Thwarted thrice by Anglo American in what ended up as a $49bn all-share bid for the rival mining group, BHP said on Wednesday it would not make a revised firm offer after the target declined to extend the 'put up or shut up' deadline. BHP had added some dessert items to its offering without changing the price and structure on the menu.

The dust has settled on the autumn veld, and Anglo American remains standing over it -- for now.

Capping a month of high drama in the global and South African mining industry, BHP said on Wednesday -- as South Africans were still going to the polls -- that it would not make a fourth offer for Anglo after the target declined to extend the deadline for such a proposal.

"BHP will not be making a firm offer for Anglo American," BHP CEO Mike Henry was quoted as saying in a statement issued shortly before the deadline at 5pm London time on Wednesday.

This ended a saga that could have seen BHP, the world's largest miner, acquire Anglo, which has had an outsized role in South African history for the past century plus some change.

BHP had raised its initial offer by increments, only to be rebuffed by the Anglo board each time, partly on the grounds that the structure of the proposed deal was complicated -- music to the ears of lawyers and consultants, but perhaps not a chord that would appeal to all shareholders.

The BHP proposal included as a pre-condition that Anglo hive off most of its South...