K+S sells Americas salt business for $3.2 billion

“The company remains exposed to a weak pricing environment," the analysts say.

The two firms are just the latest names in a long list of companies that includes major players such as Rio Tinto, interested in grabbing a stake in Chile’s Chemical and Mining Society (SQM).

London hedge fund giant Lansdowne Partners lost a long-term bet against Glencore this year after the spectacular recovery of the miner took some by surprise.

“We have a strong sense of urgency,” chief executive Andrew Mackenzie told reporters following the company’s annual general meeting in Melbourne.

The mining veteran could face competition from internal candidates, including former head of UK gas company Centrica, Sam Laidlaw, who now sits on Rio’s board.

EuroChem Group AG spending over $6bn on two mines to produce potash, a mineral found deep in the Earth that’s prized for its ability as soil fertilizer.

Mining giant is eying the 32% interest in SQM that PotashCorp is selling to fulfill China's regulators condition for the approval of the its friendly merger with smaller rival Agrium.

Aggregate market cap of the top 100 junior mining companies was up 7% to $12.2 billion, a level not seen since 2010, but the group significantly underperformed the Venture Exchange as a whole.

The London-listed company sealed a 7-year commercial deal with Wilmar Group.