The Sunday Telegraph newspaper in London says the shareholders have written individually to the mining giants asking for commitments from the boards that they use their strong balance sheets to return cash to investors.
The move is being viewed as a pre-emptive strike before another spate of deals in the mining sector that investment bankers and analysts have predicted.
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The newspaper said some shareholders which it did not name, have told the companies they are prepared to vote down the re-election of key members of the board if they don't agree to the commitments.
Rumours swept the markets on Friday that BHP was mounting a bid for BG Group, with investors still wary so soon after its failed takeover bid for Canadian giant PotashCorp.
