Producer
Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM)
World's dominant niobium producer, controlling ~75-80% of global ferroniobium supply from its Araxá mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Owned 70% by the Moreira Salles family (former Unibanco banking dynasty), 15% by a Japanese-South Korean consortium, and 15% by a Chinese investor group. The Araxá ore body contains approximately 70% of world's known niobium reserves. Products include ferroniobium, niobium oxide, and niobium metal. Expanding into battery-grade niobium materials (NbO2 anode).
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Inputs supplied
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Goods downstream
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Facilities
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Stories
What they make
1 input Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM) supplies
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Where they make it
3 facilities
CBMM Araxá Mine & Processing Complex →
BRMinas Gerais
World's largest niobium mine and processing complex. Open-pit mining of carbonatite ore body. Production capacity of 150,000 tpy ferroniobium equivalent (expanded from 90,000 tpy). Contains ~70% of world's known niobium reserves. Sustainable at current consumption rates for 200+ years. Site also produces niobium oxide (NbO5) and niobium metal. In November 2024, CBMM opened world's first niobium-based battery anode production facility on this site.
CBMM Europe Distribution Hub (Rotterdam) →
NLSouth Holland
CBMM's European logistics and sales subsidiary hub in Rotterdam. Ferroniobium is shipped from Araxá, processed into standard grades, and distributed to European steelmakers from Rotterdam. EU sources 92% of its niobium from Brazil (primarily CBMM). Rotterdam is the primary entry point for ferroniobium to the European steel industry.
CBMM Niobium Battery Anode Facility (Araxá) →
BRMinas Gerais
World's first commercial niobium-based battery anode production facility, opened November 2024. Co-located with CBMM's primary mine complex at Araxá. Produces NbO2 anode material for next-generation batteries. Battery materials sales grew from 400 tonnes (2022) to 600 tonnes (2023) to 1,000+ tonnes projected (2024). CBMM forecasts battery sector to reach 25% of revenues by 2030.
What else they do
Business segments
The company's full revenue map — where this supply-chain role fits within their broader business.
Ferroniobium
82%Niobium Oxide
10%Other Niobium Products
5%Niobium Battery Anodes
3%
Intelligence
What's known
Sourced claims about this company's role in supply chains — chokepoints, concentration, incidents, dual-use connections.
Chokepoint2025
CBMM's 77% single-company market share is partially mitigated by mixed ownership: 70% Moreira Salles family (Brazilian), 15% Japanese-South Korean consortium, 15% Chinese investor group. The Chinese stake (acquired ~2011) means that any US-China trade war or export control action affecting Chinese ownership could create governance or financing uncertainty at the world's dominant niobium producer. Analyst Eli Grant (2025) noted: "Geopolitical vulnerability: Brazil controls 90% of global niobium production, with China's influence growing via its stake in CBMM."
Canadian Mining Journal ↗Did you know2024
CBMM launched the world's first commercial niobium-based battery anode facility in November 2024 at Araxá. CBMM's niobium oxide (NbO2) anode material charges faster than graphite and operates at safer voltages, targeting EV batteries and grid storage. Battery materials sales grew from 400 tonnes (2022) to 600 tonnes (2023), projected to exceed 1,000 tonnes in 2024. CBMM forecasts battery sector revenues will reach 25% of total by 2030, up from 5% in 2024. A company historically known as a steel additive supplier is quietly becoming a battery materials producer — the same Araxá mine that supplies HSLA steel now aspires to supply EV batteries.
SFA (Oxford) ↗Origin2023
CBMM was founded in 1955 by the Moreira Salles family — the same Brazilian banking dynasty behind Unibanco — to develop the massive pyrochlore deposit at Araxá, Minas Gerais. Niobium was a curiosity metal until the 1960s, when steelmakers discovered that adding just 50-100 grams per tonne made high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel dramatically tougher and lighter. Global steel demand for niobium subsequently exploded, and CBMM found itself the accidental gatekeeper of a resource critical to modern infrastructure: the deposit at Araxá was estimated to contain more niobium than all the rest of the world combined.
CBMM ↗Concentration2024
CBMM (Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração) holds approximately 77% of global ferroniobium market share in 2024, making it the most concentrated single-company supply position of any critical mineral in industrial use. CBMM operates a single mine and processing complex in Araxá, Minas Gerais. The EU sources 92% of its niobium from Brazil (primarily CBMM). Brazil's Araxá carbonatite contains ~70% of the world's known niobium reserves, and can sustain current production rates for over 200 years. CBMM sells to 50+ countries through subsidiaries in North America, Europe, and Asia.
SFA (Oxford) ↗