The mining sector is facing a wave of consolidation, with Rio Tinto and Glencore's potential merger as the catalyst.

DNB commodities analyst Johannes Grunselius points to both Boliden and Lundin Mining as takeover candidates, especially due to their exposure to copper, a key commodity as society becomes more electricity dependent. This is stated in an interview with Di TV.

Boliden is without a controlling owner and its smelter capacity, previously a hindrance, is now seen as an asset for players like Glencore.

Lundin Mining has positioned itself as a pure-play player in the copper segment and is attracting interest, although the Lundin family is believed to want to develop the company on its own.

According to reports in Bloomberg, Rio Tinto and Glencore began talks late last year about a merger. If these mining giants were to merge, they would together be bigger than BHP, which is currently the world's largest mining company.

The iron ore price has seen its biggest weekly rise since October and the copper price is currently seeing its longest winning streak since 2017.

The gains are driven by optimistic economic data from China, which is the world's largest metal consumer, Bloomberg writes.