Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of the
São Paulo, SP, Brazil
04538-132
under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F. Form 20-F ___X___ Form 40-F _______
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Yes _______ No ___X____
Rio de Janeiro, February 28, 2007
CSN is a leading global steel producer with operations in Latin America, North America, and Europe. The Company is a fully integrated steel producer, the largest coated steel producer in Brazil, with current capacity of 5.6 million tons of crude steel, 5.1 million tons of rolled products and 2.9 million tons of coated steel capacity. Over 50% of CSN’s production consists of high value added steel products. CSN
is also the sole tin-plate producer in Brazil and the fifth
largest producer of tin plate in the world.
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CSN's process is based on the integrated steelworks concept that uses the Company's own sources of iron ore, limestone and dolomite. Besides its captive mines, CSN controls logistics assets - ports and railways which enable an extremely cost efficient operation. This concept allows CSN to continuously capture important levels of synergies, thus assuring its position as one of the most cost competitive steel producers in the world. |
CSN INAUGURATES IRON ORE EXPORT TERMINAL
First Shipment of 65,000 tones delivered to Bahrain from CSN’s Port of Itaguaí
On February 25, 2007, Companhia Siderrgica Nacional (CSN) completed its first iron ore shipment operation to the international iron-ore market from its own and dedicated sea terminal at the Port of Itaguaí (State of Rio de Janeiro),exporting approximately 65,000 tonnes of iron ore acquired from third parties. This first delivery was made to Bahrain, in the Middle East, and was entirely successful.
CSN expects to ship a further 450,000 tonnes in March, through logistics operations utilizing five additional ships. Four more vessels have already been confirmed for the month of April 2007, and they are planned to carry approximately 350,000 extra tones. All of these iron ore shipments are aimed to the Asian markets.
The inauguration of our Iron Ore Exporting Terminal marks CSN’s start in the overseas iron-ore market, and gives us yet another important means of adding value to the company’s shareholders, commented Juarez Saliba, CSN’s Executive
Officer and Head of Mining Operations.
With total investments of US$ 260 million, the Itaguaí Terminal has now an initial handling capacity of 7 million metric tons of iron ore per year, already designed to be raised to 30 million, by 2008.
| IR Team | ||||||
| Jos Marcos Treiger | David Moise Salama | Claudio Pontes | ||||
| IR Officer | IR Manager | IR Specialist | ||||
| treiger@csn.com.br | david.salama@csn.com.br | claudio.pontes@csn.com.br | ||||
| (55 11) 3049-7502 | (55 11) 3049-7588 | (55 11) 3049-7592 | ||||
COMPANHIA SIDERÚRGICA NACIONAL |
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By: |
/S/ Benjamin Steinbruch
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Benjamin Steinbruch
Chief Executive Officer and Acting Chief Financial Officer |
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This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are statements that are not historical facts, and are based on management's current view and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "expects", "plans" and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.