UPDATE 1-India's NMDC resumes iron ore mining -company source
(Adds details, background)
MUMBAI, June 16 (Reuters) - India's NMDC Ltd (NMDC.BO) resumed operations at three iron ore mines in central India on Friday night, nine days after Maoist rebels blew up power transmission towers, a company source said on Monday.
The state-run miner, which supplies ore to local and Japanese buyers such as Nippon Steel (5401.T) and JFE Steel Corp (5411.T), expects a total production loss of 400,000 tonne to 450,000 tonne during the stoppage.
"The mines are fully operational now," said the official who did not want to be identified. "It translates into a loss of about 100-120 million rupees ($2.3-2.8 million) each day."
The three affected mines produce about 23 million tonnes of iron ore a year and are situated 300 km (190 miles) south of Raipur, the capital of central state of Chhattisgarh, a stonghold of Maoist rebels who routinely calls strikes, attack government property and target local politicians.
NMDC, which mainly has long-term contracts with its clients, did not declare a force majeure after production was stopped, the source said. Its local clients include state-owned Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, Essar Steel, Ispat Industries (ISPT.BO).
In May last year, Maoist rebels blew up transmission towers in the same area, forcing several mines to stop production for 10 days. ($1= 42.9 rupees) (Reporting by Arpan Mukherjee; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan/John Mair)
