NUGGETS

Nuggets of News

January 13, 1940 — Shipments of iron ore from the Lake Superior district during the season of 1940 may set a new record . The peak season was 1916 when they amounted to 66,902,778 gross tons . .That was during the WorldWar,anditisrecalledthattheproducers designedshipping70,000,000tonsin1917 . .But therewasalateopeningof interlakenavigation in 1917 and much ice caused delays, which it was afterwards estimated, cost the season 5 million tons . .Again there is war in Europe,and while its length and importance as a stimulant of business and industry in the United States are unknown quantities for the current year, the outlook is good in any event .The blast furnacesintheUnitedstatesareconsumingoreat the rate of more than 60 million tons annually . January 7, 1950 – Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh water in the world, also one of the deepest . The term superior referring to its position as the upper lake of the five Great Lakes of NorthAmerica was first used according to Grace Lee Nute in the Jesuit Relation of 1647-1648 . .The lake is 360 miles long and has amaximumwidthof 160mileswithanareaof about 32,000 square miles . .Its normal surface levelis602feetabovesealevelandthegreatest depth 1,290 feet .Another fact of importance is occurrence of the lake in the trough of a great syncline or down fold in the rocks . .This structure of the rocks has had an important effect on the origin of the lake .

January 23, 1960 –When you realize that 15 to 20% of the total cost of making a ton of finished steel is iron ore, it is obvious that steel companies,cannotaffordtobetoosentimental about where their ore comes from . .The steel companywiththelowestcostorehastoomuch advantage . Of course, every orebody is different .

“Mother Nature”put it down differently all over the world .It can be mined from open pits or from underground mines . .Some of it has to be washed or sink-floated .Other deposits have to be ground very fine for concentration and subsequent agglomeration . . So many different conditions surround each deposit that it is most difficult to compare the many factors that go into final costs, such as labor, taxes, royalties,equipment and interest .For example, labor is a very high part of the cost of underground ore (about 65% in Michigan) whereas in South America the percent of labor to total costisverylow .IntheLakeSuperiorarea,state and federal taxes are a major cost factor,but in Canada mining receives very preferential tax treatment . The capital required and interest costs are extremely high on pellet properties, as well as many of the large foreign developments,butfortheopenpitsof Minnesota,capitalandinterestisrelativelylow .Transportation charges from a mine on the Mesabi to a steel plant in the Pittsburgh area are $6 .56 per gross tonwhichis46%of thedeliveredmarketprice . This cost is made up of $1 .28 for the rail haul from the mine to the head of the lakes . .$2 for the lake haul,66 cents for the loading and unloading, and $2 .62 for the line haul ex-lake to Pittsburgh .

Iron Ore Price Report

North American Market (LTU)

COMPANY ORE TYPE

PER GROSS TON PER TON AT 64% IRON UNIT IRON CONTENT REPORTING DATE Cleveland-Cliffs Inc Pellets, FOB Michigan $1.25 $62.72 12/17/08 Cleveland-Cliffs Inc Pellets, FOB Minnesota $1.47 $64.64 12/17/08

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800.236.6650 / crmeyer.com / info@crmeyer.com 218.245.2766 / FX 218.245.3502 / 103 Industrial Dr / Coleraine MN Cliffs Natural Resources continued from page 15

Joseph Carrabba, Cliffs’ chairman, president and CEO, said,“This long-term project is consistent with Cliffs’ stated strategy to broaden its mineral diversification and opens the door to a new universe of customers . .In addition to furnishing the raw material needs of carbon steel producers, we will become a supplier to producers of stainless steel .

“Ferrochrome is imported by the world’s fastest growing steel markets,and many countries have categorized it as a strategic resource . We believe this discovery represents one of the premier chromite deposits in the world .Given the operation’s unique location, our objective will be to supply ferrochrome to stainless steel producers around the world . ”

A formal study of the chromium deposits will begin in early 2010 and is expected to be completedinthefirsthalfoftheyear .Thestudy will meet industry standards and be comparable to an NI 43-101 Technical Report or a Joint Ore Resource Committee (JORC) assessment of the mineral resource .