Edgar Filing: CLEVELAND CLIFFS INC

Form 10-K

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

x	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007

¨	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number: 1-8944

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


Ohio		34-1464672
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

1100 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio		44114-2544
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (216) 694-5700

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:


Title of Each Class		Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered

Common Shares, par value $0.25 per share		New York Stock Exchange and Chicago Stock Exchange

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

NONE

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨ No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of the Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer.


Large accelerated filer x		Accelerated filer ¨		Non-accelerated filer ¨		Smaller reporting company ¨.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12 b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No x

As of June 30, 2007, the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the closing price of $77.67 per share as reported on the New York Stock Exchange —Composite Index was $3,168,982,680 (excluded from this figure is the voting stock beneficially owned by the registrant’s officers and directors).

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s Common Shares, par value $0.25 per share, was 45,167,824 as of February 25, 2008.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s proxy statement for its annual meeting of shareholders scheduled to be held on May 13, 2008 are incorporated by reference into Part III.

TABLE OF CONTENTS


		Page No.
Definitions		2

Part I
Item 1.	Business	4
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	17
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	24
Item 2.	Properties	24
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	32
Item 4.	Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders	34

Part II
Item 5.	Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	36
Item 6.	Selected Financial Data	38
Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	40
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	62
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	63
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure	120
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	120

Part III
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	123
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	123
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters	123
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	124
Item 14.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	124

Part IV
Item 15.	Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules	125
Signatures		126

Definitions

The following abbreviations or acronyms are used in the text. References in this report to the “Company”, “we”, “us”, “our” and “Cliffs” are to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and subsidiaries, collectively. References to “A$” refer to Australian currency, “C$” to Canadian currency and “$” to United States currency.


Abbreviation or acronym		Term
AEPA		Australian Environmental Protection Authority
Algoma		Algoma Steel Inc.
Amapa Project		MMX Amapá Mineração Limitada
ASC		American Steamship Company
AOC		Administrative Order by Consent
APBO		Accumulated other postretirement benefit obligation
ARB		Accounting Research Bulletin
ARS		Auction rate securities
BHP		BHP Billiton
CAC		Cliffs Australia Coal Pty Ltd.
CAL		Cliffs and Associates Limited
CAWO		Cliffs Australian Washplant Operations Pty Ltd
Centennial Amapa		Centennial Asset Participações Amapá S.A.
CERCLA		Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act
Cockatoo Island		Cockatoo Island Joint Venture
Directors’ Plan		1996 Nonemployee Directors’ Compensation Plan, as amended and restated 1/1/2005
Dofasco		ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc.
EAF		Electric arc furnace
East Greenfield		East Greenfield Investors, LLC
EITF		Emerging Issues Task Force
Empire		Empire Iron Mining Partnership
EPA		United States Environmental Protection Agency
EPS		Earnings per share
FASB		Financial Accounting Standards Board
Ferrominera		C.V.G. Ferrominera Orinoco C.A. of Venezuela
FIN		FASB Interpretation Number
F.O.B.		Free on board
FSP		FASB Staff Position
GAAP		Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
GAM		Group Annuity Mortality
HAP		Hazardous air pollutants
HBI		Hot Briquette Iron
Hibbing		Hibbing Taconite Company
ICE		Incentive Equity Plan
IRS		Internal Revenue Service
ISO		International Standards Organization
Ispat		Ispat Inland Steel Company
JORC		Joint Ore Reserves Code
Kobe Steel		Kobe Steel, LTD.
kWh		Kilowatt hours
Laiwu		Laiwu Steel Group, Ltd.
LIBOR		London Interbank Offered Rate
LIFO		Last-in, first-out
LTI		Lost Time Injuries
LTIFR		Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate


Abbreviation or acronym		Term
LTVSMC		LTV Steel Mining Company
MACT		Maximum Achievable Control Technology
MDEQ		Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
MMBTU		Million British Thermal Units
MMX		MMX Minerção e Metalicos S.A.
MPCA		Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
MPSC		Michigan Public Service Commission
MSHA		Mine Safety and Health Administration
NBCWA		National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement
NDEP		Nevada Department of Environmental Protection
NLRB		National Labor Relations Board
Northshore		Northshore Mining Company
NRD		Natural Resource Damages
Oak Grove		Oak Grove Resources, LLC
OPEB		Other postretirement benefits
PBO		Projected Benefit Obligation
PCB		Polychlorinated Biphenyl
Pinnacle		Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC
PinnOak		Cliffs North American Coal LLC (f/k/a PinnOak Resources, LLC)
PolyMet		PolyMet Mining Inc.
Portman		Portman Limited
PPI		Producers Price Indices
PRP		Potentially responsible party
QCoal		QCoal Pty Ltd
Renewafuel		Renewafuel, LLC
RONA		Return on net assets
RTWG		Rio Tinto Working Group
SAB		Staff Accounting Bulletin
SAR		Stock Appreciation Rights
SEC		United States Securities and Exchange Commission
Severstal		Severstal North America, Inc.
SFAS		Statement of Financial Accounting Standards
SMM		Sonoma Mine Management
Sonoma		Sonoma Coal Project
Sonoma Sales		Sonoma Sales Pty Ltd
Stelco		Stelco Inc.
Tilden		Tilden Mining Company L.C.
Tonne		Metric ton
TSR		Total Shareholder Return
UMWA		United Mineworkers of America
United Taconite		United Taconite LLC
U.S. Steel		United States Steel Corporation
USW		United Steelworkers
Vale		Companhia Vale do Rio Doce
VEBA		Voluntary Employee Benefit Association trusts
VIE		Variable interest entity
VNQDC Plan		Voluntary Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan
Wabush		Wabush Mines Joint Venture
WCI		WCI Steel Inc.
Weirton		Weirton Steel Corporation
WEPCO		Wisconsin Electric Power Company

PART I

Item 1. Business.

Introduction

Founded in 1847, Cleveland-Cliffs is an international mining company, the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America and a supplier of metallurgical coal to the global steelmaking industry. The Company operates six iron ore mines in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada, and three coking coal mines in West Virginia and Alabama. Cliffs also owns 80.4 percent of Portman, a large iron ore mining company in Australia, serving the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore. In addition, the Company has a 30 percent interest in the Amapá Project, a Brazilian iron ore project, and a 45 percent economic interest in the Sonoma Project, an Australian coking and thermal coal project.

Strategic Transformation

In recent years, we have undergone a strategic transformation to an international mining company from our historic business model as a mine manager for the integrated steel industry in North America. Through a series of acquisitions and joint venture partnerships, the transformation has included our pursuit of geographic and mineral diversification, with a focus on providing raw materials to the steelmaking industry.

In April 2005, we completed the acquisition of Portman. The acquisition increased our customer base in China and Japan and established our presence in the Australian mining industry.

In March 2007, we acquired a 30 percent interest in MMX Amapá Mineração Ltda., a Brazilian limited liability company developing an iron ore project (Amapá Project). The remaining 70 percent of the Amapá Project is owned by MMX, which also serves as the manager of the Amapá Project. In January 2008, Anglo-American plc entered into a period of exclusive discussions with the controlling shareholder of MMX to purchase a controlling interest in MMX’s current 51 percent interest in the Minas-Rio iron ore project and its 70 percent interest in the Amapá Project. The proposed transaction is subject to a number of terms and conditions, including MMX board and regulatory approvals and the negotiation of definitive transaction documents. MMX will be required to obtain security holder approval for completion of the transaction.

