CBMM, which has already earned more than R$ 11 billion from the sale of niobium for applications in steel, expects even greater profit
The Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração, CBMM, located in Araxá (MG), holds 80% of the world market for niobium, a metal increasingly used in the metallurgical industry, mainly in the manufacture of more resistant steel. With this, she celebrates her record results of 2021.
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Inaugurated 60 years ago, CBMM gained a lot of strength from the sale of niobium particles to steel companies specialized in applying the material to steel products.
Published by Leo Branco in an article for the Exam website, CBMM earned BRL 11,4 billion last year alone, 67% more than the 2020 bill. In addition, net income (BRL 4,5 billion) also increased significantly, which is 78% above the amount obtained in the previous year.
The reason for the high numbers is the recovery of business affected by the pandemic, as China, one of CBMM's main customers and the largest steel manufacturer, was the first epicenter of Covid-19.
The forecast for 2022 by Ricardo Lima, vice-president of CBMM, is a 20% increase in the company's negotiations, which is confident in diversified bets.
One of these main bets is niobium itself, which, along with other metals, is capable of strengthening steel. According to CBMM studies, only 100 grams of niobium are needed for 1 ton of steel to gain strength and become even more malleable.
The benefits of Niobium put the company at an advantage over other metallurgists. Thus, the CBMM mine in Araxá has the potential for 800 million tons, which makes it the largest in activity on the planet.
Considering that, currently, 1 kg of the metal costs about 40 dollars, the company could spend time just observing its profits, without any loss. However, Lima says: “Since the beginning, our challenge has been to create the markets in which we operate. It is not being any different now.”
In this sense, in recent years, CBMM has invested 3 billion in a project to expand the Araxá industry to increase production by 50%, reaching around 150 tons of niobium per year, 30 tons above global demand. This growth in production aims to turn niobium into a “multipurpose” metal and provide it for new applications. Today, only a tenth of Araxá's production is destined for incipient uses outside the steel chain, with all the rest mixed with steel in beams and rebars.
According to CFO Alex Amorim, the goal is to increase the share from 10% to 40% by 2030, being one of the main investments in the electric car market. The niobium used in parts of the batteries of these vehicles brings benefits: anodes and cathodes with niobium contribute to a recharge in less time and greater durability than carbon batteries.
Such advantages have already attracted the attention of automakers such as Volkswagen and technology company Toshiba. By the end of 2022, the market will receive electric buses with batteries produced with niobium extracted by CBMM, assembled by Volkswagen from Resende (RJ).
Still in the tactic of growing with new partnerships, CBMM invested in two startups in the last year alone, the English Echion and the American Battery Streak, aiming at new developments in materials for lithium-ion batteries. In 2021, sales of niobium for batteries totaled BRL 7,5 million, while the estimate for 2022 is that this amount will be 10 times higher.
CBMM invested R$ 60 million in the development of battery technologies, corresponding to approximately 25% of the total invested in innovation. From that, in 2022 the bets on innovations must increase, at least, 40%, reaching BRL 278 million, setting another record.
