Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cliffs is an international mining company, the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America and a major supplier of metallurgical coal to the global steelmaking industry. The Company operates six iron ore mines in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada, and three coking coal mines in West Virginia and Alabama. Cliffs also owns 80 percent of Portman Limited, a large iron ore mining company in Australia, serving the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore. In addition, the Company has a 30 percent interest in the Amapá Project, a Brazilian iron ore project, a 45 percent economic interest in the Sonoma Project, an Australian coking and thermal coal project, and a 70 percent interest in Renewafuel, a biofuel energy company.
As part of its efforts to develop alternative metallic products, Cliffs is aligned with Kobe Steel to utilize its ITmk3 process in a commercial-scale reduced iron plant that would convert taconite into nearly pure iron in nugget form. This innovative technology has the potential to open new markets by offering an economically competitive supply of iron material for electric arc furnaces.
The company is organized into three primary business units: North America, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. Cliffs Asia-Pacific headquarters are located in Perth, Australia. Cliffs International Mineração Brasil, Ltda. headquarters in Rio de Janeiro provide technical and administrative support for Cliffs’ assets in Latin America. Offices in Duluth, Minnesota, house shared services groups supporting the business units. Cliffs employs approximately 5,300 people worldwide.
