Cleveland-Cliffs
A major American iron ore mining and steelmaking company and North America's largest flat-rolled steel producer. Cliffs Natural Resources was the former name of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., a major United States iron-ore mining and steel company.
Last updated October 31, 2026
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Overview
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. is an American mining and steel company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. Its earliest predecessor, the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, was established in 1847 to develop iron ore resources in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Over the following century, the business built an integrated position around Great Lakes mining, rail transport, shipping, ore processing, and eventually steelmaking. It became one of the long-standing industrial institutions associated with the Great Lakes steel economy. The company historically operated mines and pellet plants in Michigan and Minnesota, moving ore by rail and lake vessel to steel producers around Lake Erie and the wider Great Lakes. It also developed logistics and marine capabilities, including investments in ore transportation and lake freighters. During the leadership of William G. Mather, the company expanded its mining base, modernized extraction and processing, and diversified into steel manufacturing. Its acquisition of a controlling interest in Corrigan-McKinney Steel in the 1930s strengthened that downstream position. Cleveland-Cliffs' mining operations evolved as the industry moved from direct-shipping hematite toward concentrated and pelletized magnetite and taconite. The company established or expanded pelletizing capacity in Michigan and Minnesota, including facilities associated with the Humboldt, Republic, Empire, Mather, and Tilden mines. Tilden became notable for producing both hematite and magnetite pellets. The company also periodically diversified beyond iron ore, entering coal, uranium, shale oil, oil and gas services, and forest products, although many of those interests were later sold as management refocused the portfolio. In the early twenty-first century, the company pursued international expansion and mineral diversification, acquiring or investing in assets in Canada, Australia, Brazil, and the United States. That strategy included the acquisition of PinnOak's coal operations, the purchase of Consolidated Thompson and its Bloom Lake mine in Quebec, and an attempted acquisition of Alpha Natural Resources that was terminated during the 2008 financial crisis. After an activist-led board change in 2014, the company shifted back toward a more concentrated North American iron ore and steel strategy. It sold its remaining North American coal interests, exited several overseas assets, and restored the Cleveland-Cliffs name in 2017. The decisive transformation came through steel-sector acquisitions. Cleveland-Cliffs acquired AK Steel in 2020 and later acquired the United States operations of ArcelorMittal. These transactions converted the company from primarily an iron ore supplier into a vertically integrated steel producer with major flat-rolled, automotive, plate, tubular, tooling, and stamping capabilities. Its network includes blast furnaces, electric arc furnaces, continuous casters, finishing and coating lines, coke facilities, iron ore mines, pellet plants, and a hot-briquetted iron facility in Toledo, Ohio. The company serves automotive manufacturers and suppliers, construction, infrastructure, energy, appliance, transportation, and other industrial markets. It operates four principal business areas described in reference material as Steelmaking, Tubular, Tooling and Stamping, and European Operations. Its raw-steel capacity is approximately 23 million net tons annually, while its mines produce several grades of iron ore pellets, including standard, fluxed, and direct-reduction grades. The Toledo HBI facility provides a lower-impurity metallic feedstock that can supplement scrap in electric arc furnace steelmaking. Cleveland-Cliffs is currently described as the second-largest steel producer in the United States and the largest flat-rolled steel producer in North America.
