MONTEVIDEO, Oct 30 (Reuters) - A controversial pulp mill that has set off diplomatic tensions between Argentina and Uruguay could open in the coming days, a Uruguayan official said on Tuesday.

The mill, owned by Finland's Metsa-Botnia <MRLBV.HE><UPM1V.HE> and built on a river bordering the two South American countries, has been the focus of more than two years of protests by Argentines worried about its impact on the environment.

"I would say (the plant) could start operating any time from Nov. 1 to Nov. 10," Uruguay's vice minister for the environment, Jaime Igorra, told Radio Sarandi.

The $1 billion plant, one of the largest private investments in Uruguay's history, is expected to produce 3,000 tonnes of pulp a day.

Located in the city of Fray Bentos on the banks of the Uruguay River, the mill was originally scheduled to open by the end of September but was delayed because of missing environmental permits, Botnia has said.

Argentine environmentalists say the plant will pollute the river separating the two countries. Botnia insists any pollution will be within internationally accepted levels.

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