In April 2007, we completed the acquisition of a 45 percent economic interest in Sonoma in Queensland, Australia.

In June 2007, we entered into an alliance whereby Kobe Steel agreed to license its patented ITmk3^® iron-making technology to us. The alliance, which has a 10-year term, provides Cliffs a technology to convert its low-grade iron ore reserves to high-purity iron nuggets that can be used in an electric arc furnace, a market in which we do not currently compete.

In July 2007, we completed our acquisition of PinnOak, a privately-owned U.S. mining company with three high-quality, low-volatile metallurgical coal mines. The acquisition furthers our growth strategy and expands our diversification of products for the integrated steel industry.

Business Segments

In the past, we evaluated segment results based on segment operating income. As a result of the PinnOak acquisition and our focus on reducing production costs, we now evaluate segment performance based on sales margin, defined as revenues less cost of goods sold identifiable to each segment.

We are currently organized into three reportable business segments: North America Iron Ore, North American Coal and Asia-Pacific Iron Ore. Financial information about our segments is included in Item 7 and NOTE 4 — SEGMENT REPORTING — included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

North American Iron Ore

We are the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America and sell virtually all of our production to integrated steel companies in the United States and Canada. We manage and operate six North American iron ore mines located in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada that currently have a rated capacity of 37 million tons of iron ore pellet production annually, representing approximately 45 percent of total North American pellet production capacity. Based on our percentage ownership of the North American mines we operate, our share of the rated pellet production capacity is currently 22.9 million tons annually, representing approximately 28 percent of total North American annual pellet capacity.

The following chart summarizes the estimated annual production capacity and percentage of total North American pellet production capacity for each of the North American iron ore pellet producers as of December 31, 2007:

North American Iron Ore Pellet

Annual Rated Capacity Tonnage


	Current Estimated Capacity (Gross Tons of Raw Ore in Millions)	Percent of Total North American Capacity
All Cliffs’ managed mines	37.0	45.3	%
Other U.S. mines
U.S. Steel’s Minnesota ore operations
Minnesota Taconite	14.6	17.9
Keewatin Taconite	5.4	6.6

Total U.S. Steel	20.0	24.5
ArcelorMittal USA Minorca mine	2.9	3.6

Total other U.S. mines	22.9	28.1
Other Canadian mines
Iron Ore Company of Canada	12.8	15.7
Quebec Cartier Mining Co.	8.9	10.9

Total other Canadian mines	21.7	26.6

Total North American mines	81.6	100.0	%

We sell our share of North American iron ore production to integrated steel producers, generally pursuant to term supply agreements with various price adjustment provisions.

For the year ended December 31, 2007, we produced a total of 34.6 million tons of iron ore pellets, including 21.8 million tons for our account and 12.8 million tons on behalf of steel company owners of the mines.

We produce 13 grades of iron ore pellets, including standard, fluxed and high manganese, for use in our customers’ blast furnaces as part of the steelmaking process. The variation in grades results from the specific chemical and metallurgical properties of the ores at each mine and whether or not fluxstone is added in the process. Although the grade or grades of pellets currently delivered to each customer are based on that customer’s preferences, which depend in part on the characteristics of the customer’s blast furnace operation, in many cases our iron ore pellets can be used interchangeably. Industry demand for the various grades of iron ore pellets depends on each customer’s preferences and changes from time to time. In the event that a given mine is operating at full capacity, the terms of most of our pellet supply agreements allow some flexibility to provide our customers iron ore pellets from different mines.

Standard pellets require less processing, are generally the least costly pellets to produce and are called “standard” because no ground fluxstone (i.e., limestone, dolomite, etc.) is added to the iron ore concentrate before turning the concentrates into pellets. In the case of fluxed pellets, fluxstone is added to the concentrate,

which produces pellets that can perform at higher productivity levels in the customer’s specific blast furnace and will minimize the amount of fluxstone the customer may be required to add to the blast furnace. “High manganese” pellets are the pellets produced at our Canadian Wabush operation where there is more natural manganese in the crude ore than is found at our other operations. The manganese contained in the iron ore mined at Wabush cannot be entirely removed during the concentrating process. Wabush produces pellets with two levels of manganese, both in standard and fluxed grades.

It is not possible to produce pellets with identical physical and chemical properties from each of our mining and processing operations. The grade or grades of pellets purchased by and delivered to each customer are based on that customer’s preferences and availability.

Each of our North American iron ore mines are located near the Great Lakes or, in the case of Wabush, near the St. Lawrence Seaway, which is connected to the Great Lakes. The majority of our iron ore pellets are transported via railroads to loading ports for shipment via vessel to steelmakers in the U.S. or Canada.

North American Iron Ore Customers

Our North American Iron Ore revenues are derived from sales of iron ore pellets to the North American integrated steel industry, consisting of eight customers. Generally, we have multi-year supply agreements with our customers. Sales volume under these agreements is largely dependent on customer requirements, and in many cases, we are the sole supplier of iron ore pellets to the customer. Each agreement has a base price that is adjusted annually using one or more adjustment factors. Factors that can adjust price include international pellet prices, measures of general industrial inflation and steel prices. One of our supply agreements has a provision that limits the amount of price increase or decrease in any given year.

During 2007, 2006 and 2005, we sold 22.3 million, 20.4 million and 22.3 million tons of iron ore pellets, respectively, from our share of the production from our North American iron ore mines. The following five customers together accounted for a total of 83, 91 and 93 percent of North American Iron Ore Revenues from product sales and services for the years 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively:


	Percent of Sales Revenues*
Customer	2007		2006		2005
ArcelorMittal USA	44	%	44	%	43	%
Algoma	16		20		22
Severstal	10		13		12
U.S. Steel Canada	7		5		8
WCI	6		9		8

Total	83	%	91	%	93	%

*	Excluding freight and venture partners’ cost reimbursements.

North American Iron Ore Term Supply Agreements

Our term supply agreements in North America expire between the end of 2011 and the end of 2018. The weighted average remaining duration is seven years.

Our North American Iron Ore sales are influenced by seasonal factors in the first quarter of the year as shipments and sales are restricted by weather conditions on the Great Lakes. During the first quarter, we continue to produce our products, but we cannot ship those products via lake freighter until the Great Lakes are passable, which causes our first quarter inventory levels to rise. Our limited practice of shipping product to ports on the lower Great Lakes and/or to customers’ facilities prior to the transfer of title has somewhat mitigated the seasonal effect on first quarter inventories and sales. At both December 31, 2007 and 2006, we had approximately 0.8 million tons of pellets in inventory at lower lakes or customers’ facilities.

ArcelorMittal USA

On March 19, 2007, we executed an umbrella agreement with ArcelorMittal USA, a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal, that covers significant price and volume matters under three separate pre-existing iron ore pellet supply agreements for ArcelorMittal USA’s Cleveland and Indiana Harbor West, Indiana Harbor East and Weirton facilities. This umbrella agreement formalizes a previously disclosed letter agreement dated April 12, 2006.

