Rio Tinto PLC (RIO.US) said shipments fell in the first quarter of this year due to delays in expansion projects, but the company said production would increase in the second half of the year and full-year shipments are expected to remain unchanged.

Data released by Rio Tinto PLC on Wednesday showed that in the three months to March 31, the total output of its iron ore business in the Pilbara region of Western Australia was 71.7 million tons, down 6% from the same period last year. Total shipments were 71.5 million tons, down 15% from the previous quarter and 8% from the same period a year earlier, below market expectations of 73.1 million tons.

The company said that the depletion of existing mines had not been offset by replacement projects due to commissioning delays, and that labour problems caused by COVID-19 's epidemic restrictions had also led to a decline in Pilbara production.

Rio Tinto PLC's copper production in the first quarter was 125000 tons, estimated at 136200 tons, and bauxite production in the first quarter was 13.6 million tons, estimated at 13.1 million tons.

Rio Tinto PLC maintained his forecast for iron ore exports of 320 million to 335 million tons in 2022, compared with 322 million tons last year. At the same time, in the face of inflationary pressures, the industry is also at risk of further government intervention.

But Brazilian miner Vale SA, the company's main international competitor, also revealed on Wednesday morning that iron ore production and sales were weak and showed a downward trend from the previous month.

Vale SA's Q1 output decreased by 35.5% from the previous month.

Vale SA released a production and sales report for the first quarter of 2022, saying its iron ore production fell 6.0 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, as production at major iron mines was affected by heavy rains in the state of Minas Gerais in January.

According to the report, Vale SA produced 63.928 million tons of iron ore in the first quarter, down 22.5 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2021 and 6 per cent year-on-year. Iron ore sales were 53.603 million tons, down 35.5 per cent from the previous month and 9.6 per cent lower than the same period last year. Total iron ore sales, including pellets, are 60.6 million tonnes, a premium of $9 a tonne over benchmark iron ore with 62 per cent iron content.

It is worth mentioning that Ukraine is the world's 12th largest steel producer after Metinvest, Ukraine's largest steelmaker, said its iron ore production had more than halved as a result of Russia's "special military operation" against Ukraine. Metinvest said its business "will never operate under Russian occupation". The port city of Mariupol has lost "30 to 40 per cent of its metallurgical production capacity" after it was besieged.

Global iron ore transport volume will increase significantly in the second quarter

JPMorgan Chase & Co said that if investors increase their allocation at a time of rising inflation, raw materials may rise further. Despite moves by china to rein in prices, Singapore's iron ore futures surged 32 per cent in the first quarter on expectations of rising demand.

Iron ore prices have continued to rise since the beginning of this year. At the beginning of this year, the "benchmark" price of Australian iron ore with a grade of 62 per cent was $119 a tonne, and in the following three months, iron ore prices have been rising, so far, more than $135 a tonne for most of the time.

Minmetals Futures said that in view of the current relatively high mineral prices, overseas mines will certainly speed up the pace of shipment once factors such as weather and epidemic disturbances are reduced, and overseas shipments are expected to increase significantly in the second quarter.