* Says European market upturn not yet visible in deliveries
* Says large acquisitions not on agenda
* Says keener on zinc mines than expanding in copper
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AITIK, Sweden, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Swedish miner Boliden has not yet seen any clear upturn in demand from customers in its key European market, despite a recent recovery in metal prices, the company's top executive said on Wednesday.
"Our industrial costumers in Europe are saying it's looking brighter, but in our actual deliveries it's difficult to see any real signs of improvement," Lennart Evrell told Reuters on the sidelines of the company's capital markets day at the Aitik copper mine in the north of Sweden.
Boliden, which owns copper and zinc mines in Sweden and Ireland and smelters in several Nordic countries, sells most of its output to European customers, which, in turn, serve the auto, construction and electronics industries with components and materials.
Evrell said major acquisitions were not on the agenda right now for Boliden, which targets growth both organically and through takeovers.
"Boliden really does not have the financial muscle to make big acquisitions right now, but we are following the market," Evrell said.
"But (acquisition) prices have also risen along with the metal prices. What was up for sale six months ago -- and those were often fire sales, are a lot more expensive today."
Evrell added that if it were to buy something, zinc mines were higher on the agenda than investments in new copper mines. Boliden was the world's eight biggest zinc miner and fourth largest zinc smelter in 2007 while it is a much smaller player in the copper sector.
"Zinc mines are often underground and are often very complex and Boliden is very good at this. We have unique competence more suited for zinc mines," he said. (Reporting by Johan Ahlander; editing by Karen Foster)