Under terms of the umbrella agreement, some of the terms of the separate pellet sale and purchase agreements for each of the above facilities were modified to aggregate ArcelorMittal USA’s purchases during the years 2006 through 2010. The pricing provisions of the umbrella agreement are determined in accordance with the individual supply agreements that were in place for each of the facilities at the time it was executed.

During 2006 through 2010, ArcelorMittal USA is obligated to purchase specified minimum tonnages of iron ore pellets on an aggregate basis. The umbrella agreement also sets the minimum annual tonnage at ArcelorMittal USA’s approximately budgeted usage levels through 2010, with pricing based on the facility to which the pellets are delivered. Beginning in 2007, the terms of the umbrella agreement allow ArcelorMittal USA to manage its ore inventory levels through buydown provisions, which permit it to reduce its tonnage purchase obligation each year at a specified price per ton, and through deferral provisions, which permit ArcelorMittal USA to defer a portion of its annual tonnage purchase obligation beginning in 2007. ArcelorMittal USA has opted to defer the purchase of 550,000 tons from 2007 to 2008. The umbrella agreement also provides for consistent nomination procedures through 2010 across all three iron ore pellet supply agreements.

If, at the end of the umbrella agreement term in 2010, a new agreement is not executed, our pellet supply agreements with ArcelorMittal USA prior to executing the umbrella agreement will again become the basis for supplying pellets to ArcelorMittal USA:


Facility		Agreement runs through
Cleveland Works and Indiana Harbor West facilities		2016
Indiana Harbor East facility		2015
Weirton facility		2018

In 2005, ArcelorMittal USA shut down ArcelorMittal-Weirton’s blast furnace. The Weirton Contract had a minimum annual purchase obligation from ArcelorMittal-Weirton to purchase iron ore pellets for the years 2006 through and including 2018, with a minimum annual purchase obligation of two million tons per year. The ArcelorMittal-Weirton blast furnace has been permanently shut down and to the best of our knowledge will not be restarted. The umbrella agreement eliminated the Weirton minimum purchase obligation.

ArcelorMittal USA is a 62.3 percent equity participant in Hibbing and a 21 percent equity partner in Empire with limited rights and obligations and a 28.6 percent participant in Wabush. In 2007, 2006 and 2005 our North American Iron Ore pellet sales to ArcelorMittal USA were 10.3, 9.1, and 10.7 million tons, respectively.

Algoma

Algoma, a Canadian steelmaker, is a subsidiary of Essar Steel Holdings Limited. We have a 15-year term supply agreement under which we are Algoma’s sole supplier of iron ore pellets through 2016 (the “Algoma Agreement”). Our annual obligation is capped at four million tons with our option to supply additional pellets. Pricing under the Algoma Agreement is based on a formula which includes international pellet prices (the “Pricing Formula”). The Algoma Agreement also provides that, in certain years, either party may request a price negotiation (“Reopener Years”) if prices under the Algoma Agreement differ from a specified benchmark price. The Reopener Years are 2008, 2011, and 2014. On January 3, 2008, Algoma requested price renegotiation for 2008. We have 60 days from the date of Algoma’s request to negotiate a mutually agreed upon sales price for 2008. If, after the expiration of this negotiation period, we are unable to agree on a negotiated price for 2008, either party has the right to initiate arbitration for purposes of determining the price for 2008. The price determined in the arbitration would be effective only for 2008. Prices for 2009 and 2010 would be determined in accordance with the original terms of the Algoma Agreement. In June 2007, Essar Global Limited, through its wholly owned subsidiary Essar Steel Holdings Limited, completed its acquisition of Algoma for C$1.85 billion. We do not expect the acquisition to affect our term supply agreement with Algoma. We sold 2.9 million, 3.5 million and 3.8 million tons to Algoma in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

Severstal

In January 2006, we entered into an agreement whereby we are the sole supplier of iron ore pellets through 2012 to Severstal. This agreement contains certain minimum purchase requirements for certain years. We sold 3.0 million, 3.7 million and 3.6 million tons to Severstal in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

On January 5, 2008, Severstal experienced an explosion and fire on the smaller of its two operating furnaces that partially curtailed production at their North American facility. We have not determined the impact of this incident on projected 2008 iron ore shipments.

WCI

On October 14, 2004, we and WCI reached agreement (the “2004 Pellet Agreement”) for us to supply 1.4 million tons of iron ore pellets in 2005 and, in 2006 and thereafter, to supply 100 percent of WCI’s annual requirements up to a maximum of two million tons of iron ore pellets. The 2004 Pellet Agreement is for a ten-year term, which commenced on January 1, 2005.

On May 1, 2006, an entity controlled by the secured noteholders of WCI acquired the steelmaking assets and business of WCI (“New WCI”). New WCI assumed the 2004 Pellet Agreement. We sold 1.5 million, 1.6 million and 1.4 million tons to New WCI in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

U.S. Steel Canada

U.S. Steel Canada (formerly Stelco) is a 44.6 percent participant in Wabush, and U.S. subsidiaries of U.S. Steel Canada own 14.7 percent of Hibbing and 15 percent of Tilden.

In December 2006, we executed a binding pellet supply term sheet with U.S. Steel Canada with respect to a seven-year supply agreement to provide their Lake Erie Steel and Hamilton Steel facilities excess pellet requirements above the amount supplied from their ownership interest at Hibbing, Tilden and Wabush. Pellet sales to U.S. Steel Canada totaled 1.2 million, 0.9 million and 1.4 million tons in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

North American Coal

Cliffs is a supplier of metallurgical coal in North America. We own and operate three North American coal mines located in West Virginia and Alabama that currently have a rated capacity of 6.5 million short tons of production annually. For the five months ended December 31, 2007, we sold a total of 1.2 million tons.

All three of our North American coal mines are positioned near rail or barge lines providing access to international shipping ports, which allows for export of our coal production.

North American Coal Customers

North American Coal’s production is sold to global integrated steel and coke producers in Europe, South America and North America. Approximately 90 percent of our 2008 production is committed under one-year contracts. Customer contracts in North America typically are negotiated on a calendar year basis with international contracts negotiated as of March 31.

Exports and domestic sales represented 66 percent and 34 percent, respectively, of our North American Coal sales in 2007. No customer comprised more than 10 percent of our consolidated sales.

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore

Our Asia-Pacific Iron Ore segment is comprised of Portman, an Australian iron ore mining company. The minority interest ownership of the company is publicly held and traded on the Australian Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “PMM”.

Portman’s operations are in Western Australia and include its 100 percent owned Koolyanobbing mine and its 50 percent equity interest in Cockatoo Island. Portman serves the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore. Production in 2007 (excluding its 0.7 million tonne share of Cockatoo Island) was 7.7 million tonnes.

These two operations supply a total of four direct shipping export products to Asia via the global seaborne trade market. Koolyanobbing produces a standard lump and fines product as well as low grade fines product. Cockatoo Island produces and exports a single premium fines product. Portman lump products are directly charged to the blast furnace, while the fines products are used as sinter feed. The variation in Portman’s four export product grades reflects the inherent chemical and physical characteristics of the ore bodies mined as well as the supply requirements of the customers.

