This year has seen record-high iron prices as well as a record high for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), and one share is positively booming in the excitement.
The Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) share price has gained 45.6% since the start of 2021, making it one of the best performing ASX 200 shares of 2021 so far.
After hitting an intraday high of $7.31, the Champion Iron share price has since retreated and was trading at $7.02, up 0.29% at the market close today.
Its year-to-date performance has beaten ASX 200 iron ore peers including Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). These iron ore giants have gained 8.73% and 15.12% respectively.
So, what's been driving the Champion Iron share price to perform better than other ASX 200 iron miners?
A quick introduction
Champion Iron is an iron ore exploration and development company with a number of projects in Canada's Québec region.
As well as gaining 45% since the start of this year, the Champion share price has lifted 220% over the last 12 months.
It has a market capitalisation of around $3.5 billion, with approximately 493 million shares outstanding.
ASX 200 Champion in more than name
The Champion share price got off to a great start for 2021 on the ASX.
In late January, it released its third-quarter results for the 2021 financial year. Within the results were record-high revenues, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), net income, and net cash flow.
Despite the positive results, the Champion Iron share price closed the day 9% lower than the previous session.
On 22 March, Champion Iron officially entered the ASX 200.
Then, on 6 April, the Champion Iron share price gained 5% after the company announced it has completed its acquisition of the Kamistiatusset iron ore project (Kami Project).
In addition to the project, the acquisition saw the company secure another 8 million annual tonnes of port capacity in Sept-Isles, Que, where it was already sending iron concentrate from its Bloom Lake Project.
Finally, it released its fourth-quarter activities report on 29 April. Within the update was plenty of good news, including the announcement of a new annual production record of 8,001,200 wet metric tonnes from Bloom Lake.
