LONDON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The London Metal Exchange (LME) is planning to discuss banning new deliveries of Russian metal such as aluminium, nickel and copper so its warehouses cannot be used to offload hard-to-sell stock, three sources familiar with the matter said. Western countries have sanctioned Russian banks and wealthy individuals connected to President Vladimir Putin since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but so far there are no restrictions on buying Russian metal. The sources said there was some concern that Russian aluminium producer Rusal would not be able to sell its metal and would deliver it to registered warehouses of the 145-year-old metal exchange. Another source said the LME could not ban Russian metal without sanctions on the companies that produced them. "Although we do not currently see any evidence of LME warehouses being used to offload metal on a long term basis," the exchange added, in response to a request for comment.

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