The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 56.3 points lower at 4276.5, while the broader All Ordinaries index closed 55.4 points down at 4352.9.

Major miners BHP Billiton slid A9c lower to $40.06, while Rio Tinto fell $1.02 to $76.58 after releasing results for the second quarter of this year.

Fellow iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group was down 8c at $6.13.

In other mining news, Atlas Iron shares were down 1c at $4.07, as the company says it is in ongoing talks with parties regarding potential partners for three major magnetite projects in Western Australia.

Sundance Resources remains in negotiations with its biggest shareholder Sichuan Hanlong Group about Hanlong’s $1.44 billion takeover bid for Sundance.

It said it is also talking to other potential partners about developing its Mbalam iron ore project in Africa.

Sundance shares were unchanged at 50.5c.

Shares in Lynas Corporation were up 3c at $2.10, after it officially opened its Mount Weld rare earths project today, after 10 years of planning and $100 million of investment.

Meanwhile, spot gold was trading 0.17% higher from its previous close, at $US1664.60 per ounce at 3.46pm (AEST).

Local gold producer Newcrest Mining closed A10c lower at $40.65, while AngloGold Ashanti was up 6c at $8.14, Kingsgate Consolidated shed 29c to $8.30, and Medusa Mining lost 9c to $7.29.

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange regained some ground during afternoon trade in Singapore.

Copper for three-month delivery added 0.29% to $US9563 per tonne, zinc was up 0.6% at $2391.25/t, lead gained 0.47% to $2533.75/t, while nickel rose 0.14% to $23,840/t at 3.50pm (AEST).

Finally, the Australian dollar was $US1.06 in late afternoon trade.