History
Cleveland-Cliffs traces its corporate history to the Cleveland Iron Mining Company, founded in 1847 and chartered in Michigan in 1850. Its early business was based on iron ore discoveries in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the development of transport routes linking Lake Superior mines with Great Lakes steel centers. The opening of the Soo Locks in 1855 improved the movement of ore toward Lake Erie. In 1890, a merger with the Iron Cliffs Company led to the Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company name. The company also built the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad in 1892 to connect mines with its own docks. William G. Mather led the company for much of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During his tenure, Cleveland-Cliffs consolidated mining operations, expanded into additional ore regions, invested in processing, and helped develop the specialized lake freighters used to move bulk commodities on the Great Lakes. It also introduced operational and employee initiatives associated with the period, including mining electrification, pensions, safety programs, and an eight-hour workday. In 1930, it purchased a controlling interest in Corrigan-McKinney Steel, strengthening its presence in steel manufacturing. The company recovered from the Great Depression and reported record sales and profits by 1938. The postwar period brought major changes in ore technology. As easily mined hematite reserves declined, Cleveland-Cliffs invested in concentrating and pelletizing magnetite and taconite. Eagle Mills opened in 1954, followed by developments at Humboldt, Republic, Empire, Mather, and Tilden. Tilden, opened in 1974, became distinctive for its ability to make both hematite and magnetite pellets. The company also experimented with overseas mining in Western Australia and diversified into coal, uranium, shale oil, oil and gas drilling, and forest products. Economic downturns in the 1970s and early 1980s led to closures, layoffs, mine idling, and withdrawal from Great Lakes shipping in 1984. In 1986, Cleveland-Cliffs acquired Pickands Mather Group, adding interests in mines and mining ventures in the United States, Canada, and Australia. Northshore Mining was acquired in 1994. During the early 2000s, the company managed the former LTV Steel operations during a period of distress in the American steel industry. Low prices led to a substantial dividend reduction in 2001. The 2002 United States steel tariff improved conditions for domestic producers and was followed by a period of expansion and diversification. The company acquired PinnOak in 2007, entering domestic coal, and changed its name to Cliffs Natural Resources in 2008. It pursued chromite assets in Ontario's Ring of Fire, purchased Consolidated Thompson in 2011 for approximately C$4.9 billion, and obtained the Bloom Lake mine in Quebec. The financial crisis caused it to terminate an agreement to acquire Alpha Natural Resources in 2008. By the middle of the 2010s, the company began disposing of noncore holdings, including North American coal and overseas iron ore assets. A major governance and strategy change occurred in 2014, when an activist investor's nominees gained control of six board seats. Lourenco Goncalves became chairman, president, and chief executive officer, and the company redirected its strategy toward United States iron ore and steel rather than broad international diversification. The Cleveland-Cliffs name was restored in 2017. The company acquired AK Steel in 2020 and ArcelorMittal's United States operations later that year. These transactions created a substantially more vertically integrated steel producer, combining mines and pellet plants with blast furnaces, electric arc furnaces, finishing lines, automotive steel, tooling, stamping, tubular products, and plate production. The company now operates across major steel and mining states in the United States and Ontario, Canada, and remains centered on North American industrial and automotive supply chains.
- 2020
AK Steel is acquired
[1]The acquisition expanded Cleveland-Cliffs into downstream flat-rolled and automotive steel. The transaction expanded the company into large-scale steel production and value-added finishing.
- 2020
ArcelorMittal USA operations acquired
[1]The transaction significantly increased the company's United States steelmaking and finishing footprint.
- 2020
U.S. ArcelorMittal assets are acquired
[4]The acquisition added major flat-rolled steel, mining, finishing, and research assets in the United States.
- 2017
Cleveland-Cliffs name restored
[1]The company ended the Cliffs Natural Resources naming period and restored its historic Cleveland-Cliffs identity.
- 2014
Board and strategy change
[1]An activist-backed board reconfiguration preceded the appointment of Lourenco Goncalves and a renewed United States focus.
- 2014
Lourenco Goncalves becomes chief executive
[3]A new management strategy focused on North American iron ore, domestic steel customers, and portfolio simplification.
- 2011
Consolidated Thompson acquired
[1]The acquisition added the Bloom Lake iron-ore operation in Quebec and increased the company’s exposure to international iron-ore markets.
- 2008
Name changes to Cliffs Natural Resources
[1]The corporate name was changed to Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. as the company presented itself as a diversified natural-resources business.
- 2007
PinnOak acquisition enters coal
[1]The acquisition of PinnOak marked the company's entry into domestic coal mining.
- 1994
Northshore Mining acquired
[1]Cleveland-Cliffs acquired Northshore Mining in Minnesota.
Products and positioning
A vertically integrated North American steel and iron ore supplier with a strong automotive and industrial focus. A historically important Great Lakes iron-ore supplier that evolved into the Cleveland-Cliffs integrated mining and steel group, with emphasis on domestic supply chains and value-added steel products.
Mining and raw materials
Iron ore pellets
Cleveland-Cliffs mines, concentrates, and pelletizes iron ore in Michigan and Minnesota. Its products include standard and fluxed pellets for blast furnaces as well as direct-reduction grades for DRI applications. Great Lakes rail and vessel logistics connect the mines with steelmaking customers and company facilities. Processed iron ore formed into uniform pellets for use as blast-furnace feedstock. Pellets were the company’s central commercial product during the Cliffs Natural Resources period and were supplied primarily to integrated steelmakers in the Great Lakes and broader North American market.
