By Natalie Geddes

BHP Billiton focused on getting Canadian government approval for PotashCorp sale

Oct 20, 2010 | 11:48 AM

CKOM News

A harsh reception from the province of Saskatchewan won't stop BHP Billiton from chasing PotashCorp right to the end.

A letter posted Wednesday morning on the Australian company's website says BHP will continue working towards approval with the federal government despite the province trying to block the deal.

On Tuesday, an unnamed insider with the Saskatchewan government baulked at BHP Billiton’s offer of a one-time payment of $370 million to offset the revenue a Conference Board of Canada report says Saskatchewan would lose if the company took over PotashCorp.

Premier Brad Wall told reporters on Wednesday that so far, he is not seeing a net benefit from the BHP Billiton bid to take over PotashCorp.

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Speaking to reporters in Regina, Wall says anything less than dollar for dollar or more of the expected loss in revenues expected from this deal is not adequately compensating the province.

The government estimates that loss to be around $3 billion over ten years.

In Wednesday’s statement, BHP's chief executive of non-ferrous operations, Andrew Mackenzie, underlined a commitment to the immediate benefits for the people of Saskatchewan and the nation should they acquire PotashCorp.

The final decision rests in the hands of Tony Clement and Industry Canada. However, from the beginning, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said that Saskatchewan's opinions will weigh heavily on their final verdict.