** Australia's mining shares .AXMM rise as much as 3.1%, their highest level since May 29

** Prices of iron ore futures rose to a one-week high as Rio Tinto suspended activity at its Simandou project in Guinea following an incident, raising fears of a potential delay in kicking off production at the mine IRONORE/

** Shares of Rio Tinto RIO.AX up as much as 2.9% to their highest level since August 14

** BHP Group BHP.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX up 2.8% and 2.5%, respectively

** Sub-index currently up 2.9%, bringing YTD gains to 15.7%

(Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru)

((Sherin.Sunny@thomsonreuters.com))