Steel
Flat-rolled steel
The company produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, galvanized, and other coated flat-rolled steels. These products serve automotive, construction, appliance, transportation, energy, and general industrial applications across North America.
Steel · 2020
Automotive steel
Automotive steel is a central downstream offering following the AK Steel acquisition and the expansion of the company's integrated steel network. The portfolio includes flat-rolled and coated grades supplied to vehicle manufacturers and their component suppliers.
Steel
Heavy plate
Cleveland-Cliffs produces heavy plate, including at Burns Harbor's wide plate mill. Plate products support shipbuilding, bridges, energy infrastructure, defense-related applications, and other demanding structural uses.
Direct reduced iron · 2020
Hot-briquetted iron
The Toledo, Ohio HBI facility produces hot-briquetted iron, a direct-reduced metallic feedstock that can supplement scrap in electric arc furnaces and help produce higher-value steel grades.
Steel downstream services
Tooling and stamping
The company operates tooling and stamping activities that extend beyond steel production into forming and component-related services, particularly for automotive and industrial customers.
Steel products
Tubular products
Cleveland-Cliffs' tubular division supplies steel tube products for industrial and energy-related uses. The division forms part of the company's downstream steel portfolio alongside flat-rolled, plate, tooling, and stamping operations.
Iron ore
Iron-ore concentrates
Beneficiated iron-ore concentrate produced by separating usable iron-bearing material from taconite and other mined rock. Concentrate served as an intermediate material for pellet production and supported the company’s vertically linked mining and processing system.
Coal
Metallurgical coal
Coal used in the steelmaking process, including the production of coke for blast furnaces. Coal was part of the company’s diversification into natural resources, although the business later became more concentrated on iron ore and steel.
Steel · 2020
North American steel products
Steel products became central to the successor Cleveland-Cliffs business after the acquisitions of AK Steel and substantially all of ArcelorMittal’s U.S. assets. The portfolio includes flat-rolled, coated, automotive, electrical, stainless, and other value-added products.
Controversies
2026
Canada industry minister demands plan from Cleveland-Cliffs to honour Stelco acquisition commitments
On Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, Canadian Industry Minister Mélanie Joly sent a letter to Stelco president Paul Simon demanding a plan outlining how Cleveland-Cliffs will honour the legally binding commitments it made when it acquired the steelmaker in 2024, including maintaining at least the same number of unionized employees and the vast majority of non-unionized employees for five years. Joly rejected the suggestion that U.S. tariffs and changing market conditions relieve the company of those obligations. Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves called her comments totally unfair and said the company would respond to the letter by Tuesday, Oct. 13, within the five-business-day deadline, preparing two submissions, including a plan to meet its commitments and a detailed document with commercially sensitive information he said would be protected under the Investment Canada Act.
Brand decisions
2020
Acquire AK SteelM&ABackground
The company wanted to move downstream from iron-ore production into higher-value steelmaking and strengthen its relationship with automotive and industrial customers.
Action taken
It acquired AK Steel in a transaction reported at approximately $1.1 billion. Cleveland-Cliffs completed the acquisition of AK Steel, adding steelmaking, finishing, and specialty-product capabilities.
Aftermath
The deal made Cleveland-Cliffs a substantially more integrated flat-rolled and automotive steel producer. The transaction materially changed the company’s business mix and accelerated its transformation into an integrated steel producer.
Transaction value. Approximately $1.1 billion (2020)
2020
Acquire ArcelorMittal United States operationsM&ABackground
The company pursued additional scale and integration in the United States steel market after acquiring AK Steel.
Action taken
Cleveland-Cliffs acquired ArcelorMittal's United States operations.
Aftermath
The acquisition expanded its steelmaking, finishing, and customer footprint and reinforced its position as a leading American flat-rolled producer.
2020
Acquire substantially all U.S. ArcelorMittal assetsM&ABackground
The transaction was intended to create a larger domestic steel platform with greater scale, product breadth, and raw-material integration.
Action taken
Cleveland-Cliffs acquired substantially all of ArcelorMittal’s United States operations, including steel plants, finishing assets, mines, and research capabilities.
Aftermath
The deal made Cleveland-Cliffs one of the largest integrated steel producers in the United States.
2017
Restore the Cleveland-Cliffs corporate nameStrategyBackground
After a period of international natural-resources expansion and subsequent portfolio simplification, management emphasized the company’s historical regional identity.
Action taken
The corporation changed its name from Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. back to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
Aftermath
The Cliffs Natural Resources name became a historical identifier while the public company continued trading as CLF.
