UPDATE 1-Oz Minerals says no change in China orders

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MELBOURNE, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Australia's Oz Minerals Ltd (OZL.AX), which supplies steelmaking alloys such as nickel and zinc to China, has not had any requests for shipment delays even as steel mills cut production, the company's chief executive said on Friday.

Steel mills in China this week asked fellow Australian miner Mount Gibson Iron Ltd (MGX.AX) to delay some iron ore shipments, triggering concerns Chinese appetite for Australian minerals was waning in the face of the global financial crisis.

Some Chinese steel makers have already agreed to cut production by up to 20 percent, perhaps until year-end, in hopes of arresting falling steel prices.

Mining stocks have been caught up in the global share rout, with Oz Minerals losing 17 percent in value on Friday to A$1.015, lagging a broader market that closed down 8.3 percent. Mount Gibson's share price has more than halved in value this week.

Oz Minerals is the world's second-largest zinc miner, and also sells nickel to Chinese metals group Jinchuan.

Nickel is used to give stainless steel shine, while zinc is employed as an anti-corrosive in galvanising steel.

Oz Minerals Chief Executive Andrew Michelmore said his company had seen "nothing like that" when asked if, like Mt Gibson, Oz was being asked to delay shipments.

On the contrary, for zinc at least, Chinese smelting firms were reducing their fees to attract more raw material from miners, according to Michelmore.

"The message very clearly there is they want that zinc," he said.

Unlike the metals Oz Minerals mines, coal and iron ore shipments to China were partially halted during the Olympic Games in Beijing last month, resulting in a back up of those materials at coastal ports and adding to the backlog, according to Michelmore.

"You've got these massive stocks sitting on the wharf so I'm not surprised that they're backing off and, where they can, saying I don't need them (shipments) yet," he said.

Zinc sold on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SZNc3 hit a lifetime low earlier on Friday.

Also on Friday, LME nickel futures tumbled 10 percent to the lowest in nearly three years. ($1=A$1.50) (Reporting by Miranda Maxwell and James Regan; Editing by James Thornhill)