Leading Russian fertilizer producers, including Silvinit and Acron have won auctions for rights to the world's second largest potash deposit. Silvinit spent nearly $US 1.5 billion, and Acron paid around $US 700 million for different sections of the Verkhn
Potash is a key ingredient if agriculture is to keep up, and Russia’s Verkhnekamenskoye deposit holds around five billion tonnes – almost half of the world's untapped reserves. “Currently nothing is stable – the dollar is falling, the rouble – who knows what’s going to happen. We have exchanged money to get irreplaceable resources. It’s worth it,” said Ivan Antonov, Acron CEO. Acron says current potash prices are abnormally high. However, experts say the premium the companies paid for access to the reserves means they are expecting global potash prices to rise further.