Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. traces its corporate history back to 1847. Today,
we are an international mining and natural resources company. We are the largest
producer of iron ore pellets in North America, a major supplier of direct-shipping
lump and fines iron ore out of Australia, and a significant producer of metallurgical
coal. With core values of environmental and capital stewardship, our colleagues
across the globe endeavor to provide all stakeholders operating and financial
transparency as embodied in the GRI framework. Our company is organized according
to product category and geographic location: North American Iron Ore, North
American Coal, Asia Pacific Iron Ore, Asia Pacific Coal and Latin American Iron
Ore.
In North America, we operate six iron ore mines in Michigan, Minnesota and
Eastern Canada, and two coking coal mining complexes located in West Virginia
and Alabama. Our Asia Pacific operations include full ownership of Portman,
which is comprised of two iron ore mining complexes in Western Australia, serving
the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore, and a 45
percent economic interest in Sonoma, a coking and thermal coal mine located
in Queensland, Australia. In Latin America, we have a 30 percent interest in
Amapá, a Brazilian iron ore project, as well as a number of smaller greenfield
projects not yet in production.
Over recent years, we have been executing a strategy designed to achieve scale
in the mining industry and focused on serving the world’s largest and
fastest growing steel markets.
Our company is organized and managed according to product category and geographic
location: North American Iron Ore, North American Coal, Asia Pacific Iron Ore,
Asia Pacific Coal and Latin American Iron Ore. The Asia Pacific Coal and Latin
American Iron Ore businesses, which are in the early stages of production, do
not meet the criteria for reportable segments, and therefore, we have a total
of three reportable segments.
All North American business segments are headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio.
Offices in Duluth, Minnesota, have shared services groups supporting the North
American business segments. Our Technology Group is located in Ishpeming, Michigan.
Our Asia Pacific headquarters are located in Perth, Australia, and our Latin
American headquarters are located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cliffs International
Mineração Brasil, Ltda and Cliffs Natural Resources Pty Ltd, formerly
known as Cliffs Asia-Pacific Pty Limited, provide technical and administrative
support for our assets in Latin America and Australia, respectively, as well
as new business development services in these regions.
Competition
Throughout the world, we compete with major and junior mining companies, as
well as metals companies, both of which produce steelmaking raw materials, including
iron ore and metallurgical coal.
North America
In our North American Iron Ore business segment, we sell our product primarily
to steel producers with operations in North America. We compete directly with
the Iron Ore Company of Canada, ArcelorMittal Mines Canada and U.S. Steel, as
well as other steel companies that own interests in iron ore mines that may
have excess iron ore inventories.
In the coal industry, our North American Coal business segment competes with
many metallurgical coal producers of various sizes, including Alpha Natural
Resources, Inc., Patriot Coal Corporation, CONSOL Energy Inc., Arch Coal, Inc.,
Massey Energy Company, Jim Walter Resources, Inc., Peabody Energy Corp., United
Coal Group Company and other producers located in North America and globally.
The North American coal industry remains highly fragmented and competitive,
with CONSOL, Massey, Peabody, Alpha and Alliance Resource Partners representing
the five largest producers. A number of factors beyond our control affect the
markets in which we sell our coal. Continued demand for our coal and the prices
obtained by us depend primarily on the coal consumption patterns of the steel
industry in the United States and elsewhere around the world as well as the
availability, location, cost of transportation and price of competing coal.
Coal consumption patterns are affected primarily by demand, environmental and
other governmental regulations, and technological developments. The most important
factors on which we compete are delivered price, coal quality characteristics
such as heat value, sulfur, ash and moisture content, and reliability of supply.
Metallurgical coal, which is primarily used to make coke, a key component in
the steelmaking process, generally sells at a premium over steam coal due to
its higher quality and value in the steelmaking process.
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