Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. Releases First Sustainable Development Report

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) (Paris: CLF) today announced the publication of its first Sustainable Development Report, which provides an overview of the environmental, social and economic impacts of the Company's operations, as well as goals for further implementation of sustainable and socially responsible practices across all aspects of its business.

Written in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, the Report aims to establish baselines within several key sustainability areas, including: 

    --  Governance, Management and Transparency
    --  Environmental Stewardship
    --  Promoting Sustainable Development in Local Communities
    --  Economic Impact
    --  Respecting Employees

Through a continuous process of measuring performance, setting targets and programs, Cliffs aims to act as an agent of positive change in its communities.

"With our substantial growth in recent years, Cliffs is now of a size and scale that requires us to expand our focus beyond an excellent safety record, and we must place similar importance on other core sustainability values, such as health and wellness, environmental protection and economic impact," said Joseph Carrabba, chairman, president and CEO of Cliffs. "That is the intent of this first report, to share the current state of the company, both where we have historically performed well, and where we have some opportunities for improvement."

A link to the downloadable PDF version of the full Report can be found on the Company's home page, .

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ABOUT CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INC.

Cliffs Natural Resources is 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 Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. Our Company is organized through three geographic business units:

The North American business unit is comprised of six iron ore mines owned or managed in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada, and two coking coal mining complexes located in West Virginia and Alabama. The Asia Pacific business unit is comprised of two iron ore mining complexes in Western Australia and a 45% economic interest in a coking and thermal coal mine in Queensland, Australia. The South American business unit includes a 30% interest in the Amapa Project, an iron ore project in the state of Amapa in Brazil.

Over recent years, Cliffs has 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.

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    Source: Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.

Released August 11, 2009