Koolyanobbing is a collective term for the operating deposits at Koolyanobbing, Mount Jackson and Windarling. The project is located 425 kilometers east of Perth and approximately 50 kilometers northeast of the town of Southern Cross. There are approximately 100 kilometers separating the three mining areas. Banded iron formation hosts the mineralization which is predominately hematite and goethite. Each deposit is characterized with different chemical and physical attributes and in order to achieve customer product quality; ore in varying quantities from each deposit must be blended together.

Blending is undertaken at Koolyanobbing, where the crushing and screening plant is located. Standard and low grade products are produced in separate campaigns. Once the blended ore has been crushed and screened into a direct shipping product, it is transported by rail approximately 575 kilometers south to the Port of Esperance for shipment to Asian customers.

Cockatoo Island is located off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia, approximately 1,900 kilometers north of Perth and is only accessible by sea and air. Cockatoo Island produces a single high iron product known as Cockatoo Island Premium Fines. The deposit is almost pure hematite and contains very few contaminants enabling the shipping grade to be above 68 percent iron. Ore is mined below the sea level on the southern edge of the island. This is facilitated by a sea wall which enables mining to a depth of 40 meters below sea level. Ore is crushed and screened to the final product sizing. Vessels berth at the island and the fines product is loaded directly to the ship. Cockatoo Island Premium Fines are highly sought in the global marketplace due to its extremely high iron grade and low valueless mineral content. Production at Cockatoo Island is expected to continue into the second quarter of 2008, with shipments to end in the third quarter of 2008.

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore Customers

Portman’s production is fully committed to steel companies in China and Japan through 2012. A limited spot market exists for seaborne iron ore as most production is sold under long-term contracts with annual benchmark prices driven from negotiations between the major suppliers and Chinese, Japanese and other Asian steel mills. The three major iron ore producers, Vale, Rio Tinto and BHP, dominate the seaborne iron ore trade and together account for approximately three-quarters of the global supply to the seaborne market.

Portman has long-term supply agreements with steel producers in China and Japan that account for approximately 74 percent and 26 percent, respectively, of sales. Sales volume under the agreements is partially dependent on customer requirements. Each agreement is priced based on benchmark pricing established for Australian producers.

During 2007, 2006 and 2005, we sold 8.1 million, 7.4 million and 4.9 million tonnes of iron ore, respectively, from our Western Australia mines. (Sales for 2005 represent amounts since the March 31, 2005 acquisition of Portman).

Sales in 2007 were to 17 Chinese and three Japanese customers. No customer comprised more than 15 percent of Asia-Pacific Iron Ore sales or 10 percent of our consolidated sales in 2007, 2006 or 2005. Portman’s five largest customers accounted for approximately 47 percent of Portman’s sales in 2007, 46 percent in 2006 and 50 percent in 2005.

Investments

In addition to the Company’s reportable business segments, we are partner to a number of projects, including the Amapá Iron Ore Project in Brazil and the Sonoma Coal Project in Australia.

Amapá

We are a 30 percent minority interest owner in the Amapá Project which consists of a significant iron ore deposit, a 192-kilometer railway connecting the mine location to an existing port facility and 71 hectares of real estate on the banks of the Amazon River, reserved for a loading terminal. The Amapá Project initiated production in late-December 2007. It is expected that completion of the construction of the concentrator and ramp-up of production will occur in 2008. It is estimated that Amapá will produce and sell between three and four million tonnes of iron ore fines products in 2008 and 6.5 million tonnes annually once fully operational. The majority of Amapá’s production is committed under a long-term supply agreement with an operator of an iron oxide pelletizing plant in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Sonoma

We are a 45 percent economic interest owner in the Sonoma Coal Project in Queensland, Australia. The project is currently operating and expected to produce approximately two million tonnes of coal in 2008 and three to four million tonnes of coal annually in 2009 and beyond. Production will include a mix of hard coking coal and thermal coal. The Sonoma Coal Project has economically recoverable reserves of 27 million tonnes. All 2008 production is committed under supply agreements with customers in Asia.

The Iron Ore, Metallurgical Coal and Steel Industries

Almost all iron ore and metallurgical coal is used in steelmaking and therefore is dependent on the steel industry. Global crude steel production broke the 100 million tonne per month level for the first time in March 2006. Production in 2007 for the 67 countries reporting to the International Iron and Steel Institute increased approximately seven percent over 2006. The growing level of international production is largely due to the rapid industrial growth in China.

China produced 489 million tonnes of crude steel in 2007, up 15 percent over 2006, accounting for approximately 37 percent of global production.

The rapid growth in steel production in China has only been partially met by a corresponding increase in domestic Chinese iron ore production. Chinese iron ore deposits, although substantial, are of a lower grade (less than half of the equivalent iron ore content) than the current iron ore supplied from Brazil and Australia.

The world price of iron ore is influenced by international demand. The rapid growth in Chinese demand, particularly in more recent years, has created a market imbalance and has led to demand outstripping supply. This market imbalance has recently led to high spot prices for natural iron ore and increases of 9.5 percent, 19 percent and 71.5 percent in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively, in benchmark prices for Brazilian and Australian suppliers of iron ore. In mid-February 2008, Japan’s Nippon Steel and South Korea’s Posco agreed with Vale to a 65 percent increase in the price for fines. The increased demand for iron ore has resulted in the major iron ore suppliers expanding efforts to increase their capacity.

Competition

We compete with several iron ore producers in North America, including Iron Ore Company of Canada, Quebec Cartier Mining Company and U.S. Steel, as well as other steel companies that own interests in iron ore mines that may have excess iron ore inventories. In the coal industry, we compete with many metallurgical coal producers including Alpha Natural Resources, Massey Energy, Jim Walter Resources, Peabody Energy, CONSOL and others.

As the North American steel industry continues to consolidate, a major focus of the consolidation is on the continued life of the integrated steel industry’s raw steelmaking operations (i.e., blast furnaces and basic oxygen furnaces that produce raw steel). In addition, other competitive forces have become a large factor in the iron ore business. Electric furnaces built by mini-mills, which are steel recyclers, generally produce steel by using scrap steel and reduced-iron products, not iron ore pellets, in their electric furnaces.

Competition among the sellers of iron ore pellets and metallurgical coal is predicated upon the usual competitive factors of price, availability of supply, product performance, service and transportation cost to the consumer.

Portman exports iron ore products to China and Japan in the world seaborne trade. Portman competes with major iron ore exporters from Australia, Brazil and India.

Environment

General

Various governmental bodies are continually promulgating new laws and regulations affecting us, our customers, and our suppliers in many areas, including waste discharge and disposal, hazardous classification of materials and products, air and water discharges, and many other environmental, health, and safety matters. Although we believe that our environmental policies and practices are sound and do not expect that the application of any current laws or regulations would reasonably be expected to result in a material adverse effect on our business or financial condition, we cannot predict the collective adverse impact of the expanding body of laws and regulations.

Specifically, proposals for voluntary initiatives and mandatory controls are being discussed both in the United States and worldwide to reduce greenhouse gases — most notably carbon dioxide, a by-product of burning fossil fuels and other industrial processes. Although the outcome of these efforts remains uncertain, we have proactively engaged outside experts to more formally develop a comprehensive, enterprise-wide greenhouse gas management strategy. The comprehensive strategy is aimed at considering all significant aspects associated with greenhouse gas initiatives and optimizing our regulatory, operational, and financial impacts and/or opportunities. We will continue to monitor developments related to efforts to register and potentially regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

North American Iron Ore

In the construction of our facilities and in their operation, substantial costs have been incurred and will continue to be incurred to avoid undue effect on the environment. Our North American capital expenditures relating to environmental matters were $8.8 million, $10.5 million, and $9.2 million in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively. It is estimated that approximately $10.8 million will be spent in 2008 for capital environmental control facilities.

