Albanese said.
The company is looking for exploitable resources, Albanese told reporters in London, where the world’s third-largest mining company is based.
“Potassium is part of the future of the agriculture world,” Albanese said. “I’ve tasked our geologists to find the next potash basins.” The process may take “some time,” he added. Potash is a source of potassium, used to make fertilizer.
Rio sold its Potasio Rio Colorado potash project in Argentina to Vale SA, the world’s biggest iron-ore miner, for $850 million in January last year. Since then Vale has expanded its potash unit and BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s biggest mining company, last month agreed to buy Canada’s Athabasca Potash Inc. for about C$341 million ($319 million).
“Vale saw the benefits in having resources that would be useful for the Brazilian agricultural sector and offered us a price that our shareholders felt more than fair,” Albanese said, commenting on the reason for selling the Argentine assets.
To contact the reporter on this story: Firat Kayakiran in London at fkayakiran@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: February 11, 2010 09:49 EST
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