UPDATE 3-One dead in clashes at Mexico's Cananea copper mine

* Federal police help guard facilities

* Union and contractors clash, one dead, several wounded (Recasts with confirmed death)

By Mica Rosenberg

MEXICO CITY, Sept 8 (Reuters) - One worker died on Wednesday in clashes between union workers and company contractors at the massive Cananea copper mine in northern Mexico, the local government said.

The mine, owned by major copper producer Grupo Mexico (GMEXICOB.MX: Quote), has been the site of tension after a three-year strike ended earlier this year. The striking miners were removed from the premises by federal police but have continued to protest outside the mine gates.

Grupo Mexico, which operates mines in Mexico, Peru and the United States, began hiring contract workers to repair damages to the mine but have faced resistance from dismissed union workers. Federal police now help guard the facilities.

A two-day scuffle left one 40-year-old company contractor dead and three others seriously hurt from bullet wounds, Cananea's government said in a statement.

Six more workers were injured in the clash and 26 people were arrested, the statement said.

Cananea, near the border with Arizona, is the largest copper mine in Mexico but has not been producing since the labor dispute began in 2007. The mine has the capacity to produce 180,000 tonnes of copper annually but the company has an ambitious expansion plan there.