Rumours are abounding that Mick Davis, Xstrata soon to be leaving CEO, may be slated for Anglo American chief Cynthia Carroll's job.
It comes as the Glencore and Xstrata merger takes a step forward, after being approved by shareholders earlier this week.
Davis will become CEO of the newly formed Glencore Xstrata for six months before handing over to Glencore CEO Ivan Glasenberg, after which he will be a free agent.
When asked at a shareholder meeting in Zug, Switzerland if Davis is likely to start another business or retire after stepping down, he said that "I have not yet decided what my future plans will be but certainly retirement will not be part of them".
According to South Africa's Business Day Live, he is now slated to potentially replace Carroll.
Anglo American announced Carroll's resignation from the miner in October.
This is not the only move in the top tier of mining companies.
Earlier this month it appeared as though BHP surreptitiously began the hunt for a new CEO.
However in a surprise move the company has appeared to be interviewing potential candidates from outside the mining industry.
BHP board member Lindsay Maxsted said while the company was considering several existing company executives for the new role, a recruiter had also been hired to search for talent outside the mining sector.
“It isn’t such a narrow field once you broaden it out to say we are prepared to look for someone outside the sector,” he said.
“You can use a headhunter at many stages during the process … the headhunter can be very early just to see who is around, who is likely to be around in a year’s time or two year’s time or six months or whatever the timeframe is.”
Exact details on who BHP is considering as a successor to current CEO Marius Kloppers remain confidential, as does the timeframe for appointing the new position.