Indian Police, Guerillas Clash at Nalco Mine; 14 Dead

April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Indian security forces clashed with Maoist guerillas attempting to seize the explosives store at National Aluminium Co.’s bauxite mine in Orissa, leaving at least 14 people killed, a company official said. The siege at the Koraput mine that began at 9:40 p.m. last night ended this morning, H.C. Pradhan, spokesman for the state- run company, said by telephone from Bhubaneswar, the capital of the eastern state, where National Aluminium is based. At least four Maoist guerillas and 10 security personnel were killed in the encounter, he said. “We expect to start mining operations in one or two days,” Pradhan said. Security forces now have control of the mine, he said, adding there was no disruption in the production of aluminum and alumina. Maoist rebel groups, known as Naxalites, are active in at least 11 of India’s 28 states. They have targeted landowners and police for more than three decades in a campaign for jobs and land rights for the poor. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called them the nation’s biggest security threat. The Koraput area has been cleared of landmines by the police, Pradhan said. More than 200 armed Maoist rebels attacked the mine when about 200 workers had started their night shift, the Indian Express reported, citing unidentified officials. Aluminum is smelted from alumina, a semi-processed material made from bauxite ore. National Aluminium, or Nalco, makes 345,000 tons of aluminum and exports 64 percent of the 1.6 million tons of alumina it produces every year. Maoists rebels are targeting infrastructure to cripple transport and slow development in India, the government says. There were 358 incidents of Maoists violence in the 12 months to March 31, 2008, the Home Ministry has said in a report on its Web site. The violence claimed the lives of 45 policemen, 89 civilians and 74 Maoists, it said. To contact the reporter on this story: Pratik Parija in New Delhi at pparija@bloomberg.net