At the market close the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 25.10 points or 0.38 percent at 6,615.30, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 36.00 points or 0.53 percent at 6,847.30.
"The market is being pushed higher today mainly by mining stocks and to a lesser extent energy producers," CommSec market analyst Steven Daghlian said.
"The fact that the iron ore price surged by 2.8 percent overnight to a near seven-year high has certainly been helpful. Strong steel demand in China and softer supply have been catalysts. "
Materials and energy surged 3.80 percent and 1.50 percent respectively. All other sectors ended in the red.
In the financial space, the big banks slipped with Commonwealth Bank down (0.67 percent), National Australia Bank down (0.13 percent), Westpac Bank down (0.49 percent) and ANZ down (0.09 percent).
Mining stocks were mostly higher with BHP up (4.94 percent), Rio Tinto up (6.87 percent), and Fortescue Metals up (13.28 percent), however, gold miner Newcrest was down (0.75 percent).
The country's oil and gas producers surged with Oil Search up (1.08 percent), Santos up (0.80 percent) and Woodside Petroleum up (1.92 percent).
Australia's largest supermarkets varied with Coles down (0.72 percent), and Woolworths unchanged (0.00 percent).
Meanwhile telecommunications giant Telstra sank (0.66 percent), the national carrier Qantas slumped (1.08 percent) and biomedical firm CSL dived (0.72 percent).
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