Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc wants to grab 10 percent of the world potash market as demand for the fertiliser grows in step with biofuel production, Preston Chiaro, chief executive of Rio's energy and minerals unit said on Friday.
Rio only produces a small amount of potash at present from a trial operation but hopes to dig new mines in Argentina and Canada starting in 2012, Chiaro said.
Global demand for potash stood at around 60 million tonnes a year and was growing at around 3 percent a year as more farmland is diverted away from food production to growing crops for energy, creating opportunities for new entrants, he said.
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