The FTSE 100 fell 1.4% this morning on the back of weak energy and mining stocks.
By mid-morning, Britain's leading index was down 61.26 points at 4377.30 and the FTSE 250 was down 1%.
Anglo American was down 4.47% at £17.71, BHP Billiton dropped 4.76% to £14.81 and Rio Tinto was down 4.47% at £28.67. It was reported over the weekend that Rio Tinto has run up an estimated $1bn (£626m) bill as a result of its botched Chinalco fundraising.
Oil and energy majors also dragged down the index, with BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BG Group, Tullow Oil and Cairn Energy down between 1.1% and 2.5%.
Elsewhere, shares in Lloyds fell by nearly 8% this morning after it said it had raised just under £3.5bn from shareholders which it will use to pay back some of the money injected by the British government last year.
