Shares in Grange Resources rose after the iron ore pellet producer reported an improvement in first quarter production from its Savage River mine in Tasmania.

Grange shares were up 3.5 cents, or 6.19 per cent, at 60 cents at 1256 AEST.

The company on Wednesday said the Savage River mine produced 573,625 tonnes of concentrate in the three months to March 31, up 64 per cent compared to the first quarter of calendar 2011 when it was recovering from a rockslide that occurred in mid-2010.

Full year concentrate production guidance remains between 2.3 to 2.4 million tonnes.

Grange said pellet prices remained strong, averaging $US172.57 per tonne during the first quarter.

“The Australian dollar has weakened in recent weeks and unit costs of production are such that the resultant healthy margins are expected to remain for the Savage River production,” the miner said in a statement.