The iron ore industry has been identified by the EPA as an industrial category that emits pollutants established by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. These pollutants included over 200 substances that are now classified as HAP. The EPA is required to develop rules that would require major sources of HAP to utilize MACT standards for their emissions. Pursuant to this statutory requirement, the EPA published a final rule on October 30, 2003 imposing emission limitations and other requirements on taconite iron ore processing operations. On December 15, 2005, we and Ispat-Inland Mining Company filed a Petition to Delete as a source category regulated by Section 112 of the Clean Air Act. The EPA requested additional information, and a supplement was submitted to the EPA on August 22, 2006. A response is pending.

On March 10, 2005, the EPA issued the Clean Air Interstate Rule final regulations and on March 15, 2005, the EPA issued the Clean Air Mercury Rule. The rules establish phased reductions of NOx, SO₂ and mercury from electric power generating stations. Accordingly, Cliffs anticipates that it will incur capital and ongoing emission allowance costs at its Silver Bay Power Plant to maintain compliance with the rule. As Cliffs is still optimizing its various options for compliance, we cannot accurately estimate the timing or cost of emission controls at this time.

On December 16, 2006, we submitted an administrative permit amendment application to the MPCA with respect to Northshore’s Title V operating permit. The proposed amendment requested the deletion of a 30-year old “control city” monitoring requirement which was used to assess the adequacy of air emission control equipment installed in the 1970s. MPCA had discontinued use of control city monitoring in the early 1980s, but had recently reinstituted monitoring. The control city monitoring compared ambient fiber levels in St. Paul, Minnesota to levels at Northshore and the surrounding area. The administrative permit amendment application argued that the control city monitoring requirement is an obsolete and redundant standard given Northshore’s existing emission control equipment and applicable federal regulations, state rules, and permit requirements.

We received a letter dated February 23, 2007 from the MPCA notifying us that our proposed permit amendment had been denied. We have appealed the denial to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Subsequent to the filing of our appeal, the MPCA advised Northshore that the MPCA considered Northshore to be in violation of the control city standard. In addition, the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy intervened in our appeal of the denial of a proposed permit amendment to our Title V operating permit. Oral arguments on our appeal were held on February 21, 2008.

If either our appeal is unsuccessful or if we are unable to negotiate an acceptable compliance schedule, Northshore could be subject to future enforcement actions with respect to its Title V operating permit if we are unable to meet the permit requirements as interpreted by MPCA.

North American Coal

In 1996 and 1997, two cases were brought alleging that dust from the Concord Preparation Plant damaged properties in the area. In 2002, the parties entered into settlement agreements with the former owner in exchange for a lump sum payment and the agreement to implement remedial measures. However, the plaintiffs were not required to dismiss their claims. PinnOak was added to these cases in 2004 and 2006. The plaintiffs in these matters are now seeking additional remediation measures and we are opposing this assertion and believe that any amounts ultimately paid in this matter will not be material. In addition to the two cases noted above, in 2004 approximately 160 individual plaintiffs brought an action against PinnOak asserting injuries arising from particulate emissions from the Concord Preparation Plant. PinnOak is seeking a summary judgment in this most recent matter because it had previously been concluded under the 2002 settlement agreement.

In 2006, 13 plaintiffs brought an action against PinnOak related to the operation of the Concord Preparation Plant. These plaintiffs assert that dangerous levels of coal dust emissions have been allowed to accumulate at that facility. We deny this allegation and are defending the matter vigorously.

Since the acquisition of the PinnOak properties in 2007, we are evaluating ways to improve the efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of our coal operations. Included in these evaluations are ways to reduce refuse and air emissions from preparation plants and maintaining the quality of water in and around our properties.

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore

Environmental issues and their management continued to be an important focus at our Asia-Pacific iron ore operations throughout 2007. Mining operations proceeded without major environmental incidents. Implementation of management controls at the Koolyanobbing operations continued, and a significant milestone was achieved with the certification of the environmental management system to the international standard ISO 14001.

A third-party compliance review of the Koolyanobbing operations was undertaken during 2007. The Koolyanobbing operations are among the most heavily regulated mining operations in Western Australia, with environmental conditions set at both State and Federal government levels. The review audited compliance with over 200 regulatory conditions and management plan commitments. A high level of compliance was achieved across all areas. Nine items of non-compliance were reported, with most being non-material in terms of environmental risk. Work commenced to address these items, including improved blasting procedures, the initiation of a project to quantify dust emission sources and the inclusion of soil assessment protocols in waste dump planning.

The Asia-Pacific iron ore environmental team was strengthened during the year to ensure that both the current mine operations continue to be well managed and that expansion plans receive timely environmental assessment and approvals.

We commenced a major environmental permitting program at the Koolyanobbing operations in 2007 in preparation of the submission of approval applications for a number of development proposals in 2008. The program included environmental baseline and impact assessment for expansion of pits and waste dumps at Koolyanobbing, Mount Jackson and Windarling. Groundwater studies, including a ground water re-injection trial, were completed in support of an approval application for mining below the water table at Windarling.

In May 2007, the AEPA released a report outlining the recommendations for a significant extension of the conservation estate in the area of the Koolyanobbing mining operations. The AEPA report recommended the conversion of much of the area to Class A conservation reserve, which effectively excludes mining activities. The report represents the view of the AEPA and neither creates an obligation on the government to act nor affects the rights of Portman to operate under existing approvals. However, if implemented, the AEPA recommendations would severely constrain Portman’s expansion opportunities in the vicinity of the current operations. There are disparate views within government agencies over the issue. We have communicated our concerns to the government in a manner that indicates a willingness to work with all parties to achieve a sustainable outcome for conservation and resource development in the region.

At the Cockatoo Island operations, the focus of environmental work was on preparing a submission for environmental approvals for extension of the embankment mining project. A submission was lodged with the regulatory agencies in December 2007, with the aim of securing approvals by mid-2008. Work continued on refining a closure plan for the Cockatoo Island operations. A program of rehabilitation for the areas that do not form part of the active mining area adjacent to the seawall is planned for 2008.

For additional information on our environmental matters, see Item 3. Legal Proceedings and NOTE 5 — ENVIRONMENTAL AND MINE CLOSURE OBLIGATIONS in Item 8.

Energy

Electricity. The Empire and Tilden mines receive electric power from WEPCO. Under the contracts, Empire and Tilden were afforded an energy price cap and certain power curtailment features. These contracts terminated at the end of the 2007 calendar year. Prior to the termination of the contracts in 2007, WEPCO initiated a tariff rate case in which Empire and Tilden participated in order to establish a new tariff rate for each mine upon the termination of the contracts. The resulting settlement, which was approved by the Michigan Public Service Commission, created a new industrial tariff rate. Effective January 1, 2008 Tilden and Empire receive their electrical power from WEPCO under the new tariff rate. On January 31, 2008, WEPCO filed a new rate case, proposing an increase to the tariff rates that became effective on January 1, 2008. In February 2008, we filed a petition to intervene in the new rate case. We are also reviewing the rate case and analyzing the potential impact on Empire and Tilden.

