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According to Reuters, gains of up to four per cent were recorded by Lonmin, Vedanta Resources, Xstrata, Antofagasta, Fresnillo, BHP Billiton and Kazakhmys.
This helped the index to add 42.22 points at 11:56 GMT, taking it to 5,286.59 points and extending the jump that was seen on Thursday.
Positive industrial data from China resulted in commodity prices surging and oil businesses also benefited, as BP, Cairn Energy, Tullow Oil and Royal Dutch Shell all finished the morning higher.
Elsewhere, there were gains for most banks - apart from HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group, which lost 0.8 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively - and Burberry stock added 2.3 per cent after positive comments from Barclays Capital.
The FTSE was up 37.15 points in the morning session yesterday, with banks being boosted by news that the Monetary Policy Committee has maintained interest rates at 0.5 per cent.
Posted by Greg Secker
