Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) said in a statement that its subsidiary, CSN Mineração S.A., announced a temporary reduction in low-grade ore production activities at the Dry Processing Plant of the Pires complex, located in the municipality of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais state, amid a tighter market and rising freight costs.
Earlier this month, the iron ore miners Mineração Usiminas and Itaminas made similar announcements, blaming higher Brazil-China iron ore freight rates for curtailing their mining activities. Today, the Tubarão-Qingdao freight rate, the benchmark for Brazil-China iron ore transportation, stands at $43/mt, up 75.2 percent from the same period of 2025, mainly reflecting higher bunker oil costs driven by the war in the Middle East.
The company warned that the measure may be reversed at any time, without significant consequences, if market conditions offer better margins for this type of ore.
Given the impact of this temporary reduction on production volume and the lower third-party purchases expected in the coming months, the company has revised its previously disclosed projections as follows:
· The 2026 projection for production volume and third-party ore purchases was lowered from a range of 45 to 47 million metric tons (mt) to a range of 39 to 41 million mt.
· The 2026 C1 cash cost projection was raised from a range of $22–23.5/mt to a range of $25–26/mt.
CSN shares fell by more than 10 percent on the São Paulo Stock Exchange (B3) after the announcement, as iron ore mining is the most profitable business of the heavily indebted company, accounting for 33.5 percent of its EBITDA in Q2 2026.
With net financial debt equivalent to 3.49 times its annual EBITDA, CSN is selling some of its businesses to reduce its financial leverage.
