The Australian share market has closed higher because of gains in the banking and resources sectors. The All Ordinaries Index was up 86 points to 6,593 and the ASX 200 added 88 points to 6,533.

Small shareholders are being warned to read the fine print before they invest in small mining companies. A report has shown that nearly half Australia's medium-size listed companies are not following corporate governance standards.

Ukraine goes into mourning for 88 coal miners who were killed by a methane blast underground, the most horrible mining catastrophe in the country since Soviet times.

The Australian share market enjoyed a strong day of trading with mining and energy stocks leading the rally because of strengthening global commodity and base metal prices.

There was no excitement on the Australian sharemarket today after the previous two record closing highs. The All Ordinaries Index added half a point to 6,491 and the ASX 200 slipped one point to 6,481.

Think of salmon fishing. Imagine you see a large, expensive boat, perhaps with a depth-sounder, several state-of-the-art rods sprouting from its decks, downrigger lines in the water, strategically anchored at the mouth of a large river. It's human nature and good logic for other smaller boats to crowd around.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has determined that lightning was the likely ignition source for the explosion in an abandoned area of the Sago Mine on Jan. 2, 2006.

Katherine Young of Resourcex Investor spoke to Terence Ortslan, a mining analyst at TSO and Associates in Montreal who has been travelling to Mongolia for 20 years, about issues affecting Mongolia's mining sector.