* Strong earthquake strikes central region
* Officials say no immediate reports of damage
* Codelco mining company says operations normal (Adds Codelco, no damage reports)
SANTIAGO, Jan 2 (Reuters) - A major earthquake of 7.1 magnitude hit central Chile on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or casualties, local emergency officials said.
"Up until now we don't have any information of deaths or major damage. A tsunami alert is ruled out," said Felipe Plaza, duty officer at Chile's Onemi emergency office.
Another emergency official in the Araucania region close to the epicenter some 43 miles (69 km) northwest of Temuco, said the quake had hit telephone communications but that all other public services were working with as usual.
In February last year, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami that devastated coastal towns, killed hundreds of people and damaged infrastructure across much of south-central Chile.
Chile, the world's top copper producer, has seen its economy surge on heavy spending to rebuild cities ravaged by the February quake and record prices for its main export.
Emergency officials in Chile ruled out a tsunami after Sunday's quake and operations were normal at the Andean division of Chilean copper miner Codelco after the tremor, a spokesman said.
A spokesman for state energy company ENAP said operations were also running as usual at the Bio Bio oil refinery in the area. (Reporting by Maria Jose Latorre and Alonso Soto; writing by Helen Popper; editing by Chris Wilson)
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