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At 09:17 BST the FTSE 100 index was down 0.7 per cent - or 32.22 points - to 4,699.34, Reuters reports.
Xstrata, Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Fresnillo and Antofagasta all fell in the mining sector, while Rio Tinto declined after the Chinese government stepped up espionage allegations against the firm.
In the oil market, BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell and Cairn Energy all retreated as the price of the commodity fell.
Among the financial firms there were declines for Standard Chartered, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland and market strategist Joshua Raymond noted that this was "not surprising" given the "terrific run" they had last week.
He explained that financials "were likely to be high on the list" of investors looking to take their profits after the gains of the past few days.
