Mining giant Rio Tinto said on Tuesday its full year iron ore production guidance remained unchanged after reporting a record rise in the first quarter.

Rio Tinto said its iron ore production set a new record of 48 million tonnes in the first quarter, up six percent on the same period of 2012.

The miner's 2013 iron ore production guidance remains unchanged at 265 million tonnes from global operations in Australia and Canada, subject to weather constraints.

Rio Tinto Chief executive officer Sam Walsh said the company's operations achieved a solid performance in the first quarter, recovering rapidly from the seasonal weather disruptions.

"Our two major growth projects in the Pilbara and in Mongolia achieved significant milestones in the first quarter," Walsh said in the miner's first quarter operations review released on Tuesday.

"Both of these industry leading projects remain on track for first production this year and are poised to deliver attractive returns for our shareholders in the years ahead."

He also said the company was making good progress in achieving its cost reduction targets for 2013.