China steelmaker Panzhihua says quake impact limited

SHANGHAI, Sept 2 (Reuters) - PZH Steel 000629.SZ, the listed unit of the Panzhihua Iron and Steel Group, suffered little direct damage to its steel production facilities from a major earthquake at the weekend, a company official said on Tuesday.

Damage to local transportation, however, could limit raw material supplies and reduce PZH Steel's output, said the official with the board of directors' office.

PZH owns most of the steel production assets of the Panzhihua group, the largest steelmaker in southwest China's Sichuan province.

An earthquake on Saturday about 20 miles (30 km) southeast of Panzhihua City, home to the Panzhihua group, killed 36 people, state media said on Tuesday.

"The quake's impact on the company is limited but we may face a raw material shortage as all the coal mines and iron mines surrounding the company have shut down," the official said, adding that the company was still assessing its economic losses.

The city of Panzhihua was founded in 1966 as a steel production centre in an area rich in iron ore, coal and minor metals resources. (Reporting by Alfred Cang; Editing by Edmund Klamann)