In response to weak demand from the steel market, Cleveland, Ohio-based miner and iron ore pellet producer Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. announced Tuesday that it will curtail production and two of its six North American iron ore mines.
Cliffs said that it will temporarily idle two small pellet furnaces at Northshore Mining and one small pellet furnace at United Taconite. Both locations are in Minnesota. Combined, these three furnaces have a monthly pellet production capacity of approximately 300,000 net tons.
Donald J. Gallagher, president of Cliffs' North American Business Unit, said, "We have seen the steel market soften in recent weeks due to the slowdown in the North American economy. Today, the domestic steel and iron ore industries are better positioned than in the past to weather downturns such as this, and while we regret having to take this action, production and demand must be balanced to meet customer needs and to ensure the continued health of the business."
As a result of these cutbacks, the company downwardly revised its projected 2008 annual production for its North American Iron Ore unit to 23 million net tons.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. is 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.