Electric power for the Hibbing mine and the United Taconite mine is supplied by Minnesota Power, Inc., under agreements that continue to December 2008 and October 2008, respectively.

Silver Bay Power Company, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of ours, with a 115 megawatt power plant, provides the majority of Northshore’s energy requirements, has an interconnection agreement with Minnesota Power, Inc. for backup power, and sells 40 megawatts of excess power capacity to Northern States Power Company under a contract that extends to 2011.

Wabush owns a portion of the Twin Falls Hydro Generation facility that provides power for Wabush’s mining operations in Newfoundland. We have a 20-year agreement with Newfoundland Power, which continues until December 31, 2014. This agreement allows an interchange of water rights in return for the power needs for Wabush’s mining operations. The Wabush pelletizing operations in Quebec are served by Quebec Hydro on an annual contract.

The Oak Grove mine and Concord Preparation Plant are supplied electrical power by Alabama Power, a Southern Company, under a contract which expires June 30, 2008. Rates of the contract are subject to change during the term of the contract as regulated by the Alabama Public Service Commission.

Electrical power to the Pinnacle, Green Ridge No. 1, Green Ridge No. 2 mines and the Pinnacle Preparation Plant are supplied by the Appalachian Power Company under two contracts. The Indian Creek contract is renewable September 22, 2008 and the Pinnacle Creek contract is renewable July 4, 2008. Both contracts specify the applicable rate schedule, minimum monthly charge and power capacity furnished. Rates, terms and conditions of the contracts are subject to the approval of the Public Service Commission of West Virginia.

Koolyanobbing and its associated satellite mines draw power from independent diesel fueled power stations and generators. Temporary diesel power generation capacity has been installed at the Koolyanobbing operations, allowing sufficient time for a detailed investigation into the viability of long-term options such as connecting into the Western Australian South West Interconnected System or provision of natural gas or dual fuel (natural gas and diesel) generating capacity. These options are not economic for the satellite mines, which will continue being powered by diesel generators.

Electrical supply on Cockatoo Island is diesel generated. The powerhouse adjacent to the processing plant powers the shiploader, fuel farm and the processing plant. The workshop and administration office is powered by a separate generator.

Sonoma receives its electricity from the public grid generated by local electric retailer Ergon Energy. In 2008, Sonoma plans to go to the contestable energy market and invite offers to supply electricity on a long-term basis. The state of Queensland enjoys a competitive deregulated energy market.

Process Fuel. We have contracts providing for the transport of natural gas for our United States iron ore operations. The Empire and Tilden mines have the capability of burning natural gas, coal, or to a lesser extent, oil. The Hibbing and Northshore mines have the capability to burn natural gas and oil. The United Taconite mine has the ability to burn coal, natural gas and coke breeze. Although all of the U.S. iron ore mines have the capability of burning natural gas, with higher natural gas prices, the pelletizing operations for the U.S. iron ore mines utilize alternate fuels when practicable. Wabush has the capability to burn oil and coke breeze.

Research and Development

We have been a leader in iron ore mining technology for more than 160 years. We operated some of the first mines on Michigan’s Marquette Iron Range and pioneered early open-pit and underground mining methods. From the first application of electrical power in Michigan’s underground mines to the use today of sophisticated computers and global positioning satellite systems, we have been leaders in the application of new technology to the centuries-old business of mineral extraction. Today, our engineering and technical staffs are engaged in full-time technical support of our operations and improvement of existing products.

As part of our efforts to develop alternative metallic products, we are developing, with Kobe Steel, a commercial-scale reduced iron plant, which will convert taconite into nearly pure iron in nugget form utilizing Kobe Steel’s ITmk3^® technology. This innovative technology has the potential to open new markets by offering an economically competitive supply of iron material for electric arc furnaces.

North American Coal and Asia-Pacific Iron Ore do not have any material research and development projects.

Employees

As of December 31, 2007, there were a total of 5,298 employees:


	North American Iron Ore	North American Coal	Asia-Pacific Iron Ore	Corporate & Support Services	Total
Salaried	843	190	77	211	1,321
Hourly	3,264	701	12	—	3,977

Total (1)	4,107	891	89	211	5,298

(1)	Includes our employees and the employees of the North American joint ventures.

Hourly employees at our Michigan and Minnesota iron ore mining operations (other than Northshore) are represented by the USW under collective bargaining agreements dated August 1, 2004 that expire on September 1, 2008. Bargaining for new collective agreements will take place in 2008. Both the U.S. Steel and ArcelorMittal USA collective bargaining agreements with the USW also expire on September 1, 2008. The current profitable state of both the North American steel and iron ore industries has been cited by the USW as an important factor in developing negotiation objectives for 2008.

In April 2006, the USW advised us with a “Written Notification” that it was initiating an organizing campaign at Northshore. Under the terms of our collective bargaining agreements with the USW, we are required to remain neutral during the organizing campaign. Based upon subsequent conversations with USW representatives, the organizing campaign was postponed pending resolution of issues related to the neutrality commitment in the collective bargaining agreement.

Hourly employees at Wabush are represented by the USW. Wabush and the USW entered into a collective bargaining agreement in October 2004 that expires on March 1, 2009.

In July 2007, the Company purchased PinnOak. Hourly production and maintenance employees at its subsidiary corporations are represented by the UMWA. Each of those subsidiary companies entered into new collective bargaining agreements with the UMWA in March 2007 that expire on December 31, 2011. Those collective agreements are identical in all material respects to the National Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 2007 between the UMWA and the Bituminous Coal Operators’ Association.

Our employees at Asia-Pacific operations are not represented under collective bargaining agreements.

As of the end of 2007, 56 percent of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. Agreements covering 72 percent of those employees expire by the end of 2008.

Growth Strategy

We expect to grow our business and presence as an international mining company by expanding both geographically and through the minerals that we mine and market. Recent investments in Australia and Latin America, as well as acquisitions in minerals outside of iron ore, such as coal, illustrate the execution of this strategy.

Mineral Diversification — In addition to continuously evaluating acquisition targets and investment opportunities in iron ore, metallurgical and thermal coal, we also consider opportunities outside of these areas that could expand our position as a supplier of raw materials to the steelmaking industry.

Geographic Diversification — We currently have producing assets in North America and Western Australia. Through recent growth projects such as the Amapá Project, which provides entry into Latin America, and Sonoma in Eastern Australia, we are increasing our presence in markets outside of North America.

Our strategy also includes plans to capitalize on our unique technological expertise in the area of concentrating and processing lower-grade ores into high-quality products. Illustrating this strategy is our recently announced alliance to license Kobe Steel’s patented ITmk3^® iron-making technology. This technology provides a means to use our existing iron ore reserves as a raw material to produce high-purity iron nuggets containing more than 96 percent iron. These iron nuggets are a high-quality, marketable raw material for EAFs, a growing segment of the steel industry we do not currently supply.

