Thanks for that Jeremy. It's hard to say whether it's the chicken or the egg - was Wall just using that to support a case he already believed in or was that one of the reasons he believed in that case?

Arguably more people go to work in the mines if POT is choosing a volume over price strategy. The province collects more royalties if volumes are higher. Of course, if the market tanks and production has to be cut then Wall is right.

I do recall Wall was really upset when POT cut its workforce to maintain its dividend, so maybe Wall really believes what he was saying. Either way, the workforce has been cut, the damage has been done, so maybe he'll be more willing to accept a BHP bid now.