By Christopher Donville

June 5 (Bloomberg) -- Potash North Resources Corp. soaredto a record for a second day on Toronto's Venture exchangeafter confirming it has a valid permit to explore for potash inwestern Canada.

Potash North, formerly Timer Explorations Inc., rose 44cents, or 29 percent, to C$1.98 at 1:04 p.m. on the TSX VentureExchange after earlier reaching $2.20, the highest price sinceFeb. 8, 2001. Yesterday, shares of the Vancouver-based companygained C$1.34, more than seven-fold, to C$1.54.

The surge came after the company confirmed June 3 that theSaskatchewan government issued a permit to explore a 91,000-acre (36,826-hectare) area for potash, a form of potassium usedto fertilize crops. Potash North previously disclosed that ithad agreed to acquire the exploration rights from anothercompany.

Interest in potentially new supplies of potash has soaredas record crop prices and dwindling global grain inventorieshave spurred farmers to buy more fertilizer to increase yields.