Much of the current increase in global demand for steel is due to industrialization in countries such as China. China is seeking foreign supplies of the raw materials it needs to produce steel to build infrastructure, factories, hotels and other buildings and to manufacture motor vehicles and appliances. Currently, China is the world’s largest steel producer, with 37 percent of global steel production, and China’s steel production is expected to continue to grow. Chinese iron ore imports rose approximately 19 percent in 2007 and are expected to further increase in 2008. China is the largest consumer of iron ore, steel and copper. We are attempting to capitalize on China’s industrial growth by acquiring well-located iron ore and/or metallurgical coal properties and obtaining agreements to supply iron ore and coal to international steel producers.

Available Information

Our headquarters are located at 1100 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44114-2544, and our telephone number is (216) 694-5700. We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and its rules and regulations. The Exchange Act requires us to file reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Copies of these reports and other information can be read and copied at:

SEC Public Reference Room

100 F Street N.E.

Washington, D.C. 20549

Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.

The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. These materials may be obtained electronically by accessing the SEC’s home page at http://www.sec.gov.

We make available, free of charge on our website, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file these documents with, or furnish them to, the SEC. These documents are posted on our website at www.cleveland-cliffs.com — under “For Investors”.

We also make available, free of charge on our website, the charter of the Audit Committee, Board Affairs Committee, Compensation and Organization Committee and Finance Committee as well as the Corporate Governance Guidelines and the Code of Business Conduct & Ethics adopted by our Board of Directors. These documents are posted on our website at www.cleveland-cliffs.com — under “For Investors”, select the “Corporate Governance” link.

References to our website do not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on our website and such information is not part of this Form 10-K.

Copies of the above referenced information will also be made available, free of charge, by calling (216) 694-5700 or upon written request to:

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc

Investor Relations

1100 Superior Avenue

Cleveland, OH 44114-2544

Item 1A. Risk Factors

If the rate of steel consumption slows globally, it could lead to excess global capacity, increasing competition within the steel industry and increased imports into the United States, potentially lowering the demand for iron ore and coal.

The world price of iron ore and coal are strongly influenced by international demand. The current growing level of international demand for raw materials for steel production is largely due to the rapid industrial growth in China. If the economic growth rate in China slows, which may be difficult to forecast, less steel may be used in construction and manufacturing, which could decrease demand for iron ore and coal. This could adversely impact the world iron ore and coal markets and our operations. A slowing of the economic growth rate globally leading to overcapacity in the steelmaking industry could also result in greater exports of steel out of Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America, which, if imported into North America, could decrease demand for domestically produced steel, thereby decreasing the demand for iron ore and coal supplied in North America. During 2006, China became the world’s largest exporter of steel.

China’s domestic crude steel production climbed approximately 17 percent in 2007 as compared to 2006. Based on the American Iron and Steel Institute’s Apparent Steel Supply (excluding semi-finished steel products), imports of steel into the United States constituted 23.3 percent, 27.3 percent and 21.3 percent of the domestic steel market supply for 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively. Further, production of steel by North American integrated steel manufacturers may also be replaced, to some extent, by production of substitute materials by other manufacturers. In the case of some product applications, North American steel manufacturers compete with manufacturers of other materials, including plastic, aluminum, graphite composites, ceramics, glass, wood and concrete. Most of our term supply agreements for the sale of iron ore products are requirements-based or provide for flexibility of volume above a minimum level. Reduced demand for and consumption of iron ore products by integrated steel producers have had and may continue to have a significant negative impact on our sales, margins and profitability.

Capacity expansions within the industry could lead to lower global iron ore and coal prices or impact our production.

The increased demand for iron ore and coal, particularly from China, has resulted in the major iron ore and metallurgic coal suppliers increasing their capacity. Many of our competitors have announced plans to increase their capacity through capital expenditures, project expansion and acquisitions to capitalize on these opportunities. An increase in our competitors’ capacity could result in excess supply of iron ore and coal, resulting in downward pressure on prices. A decrease in pricing would adversely impact our sales, margins and profitability.

If steelmakers use methods other than blast furnace production to produce steel, or if their blast furnaces shut down or otherwise reduce production, the demand for our iron ore and coal products may decrease.

Demand for our iron ore and coal products is determined by the operating rates for the blast furnaces of steel companies. However, not all finished steel is produced by blast furnaces; finished steel also may be produced by other methods that do not require iron ore products. For example, steel “mini-mills,” which are steel recyclers, generally produce steel primarily by using scrap steel and other iron products, not iron ore pellets, in their electric furnaces. Production of steel by steel mini-mills was approximately 60 percent of North American total finished steel production in 2007. Steel producers also can produce steel using imported iron ore or semi-finished steel products, which eliminates the need for domestic iron ore. Environmental restrictions on the use of blast furnaces also may reduce our customers’ use of their blast furnaces. Maintenance of blast furnaces can require substantial capital expenditures. Our customers may choose not to maintain their blast furnaces, and some of our customers may not have the resources necessary to adequately maintain their blast furnaces. If our customers use methods to produce steel that do not use iron ore and coal products, demand for our iron ore and coal products will decrease, which could adversely affect our sales, margins and profitability.

A substantial majority of our sales are made under term supply agreements, which are important to the stability and profitability of our operations.

In 2007, more than 95 percent of our North American Iron Ore sales volume, the majority of our North American Coal sales, and virtually all of our Australian sales were sold under term supply agreements. For North American Coal, these agreements typically cover a twelve-month period and must be renewed each year. The Asia-Pacific Iron Ore contracts expire in 2010. We cannot be certain that we will be able to renew or replace existing term supply agreements at the same volume levels, prices or with similar profit margins when they expire. A loss of sales to our existing customers could have a substantial negative impact on our sales, margins and profitability.

Our North American Iron Ore term supply agreements contain a number of price adjustment provisions, or price escalators, including adjustments based on general industrial inflation rates, the price of steel and the international price of iron ore pellets, among other factors, that allow us to adjust the prices under those agreements generally on an annual basis. Our price adjustment provisions are weighted and some are subject to annual collars, which limit our ability to raise prices to match international levels and fully capitalize on strong demand for iron ore. Most of our North American Iron Ore term supply agreements do not otherwise allow us to increase our prices and to directly pass through higher production costs to our customers. An inability to increase prices or pass along increased costs could adversely affect our margins and profitability.

In North America, we depend on a limited number of customers.

Five customers together accounted for more than 80 percent of our North American Iron Ore sales revenues measured as a percent of product revenues for each of the past three years. If one or more of these customers were to significantly reduce their purchases of products from us, or if we were unable to sell products to them on terms as favorable to us as the terms under our current term supply agreements, our North American sales, margins and profitability could suffer materially due to the high level of fixed costs and the high costs to idle or close mines. The majority of the iron ore we manage and produce is for our own account, and therefore we rely on sales to our joint venture partners and other third-party customers for most of our revenues.

Mine closures entail substantial costs, and if we close one or more of our mines sooner than anticipated, our results of operations and financial condition may be significantly and adversely affected.

