Fertiliser profits row

BHP Billiton has insisted potash could rake in the cash for shareholders – defying activist investor elliott’s warning that it could be a costly mistake.

The anglo- australian miner has been developing a mine for the fertiliser in Canada but needs extra approval from the board to bring it into production.

Last week elliott, which owns a 4.1pc stake in its London-listed division, continued its months-long bashing of BHP’s strategy, saying potash could be as ‘disastrous’ for it as Us shale.

But yesterday BHP’s potash analyst Paul Burnside said he expected prices for the fertiliser to improve, with global over- supply reaching a peak within the next few years.