European shares at new 15-month closing high

LONDON Dec 29 (Reuters) - European shares ticked higher in thin trade on Tuesday, hitting their highest close in 15 months for the fourth consecutive session, with miners the leading gainers.

The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of leading European shares provisionally closed 0.1 percent higher at 1,045.14 points, rising for the sixth straight sessions. In the UK, the FTSE 100 .FTSE advanced 0.7 percent to 5,437.61, recovering to levels not seen since before the collapse of Lehman Brothers in mid-September 2008. Germany's DAX .GDAXI added 0.1 percent and France's CAC 40 .FCHI put on 0.3 percent.

Miners were among the top gainers in Europe, as copper prices hit their highest level in more than 15 months, lifted by the threat of industrial action in one of the world's top copper mines in Chile.

BHP Billiton (BLT.L), Rio Tinto (RIO.L), Anglo American (AAL.L), Vedanta Resources (VED.L), Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC.L) and Antofagasta (ANTO.L) advanced 0.6-4 percent.

Banks .SX7P, one of the best performers this year, were weaker. HSBC (HSBA.L), UBS (UBSN.VX), Barclays (BARC.L) and Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) lost 0.4-0.7 percent. (Reporting by Dominic Lau; editing by John Stonestreet)