Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. Issues 2009 Corporate Sustainability Report

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) (Paris: CLF) today announced the release of its second Corporate Sustainability Report, Committed to the Global Community. The Report is a comprehensive look at Cliffs' business and its impact on the local communities in which it operates. The Report follows the G3 guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and focuses on four areas of corporate responsibility: corporate governance, environment, community and economic value.

The Cliffs Corporate Sustainability Report received third-party verification, raising the reporting level from a B to a B+. The reporting level identifies which elements of the framework have been applied in preparation of a report. In the 2009 Report, Cliffs included additional indicators on human rights, management approach and environment.

The Cliffs Corporate Sustainability Report features sustainability accomplishments, such as: 

    --  Implemented a Human Rights Policy across the organization.
    --  An enhanced Safety Strategy offering additional structure and
        accountability was implemented for the North American Business Unit. As
        a result, the operations experienced a 25 percent reduction in the Total
        Reportable Incident Rate in 2009.
    --  Adopting a transparent approach to reporting and reducing GHG emissions,
        Cliffs Greenhouse Gas Strategic Plan was implemented to address business
        risks and opportunities.
    --  Being named a finalist for the 2009 Golden Gecko Award in Western
        Australia for environmental excellence and managing biodiversity.
    --  Provided almost US$2.8 million to community investment programs.
    --  Developed a supplier policy to evaluate supplier practices related to
        environment, financial sustainability, human rights, diversity,
        community-related and ethics and business conduct.

"Cliffs has been conducting business as a responsible corporate citizen in communities in which we operate for more than 160 years," said Kelly Tompkins, executive vice president, legal, government affairs and sustainability of Cliffs. "The Company's annual sustainability report documents and communicates to the myriad of our stakeholders the impacts, efforts, achievements and challenges of our operations in a transparent manner."

Mr. Tompkins added that: "While the entire Cliffs organization should be proud of these accomplishments, sustainability is an ongoing journey that must be marked by continuous improvement along the way."

In an annual independent Institutional Shareholders Services survey regarding ethical corporate governance, Cliffs outperformed 96 percent of the materials companies in the Standard & Poor's (S&P) market indices. Cliffs will continue to develop its sustainability strategy and reporting capabilities. The Company is committed to developing transparency in reporting and improving the quality and quantity of the data reported.

To access Cliffs' 2009 Sustainability Report in its entirety, please visit the Sustainable Development section of the Company's website: .

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About Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. is an international mining and natural resources company. A member of the S&P 500 Index, 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 high and low volatile 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 Canada and six coal mines 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 Latin American business unit includes a 30% interest in the Amapa Project, an iron ore project in the state of Amapa in Brazil.

Other projects under development include a biomass production plant in Michigan and Ring of Fire chromite properties in Ontario, Canada. 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 November 4, 2010