2014
Refocus on United States iron ore and steelStrategyBackground
An activist-backed board change replaced the previous emphasis on global diversification with a strategy centered on strengthening the company's United States business.
Action taken
The reconstituted board appointed Lourenco Goncalves as chairman, president, and chief executive officer and redirected strategic priorities toward the United States.
Aftermath
The company subsequently sold coal and overseas assets, restored the Cleveland-Cliffs name, and pursued major United States steel acquisitions.
2014
Refocus on North American iron oreStrategyBackground
The company faced pressure from weaker iron-ore markets, costly international projects, and a need to improve portfolio resilience.
Action taken
Under Lourenco Goncalves, management emphasized domestic mines, pellet quality, steel-industry customers, and the disposal or restructuring of less strategic assets.
Aftermath
The refocused business provided the platform for later expansion into integrated steelmaking.
2008
Terminate Alpha Natural Resources acquisitionM&ABackground
Cleveland-Cliffs had agreed to acquire Alpha Natural Resources, but the 2008 financial crisis changed market and financing conditions.
Action taken
The company cancelled the transaction and paid a reported $70 million termination fee.
Aftermath
Cleveland-Cliffs continued pursuing a diversified minerals strategy for a period, while the failed transaction illustrated the risks of expansion during the financial crisis.
Termination fee. $70 million (2008)
2008
Adopt a diversified natural-resources identityStrategyBackground
The company sought to broaden its image and operating scope beyond its historic Great Lakes iron-ore base.
Action taken
It changed its corporate name from Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. to Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. and pursued additional mineral and international projects.
Aftermath
Commodity-price weakness and project challenges later prompted asset sales and a renewed focus on North American operations.
Recent events
- 2020
Cleveland-Cliffs acquires ArcelorMittal USA operations[1]
M&A
The company completed its acquisition of AK Steel in a transaction valued at approximately $1.1 billion, expanding its downstream steel and automotive capabilities.
- 2020
Cleveland-Cliffs completes acquisition of AK Steel[4]
M&A
The acquisition expanded Cleveland-Cliffs from an iron-ore and mining-centered company into a major integrated North American steel producer.
- 2020
Cleveland-Cliffs completes acquisition of substantially all U.S. assets of ArcelorMittal[4]
M&A
The transaction added major United States steelmaking, finishing, mining, research, and distribution assets to the Cleveland-Cliffs platform.
- 2017
Cleveland-Cliffs changes name from Cliffs Natural Resources[1]
Other
The company returned to the Cleveland-Cliffs name, ending the corporate-name period that had begun in 2008 while retaining its public-company listing and operating businesses.
- 2016
Cleveland-Cliffs announces Empire Mine closure plan[1]
Other
The company announced plans to close the Empire Mine near Marquette, Michigan, affecting approximately 400 workers according to the reference material.
- 2014
Activist-backed board change redirects company strategy[1]
Leadership change · Other
Six directors nominated by Casablanca Capital were elected, after which the board shifted the company's emphasis from global diversification toward its United States iron ore business.
Sources13 sources
- 1Cleveland-Cliffs corporate history and company informationen.wikipedia.org
- 2Cleveland-Cliffs official websiteclevelandcliffs.com
- 3Cleveland-Cliffs leadershipclevelandcliffs.com
- 4Cleveland-Cliffs news releasesclevelandcliffs.com
- 5Canada industry minister demands plan from Cleveland-Cliffs to honour Stelco acquisition commitmentswinnipegfreepress.com
- 6Canada industry minister demands plan from Cleveland-Cliffs to honour Stelco acquisition commitmentscbc.ca
- 7ArcelorMittal Divests From US-Based Businesspowderbulksolids.com
- 8ArcelorMittal S.A.: ArcelorMittal announces sale of 40 million common shares in Cleveland-Cliffs for gross proceeds of $651.6 millionfinanznachrichten.de
- 9As Stelco reports soaring earnings, how solid is their layoff legal case? | Globalnews.caglobalnews.ca
- 10CCI completes acquisition of AK Steelminingjournal.net
- 11Cleveland-Cliffs announces takeover of ArcelorMittal’s US operationswsws.org
- 12Joly threatens ‘full force of the law’ over Cleveland-Cliffs’ Stelco job commitmentsbnnbloomberg.ca
- 13Vance unveils $1 billion Ohio steel pushianslive.in
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