CSN Mineração S.A

What it is

CSN Mineração is Brazil’s second-largest iron ore exporter, sitting among the five most cost-competitive producers in the global seaborne market; it owns the Casa de Pedra and Engenho mines in Minas Gerais, a stake in the MRS freight railway, and the TECAR bulk-export terminal at the Port of Itaguaí.

Casa de Pedra is the oldest iron mining operation in Brazil, carrying more than 6 billion tonnes of resources and 3 billion tonnes in certified reserves. The mine-rail-port system gives the company tight, end-to-end control over how ore travels from mountain to ship.

Who owns it

Parent company Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) holds 69.69% of shares; Japan’s Itochu Corporation holds 10.85%; Japão Brasil Minério de Ferro Participações holds 9.35%; South Korea’s POSCO holds 1.88%; Taiwan’s China Steel Corporation 0.41%; and all other investors share the remaining 7.82%. The free float available to general investors is thus narrow — under 8%.

CSN Mineração was created in 2015 through a partnership with a consortium of Asian steelmakers and went public in 2021 at an IPO price of R$8.50 (US$2)per share. That IPO was among the ten largest by volume in B3 history.

Who runs it

Benjamin Steinbruch chairs the board of CSN Mineração, a position he has held since 2016; he is also Chairman and CEO of parent company CSN, roles he has occupied since 1995 and 2002 respectively. The tycoon-founder of the CSN industrial group thus sits at the apex of both entities.

Pedro Barros Mercadante Oliva serves as CFO and IR Executive Director — the executive most directly accountable to investors on financial performance and capital allocation.

The money, in plain words

Sales rose 9.3% in FY2025 to R$18.0 bn (US$3.5 bn) (~$3.49 bn), recovering from R$16.5 bn (US$3.2 bn) in 2024, though still below the R$18.9 bn (US$3.7 bn) peak of 2023 — all driven by volume rather than price (our calculation). The company keeps about 12.5 cents of profit from every real of revenue — a trailing net profit margin of 12.5% — and for every real shareholders own, it earns back roughly 26 cents a year, a return on equity of 25.7%, strong for a commodity miner.

The balance sheet carries R$8.9 bn (US$1.7 bn) (~$1.72 bn) in cash against R$9.3 bn (US$1.8 bn) (~$1.81 bn) in gross debt — near-zero net debt of about R$449 m (US$87 mn) (~$87 m), an unusually clean position for a capital-heavy miner (our calculation). Priced at 10.6 times earnings, the shares are inexpensive by any global mining comparison, and the company’s stated payout policy is 80–100% of net income, which at current prices produces a dividend yield of 14.5% — one of the highest of any sizeable listed miner anywhere.

What it is doing now

CSN Mineração achieved its best-ever full-year performance in 2025, with production plus purchased ore totalling 45.5 million tonnes for the year — exceeding guidance by 4.6% and the highest volume ever recorded. C1 cash cost — the direct cost per tonne mined — came in at $21.5 per tonne, at the lower end of the company’s own guidance.

The centrepiece of the medium-term plan is the “P15” expansion: R$15 bn (US$2.9 bn) of capital spending from 2024 to 2027 to add 16.5 million tonnes per year of processing capacity at the Congonhas complex via a new beneficiation plant. Over 40% of the project is already complete and it remains on track for its 2027 target date.

What to watch

• Iron ore price: the entire income statement moves with the global spot price for 62%-grade ore — a drop from $100/t toward $80/t would hit margins hard and squeeze the famous dividend.
• P15 execution: the goal is to lift annual output from roughly 42 million tonnes today to 68 million tonnes by 2028 — a 60% production boost — but large mining projects routinely face cost overruns and delays.
• China demand: indirect Chinese steel exports are expected to grow, supported by government infrastructure spending, but any slowdown in Chinese construction hits iron ore buyers first.
• Free-float thinness: with barely 8% of shares in general public hands, trading liquidity is limited; a large seller can move the price sharply.
• Infrastructure spin-off: the parent CSN is exploring a carve-out of logistics and infrastructure assets into a separate vehicle, which could unlock value — or introduce new complexity; the final structure remains undefined.

This is news, not investment advice.