One reason why no-one’s buying bargain mines

ATCO announced on Monday that it has been awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to design, build and operate a 2,586-person turnkey workforce housing lodge for BHP Billiton’s Jansen Potash Project, 100 km north of Regina.

The mining sector's bellwether companies were all beaten down on Monday after China's premier Wen Jiabao delivered a downbeat outlook for the world's second largest economy adding that there were "new problems" to deal with.

A new survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit finds when institutional investors interested in frontier markets were asked to choose two regions out of five, two-thirds see Africa – projected to be the fastest growing region on the planet this year – as holding the greatest opportunity.

Potashcorp, the world's number one producer of the soil nutrient, also expects balanced or tight supply for the next four years.

Verde Potash shares fell 2.8% to $6.51 by lunchtime on Thursday after the company announced bought deal financing of $25 million. In the run up to the release of a preliminary economic assessment report for its Amazon project a month ago, Verde Potash's shares were driven all the way up to $8.95, only to come crashing down after the study disappointed investors all round.

Western Potash has brought in one of the big guns in the mining industry to develop its Milestone potash project in Saskatchewan, Canada.

Brazil, now the envy of debt-ridden nations, is scrambling to strengthen its control over domestic food production. This move became a matter of national security as the country saw 2008’s increased fertilizer prices threaten its agricultural sector.

On much heavier volumes than usual Grizzly Discoveries shed 3c or 6.52% by midday Tuesday. Before the market open the Edmonton-based company announced a potash discovery near Medicine Hat in Alberta Canada that wasn't as exciting as investors had clearly hoped – drilling yielded potash grades up to 31.1% K2O, but only over 0.3 metres.

Elemental Minerals Ltd. (ELM), owner of a potash project in the Republic of Congo, plans to raise about $1.7 billion next year to develop production by 2015, Chief Executive Officer Iain Macpherson said.