Cliffs Natural Resources Enters Term Sheet for Potential Sale of Cockatoo Island Iron Ore Assets at End of Stage III Mining

Cliffs Natural Resources

announced today that a subsidiary of the Company and its joint venture partner, HWE Cockatoo, and Cockatoo Mining have entered a term sheet with Pluton Resources to sell its beneficial interest in the mining tenements and certain infrastructure of its Cockatoo Island joint venture. The potential transaction is expected to occur at the end of the current stage mining of Cockatoo Island, known as Stage III, which is anticipated to be complete in late 2012. Pluton has expressed interest in the assets for potential synergies that the Cockatoo Island operations could have with Pluton's Irvine Island assets in the Kimberly Iron Ore Hub of northern Western Australia. The proposed transaction is subject to completion of due diligence, definitive agreements between all parties, and conditional on regulatory and third party consents. In consideration, Pluton will assume the liabilities for the environmental rehabilitation of Cockatoo Island when Pluton's mining operations are completed. Cliffs' 50% interest in the Cockatoo Island joint venture is currently reported within the Company's Asia Pacific Iron Ore business segment. Cliffs' currently receives equity production of approximately 700,000 tons of high-grade fines annually from its share of the joint venture. Cliffs and HWE Cockatoo have previously indicated a plan for operations to cease at Cockatoo Island in late 2012.