PARIS, May 30 (Reuters) - The nickel processing plant of

New Caledonian producer SLN will need supplies of ore in the

coming days to ensure its furnaces keep working, the CEO of main

shareholder Eramet said on Thursday.

SLN has stopped mining in New Caledonia due to riots this

month sparked by an electoral reform and the firm's Doniambo

plant has been at running at minimum capacity.

"We urgently need to be able to bring ore to Doniambo,"

Eramet Chair and CEO Christel Bories told the group's annual

shareholders' meeting.

"If we're not able to re-supply Doniambo in the coming days,

I would say the next 10 days, then we will start to enter a

danger zone for the furnaces," she said.

The plant has so far been able to use large stocks of

ore that it typically holds at this time of year to offset the

impact of the rainy season on mine output.

While mining was still at a halt, loading of some stocks had

started on Thursday at one of SLN's mines following discussions

with protesters, Bories added.

The unrest has deepened a crisis for New Caledonia's

loss-making nickel sector, for which the French government has

been trying to negotiate a rescue package.

Eramet has stopped financing SLN due to the recurring losses

and in February secured a deal to remove SLN's debt to the

government from Eramet's balance sheet.

The riots meant that the second quarter would be "even more

difficult" for SLN than the previous quarter, Chief Financial

Officer Nicolas Carre said, adding that the debt deal had

removed the risk of financial impact on Eramet from its

subsidiary.

Eramet's nickel operations are now focused on Indonesia,

where it operates the world's biggest nickel mine in partnership

with Chinese steel group Tsingshan.