SASKATOON, Saskatchewan (AP) -- The federal government is to announce whether a Canadian company that controls more than 25 percent of the world's supply of a potash can be taken over by a foreigner.
A mile under the prairies of Saskatchewan lie the world's biggest reserves of potash, a fertilizer ingredient critical to the global food supply.
These days the question of who should own these buried riches is gripping Canadians' attention. Potash Corp. is fighting a hostile bid by Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, amid charges that a vital Canadian industry is threatened with "a foreign takeover."