TORONTO – MINING – Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) has disclosed that Bloom Lake General Partner Limited and certain of its affiliates, including Cliffs Quebec Iron Mining ULC (collectively, “Bloom Lake Group”) commenced restructuring proceedings in Montreal, Quebec, under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act ( Canada) (“CCAA”).
The Bloom Lake Group had recently suspended operations and for several months has been exploring options to sell certain of its Canadian assets, among other initiatives.
The decision to seek protection under the CCAA was based on a thorough legal and financial analysis of the options available to the Bloom Lake Group. The Bloom Lake Group is no longer generating any revenues and is not able to meet its obligations as they come due. The Initial CCAA Order will address the Bloom Lake Group’s immediate liquidity issues and permit the Bloom Lake Group to preserve and protect its assets for the benefit of all stakeholders while restructuring and sale options are explored.
As part of the CCAA process, the Court has appointed FTI Consulting Canada Inc. as the Monitor. The Monitor’s role in the CCAA process is to monitor the activities of the Bloom Lake Group and provide assistance to the Bloom Lake Group and its stakeholders in respect of the CCAA process.
Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. said, “For several months, we have been seeking equity investors and exploring sale options for Bloom Lake including working collaboratively with Investissement Québec. We support the decision by the directors of the Bloom Lake Group to conduct a restructuring process under the supervision of the Court.”
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. will file a Current Report on Form 8-K that provides pro forma financial information reflecting the deconsolidation of the Bloom Lake Group. Additional information regarding CCAA proceedings will be available on the Monitor’s website at http://cfcanada.fticonsulting.com/bloomlake.
About Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. is a leading mining and natural resources company. The Company is a major supplier of iron ore pellets to the U.S. steel industry from its mines and pellet plants located in Michigan and Minnesota. Cliffs also produces low-volatile metallurgical coal in the U.S. from its mines located in West Virginia and Alabama. Additionally, Cliffs operates an iron ore mining complex in Western Australia and owns two non-operating iron ore mines in Eastern Canada. Driven by the core values of social, environmental and capital stewardship, Cliffs’ employees endeavor to provide all stakeholders operating and financial transparency.
