Potash Price War May Signal End of BHP’s $15 Billion Project

The break-up of OAO Uralkali’s potash marketing partnership may signal the death knell for plans by BHP Billiton Ltd., the biggest mining company, to spend as much as $15 billion to start producing the crop nutrient.

Uralkali, the largest potash producer, yesterday quit a venture that controlled about 43 percent of global exports and signaled prices may fall by as much as a quarter. BHP’s Jansen project in Canada contains a 3 billion-metric-ton resource.