UPDATE 1-China buys 300,000 T aluminium for reserves-sources

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By Eadie Chen and Rujun Shen

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Dec 25 (Reuters) - China's State Reserves Bureau (SRB) has agreed to buy 300,000 tonnes of aluminium at 12,300 yuan ($1,800) per tonne in January to support producers, trading and industry sources said on Thursday.

The SRB will buy around half the aluminium from Chalco (601600.SS), the listed arm of state metals firm Chinalco. The rest will come from seven other smelters, the sources said.

The SRB met the eight firms on Thursday, one industry source familiar with the situation said.

"The SRB said they're going to buy 300,000 tonnes in January. They did not say anything about further purchases," the same source said.

Several sources said officials were still discussing further purchases and could target 1 million tonnes in total.

Chinese officials have said they plan to buy up resources and materials to support producers, who are smarting from prices that have fallen below the cost of production.

The SRB has already bought 30 tonnes of indium, a minor metal used in making LCD screens, from a large Chinese smelter, a trade source said last week. It also plans to buy 300,000 tonnes of zinc, a smelter official said last Friday. [ID:nHKG364654]