The company has responded to current weak demand for potash by reducing production by up to 300,000 tonnes.

The miner said it was not possible to raise the funding needed to move ahead with the Woodsmith project.

The potash project developer posted a pretax loss of $1.5 million for the first half of 2019, compared to a loss of $1.1 million a year earlier.

The world's top potash miner said production downtime at its Allan, Lanigan and Vanscoy mines will begin in November.

The Department of the Interior’s decision also enables the Toronto-based miner to accelerate financing and off-take deals.

BHP says onset of inducement pricing for new potash projects have been extended to "well beyond the 2020s."