Lets hope the Rum value pushes the bid higher Rio Tinto chief...

Lets hope the Rum value pushes the bid higher

Rio Tinto chief aims to return to fertilizer field
VANCOUVER, From Friday's Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Feb. 10, 2011 6:29PM EST

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Two years after selling Rio's undeveloped potash assets to Vale SA for $850-million (U.S.) to help pay down debt, Mr. Albanese is hoping to get back into the fertilizer business.

We did sell [potash assets] in the financial crisis. Everyone said we got good value from that, so no regrets on that. But I have said to our geologists, 'I still like potash, find me some more,' Mr. Albanese said in an interview on Thursday.

Rio's potential return to potash comes amid rising prices for the fertilizer ingredient as a result of soaring demand from farmers looking to cash in on higher returns for their crops. Demand is being driven largely by growing populations in China and India and comes alongside estimates that food production must grow by 70 per cent by 2050 to meet global needs.

That has many of the world's major miners scrambling for a piece of the potash business through acquisitions and/or the development of new projects.

...Mr. Albanese said. "We've said all through the course of 2010 we are focusing on small- to medium-sized transactions and PCS wouldn't have been in that category.

...
Potash is one of a 'handful' of new commodities Rio is looking into to help diversify its main asset base of iron ore, copper and aluminum.

His interest in potash goes back more than a decade when, as head of the industrial minerals group, he led Rio's purchase of potash assets in Argentina. In early 2009, however, the company was forced to sell its potash assets in Argentina and Saskatchewan to help pay down a massive debt it was left with...