Cliffs mulls closing Bloom Lake iron ore mine for lack of buyers – Mining.com

November 19, 2014

Cliffs Natural Resources (NYSE:CLF) said Wednesday it is “pursuing exit options” for its Eastern Canadian iron ore operations, which is likely to result in the closure of its Quebec-based Bloom Lake mine.

The announcement comes only weeks after the U.S. iron ore producer, cut to junk status by Standard & Poor’s last month, revealed that three “big steelmakers” were in talks to invest in the project.

The company’s chief executive, Lourenco Goncalves, said in a statement that the foreseen “potential investment” in Bloom Lake was not “achievable within a time frame acceptable to Cliffs.”

Goncalves, who took charge in August after the Cleveland-based miner lost a proxy battle with hedge fund Casablanca Capital, wants the company to narrow its focus to five iron ore mines in Michigan and Minnesota.

Read More: http://www.mining.com/cliffs-mulls-closing-bloom-lake-iron-ore-mine-for-lack-of-buyers-99261/