European shares down 0.2%; miners slip, drugs rise

* FTSEurofirst 300 falls 0.2 percent

* Drugs, oils gain; miners fall

* ECB, BoE keep rates unchanged

By Brian Gorman

LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - European shares fell slightly on Thursday, as miners slipped, while drugmakers and oil producers rose, and the European Central Bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged. The FTSEurofirst 300 of top European companies fell 0.2 percent to close at 866.56 points, after losing 2 percent on Wednesday.

Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) led the mining sector lower, down 6.6 percent, with traders citing talk it is to raise a $15 billion rights issue in order to avoid the planned $19.5 billion investment from Chinese state owned metal firm Chinalco.

Rio Tinto said it was pursuing a range of options for maximising shareholder value and improving the group's capital structure, some of which are at an advanced stage.

Lonmin (LMI.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Anglo American AA.L BHP Billiton (BLT.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Xstrata (XTA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) closed 1.9-6.6 percent lower.