** Shares of copper miners up, tracking prices of the red metal

** Benchmark three-month copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange up 0.1% at $9,528 a metric ton at 1615 GMT (12:15 p.m. ET)

** Copper prices edged higher as investors spooked by growing U.S. debt levels looked for hard assets as the dollar weakened

** The U.S. dollar fell, extending a two-day slide against major peers, making greenback-priced commodities less expensive for buyers holding other currencies USD/

** U.S.-listed shares of global mining giants Rio Tinto RIO.N and BHP Group BHP.N rise marginally

** Canadian miners: Hudbay Minerals HBM.TO up 1.8%, Ero Copper ERO.TO rises 1.3%

** Copper miners Southern Copper SCCO.N and Freeport-McMoRan FCX.N up marginally

(Reporting by Pooja Menon in Bengaluru)

((Pooja.Menon@thomsonreuters.com;))