Driest mines in North America

The Mosaic Company (NYSE: MOS) has announced a reduction of up to 20 percent in planned potash production from February through May 2012.

Glencore International is in talks with Xstrata to merge in a deal that would create a $80 billion rival to BHP Billiton, Vale, Rio Tinto and China's Shenhua. Here's a wrap-up of what people are saying about the birth of the globe's first vertically integrated resource giant.

llana Potash Corp (TSX:AAA) is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced public offering of common shares of the Company. Pursuant to the terms of the Offering, the Company has issued 25,000,000 Common Shares at a price of $0.80 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $20,000,000.

Verde Potash shares fell $1.66 or 19.4% to $6.90 on Tuesday, recovering from even steeper losses earlier in the day, after the company released a preliminary economic assessment report for its Brazil project that disappointed investors.

PotashCorp (NYSE:POT), the world's largest producer of potash, announced higher Q4 earnings on Wednesday but also a sharp decline in demand.

With revenues of $60 billion last year and operations at the ends of the earth, few companies are in a better position to take the pulse of the global economy and the resource sector than Caterpillar. But what is it saying about the outlook for 2012?

Stock in Marifil Mines (CVE:MFM) shot up 17.9% Monday after the Vancouver company announced it is acquiring the Filo Morado potash property in Argentina.

A new report by DRBS, a rating agency, warns of increasing volatility in the potash sector with a possible softening of prices, mostly due to supply factors.

BHP Billiton, which is developing the huge Jansen potash mine is Saskatchewan, says it will sell its potash independently and not through the Canadian potash marketing agency Canpotex.