Barrick Gold is due to release its second quarter results today.
The gold price has softened but remains above the US$2,000 per ounce mark, reached for the first time last week.
It was about $2,208/oz on the spot market at the time of writing.
China's iron ore imports in July surged to a record, up 24% from a year earlier, Reuters reported, driven by shipments from miners and resilient demand as the economy bounced back after disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic.
The latest MySteel 62% Australian iron ore fines price is $121.50 per tonne, $2 below a 2019 peak.
Rio Tinto was among the mining majors to close lower in London on Friday, down 1%.
Glencore lost 3.2% having earlier announced it would not pay an interim dividend after posting a half-year net loss.
Barrick Gold closed 1.8% lower in Toronto on Friday and Freeport-McMoRan fell 4.1% in New York.