Investing.com-- Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO ) Australian shares fell on Friday after reports said the mining giant had held talks with Swiss commodities giant Glencore PLC (LON: GLEN ) over a possible merger.

Rio Tinto’s shares fell 1.4% to A$117.930 after falling as much as 1.8% in early Sydney trade.

Bloomberg reported that Rio and Glencore had held early-stage talks over a potential merger, although it was unclear if talks were still ongoing.

Rio Tinto is the world’s second most valuable miner, behind Anglo-Australian rival BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP ). The company’s market capitalization was just over $100 billion on Friday.

A Rio and Glencore merger is likely to be centered around copper , with their combined copper production expected to rival that of BHP. But it remains unclear whether regulators would allow such a combination, given the two’s relative dominance in the mining industry.

BHP had pursued a failed acquisition of Anglo American (JO: AGLJ ) last year for its copper assets, with the red metal expected to see increased demand amid a global push into electrification and clean energy over the coming years.

Recent reports said BHP could try a fresh approach for Anglo- this time with a partner. The world’s biggest miner had unsuccessfully bid for Rio Tinto in 2008.

News of a Rio-Glencore merger also comes amid trying times for the mining industry, as concerns over high interest rates and cooling global growth triggered a sharp drop in commodity prices over the past year.