REFILE-China to build huge potash base in Canada -Xinhua

(Refiles to correct to Canadian province of Saskatchewan from Canadian state of Saskatchewan in first paragraph)

BEIJING Oct 19 (Reuters) - China's Zhongchuan International Mining Corp, has signed a deal to build a huge potash base in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan to ease its own tight supply of the fertiliser, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday.

The deal will allow the private Chinese mining firm to explore potash in an area covering 96 square kilometres, with an expected annual production capacity of 3 million tonnes, Xinhua said, without naming its source for the information.

China is the world's largest buyer of potash, an essential mineral needed for plant growth, along with nitrogen and phosphate.

China imported 3.18 million tonnes of mineral and chemical fertiliser, with a total value of $1.637 billion, in the first eight months of this year, according to Chinese customs data. The data did not include a specific figure for potash.

The country consumed 7.633 million tonnes of potash in 2007, more than 65 percent came from imports, the Xinhua report said. It did not elaborate on the prices or duration of the deal.

Zhongchuan International is a mining conglomerate involved in copper, gold and other metals. It is part of Jiuyi Group, an investment holding company based in Beijing.

For a recent package of stories about potash, please click on [ID:nN22340110] (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by James Jukwey)