If we close any of our mines, our revenues would be reduced unless we were able to increase production at our other mines, which may not be possible. The closure of a mining operation involves significant fixed closure costs, including accelerated employment legacy costs, severance-related obligations, reclamation and other environmental costs, and the costs of terminating long-term obligations, including energy contracts and equipment leases. We base our assumptions regarding the life of our mines on detailed studies we perform from time to time, but those studies and assumptions are subject to uncertainties and estimates that may not be accurate. We recognize the costs of reclaiming open pits and shafts, stockpiles, tailings ponds, roads and other mining support areas based on the estimated mining life of our property. If we were to significantly reduce the estimated life of any of our mines, the mine-closure costs would be applied to a shorter period of production, which would increase production costs per ton produced and could significantly and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

A North American mine permanent closure could significantly increase and accelerate employment legacy costs, including our expense and funding costs for pension and other postretirement benefit obligations. A number of employees would be eligible for immediate retirement under special eligibility rules that apply upon a mine closure. All employees eligible for immediate retirement under the pension plans at the time of the permanent mine closure also would be eligible for postretirement health and life insurance benefits, thereby accelerating our obligation to provide these benefits. Certain mine closures would precipitate a pension closure liability significantly greater than an ongoing operation liability. Finally, a permanent mine closure could trigger severance-related obligations, which can equal up to eight weeks of pay per employee, depending on length of service. No employee entitled to an immediate pension upon closure of a mine is entitled to severance. As a result, the closure of one or more of our mines could adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.

The Cockatoo Island operation in Australia is scheduled to close in the second quarter of 2008 and plans are in process to obtain all required governmental approvals. Since all of the employees are contractors, the cost of mine closure is significantly lower in Australia than in North America. Performance bonds are in place covering the estimated closure costs.

We rely on estimates of our recoverable reserves, which is complex due to geological characteristics of the properties and the number of assumptions made.

We regularly evaluate our North American iron ore and coal reserves based on revenues and costs and update them as required in accordance with SEC Industry Guide 7. Portman and Sonoma have published reserves which follow JORC in Australia, which is similar to United States requirements. Changes to the reserve value to make them comply with SEC requirements have been made. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities of reserves of our mines, many of which have been in operation for several decades, including many factors beyond our control.

Estimates of reserves and future net cash flows necessarily depend upon a number of variable factors and assumptions, such as production capacity, effects of regulations by governmental agencies, future prices for iron ore and coal, future industry conditions and operating costs, severance and excise taxes, development costs and costs of extraction and reclamation, all of which may in fact vary considerably from actual results. For these reasons, estimates of the economically recoverable quantities of mineralized deposits attributable to any particular group of properties, classifications of such reserves based on risk of recovery and estimates of future net cash flows prepared by different engineers or by the same engineers at different times may vary substantially as the criteria change. Estimated ore and coal reserves could be affected by future industry conditions, geological conditions and ongoing mine planning. Actual production, revenues and expenditures with respect to our reserves will likely vary from estimates, and if such variances are material, our sales and profitability could be adversely affected.

A defect in the title or the loss of a leasehold interest in certain property could limit our ability to mine our reserves or result in significant unanticipated costs.

We conduct a significant part of our mining operations on property that we lease. A title defect or the loss of a lease could adversely affect our ability to mine the associated reserves. As such, the title to property that we intend to lease or reserves that we intend to mine may contain defects prohibiting our ability to conduct mining operations. In order to conduct our mining operations on properties where these defects exist, we may incur unanticipated costs. In addition, some leases require us to pay minimum royalties. Our inability to satisfy those requirements may cause the leasehold interest to terminate.

We rely on our joint venture partners in our mines to meet their payment obligations.

We co-own five of our six North American mines with various joint venture partners that are integrated steel producers or their subsidiaries, including ArcelorMittal USA, Laiwu and U.S. Steel Canada. While we are the manager of each of the mines we co-own, we rely on our joint venture partners to make their required capital contributions and to pay for their share of the iron ore pellets that we produce. Most of our venture partners are also our customers. If one or more of our venture partners fail to perform their obligations, the remaining venturers, including ourselves, may be required to assume additional material obligations, including significant pension and postretirement health and life insurance benefit obligations. The premature closure of a mine due to the failure of a joint venture partner to perform its obligations could result in significant fixed mine-closure costs, including severance, employment legacy costs and other employment costs, reclamation and other environmental costs, and the costs of terminating long-term obligations, including energy contracts and equipment leases.

Our expenditures for postretirement benefit and pension obligations could be materially higher than we have predicted if our underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, if there are mine closures or our joint venture partners fail to perform their obligations that relate to employee pension plans.

We provide defined benefit pension plans and OPEB benefits to eligible union and non-union employees, including our share of expense and funding obligations with respect to unconsolidated ventures. Our pension expense and our required contributions to our pension plans are directly affected by the value of plan assets, the projected and actual rate of return on plan assets and the actuarial assumptions we use to measure our defined benefit pension plan obligations, including the rate at which future obligations are discounted.

We cannot predict whether changing market or economic conditions, regulatory changes or other factors will increase our pension expenses or our funding obligations, diverting funds we would otherwise apply to other uses.

We have calculated our unfunded OPEB obligation based on a number of assumptions. Discount rate, return on plan assets, and mortality assumptions parallel those utilized for pensions. If our assumptions do not materialize as expected, cash expenditures and costs that we incur could be materially higher. Moreover, we cannot be certain that regulatory changes will not increase our obligations to provide these or additional benefits. These obligations also may increase substantially in the event of adverse medical cost trends or unexpected rates of early retirement, particularly for bargaining unit retirees for whom there is currently no retiree healthcare cost cap. Early retirement rates likely would increase substantially in the event of a mine closure.

Equipment and supply shortages may impact our production.

The extractive industry has recently experienced long lead times on equipment, tires, and supply needs due to the increased demand for these resources. As the global mining industry increases its capacity, demand for these resources will increase, potentially resulting in higher prices, equipment shortages, or both.

Our sales and competitive position depend on the ability to transport our products to our customers at competitive rates and in a timely manner.

Disruption of the lake freighter and rail transportation services because of weather-related problems, including ice and winter weather conditions on the Great Lakes, strikes, lock-outs or other events, could impair our ability to supply iron ore pellets to our customers at competitive rates or in a timely manner and, thus, could adversely affect our sales and profitability. Further, reduced levels of government funding may result in a lesser level of dredging, particularly at Great Lakes ports. Less dredging results in lower water levels, which restricts the tonnage freighters can haul over the Great Lakes, resulting in higher freight rates.

Our Asia-Pacific Iron Ore operations are in direct competition with the major world seaborne exporters of iron ore and its customers face higher transportation costs than most other Australian producers to ship its products to the Asian markets because of the location of its major shipping port on the south coast of Australia. Further, increases in transportation costs, decreased availability of ocean vessels or changes in such costs relative to transportation costs incurred by our competitors, could make our products less competitive, restrict our access to certain markets and have an adverse effect on our sales, margins and profitability.

Our operating expenses could increase significantly if the price of electrical power, fuel or other energy sources increases.

Operating expenses at all our mining locations are sensitive to changes in electricity prices and fuel prices, including diesel fuel and natural gas prices. In our North American Iron Ore locations, these items make up 24 percent of our North American Iron Ore operating costs. Prices for electricity, natural gas and fuel oils can fluctuate widely with availability and demand levels from other users. During periods of peak usage, supplies of energy may be curtailed and we may not be able to purchase them at historical rates. While we have some long-term contracts with electrical suppliers, we are exposed to fluctuations in energy costs that can affect our production costs. We enter into forward fixed-price supply contracts for natural gas and diesel fuel for use in our operations. Those contracts are of limited duration and do not cover all of our fuel needs, and price increases in fuel costs could cause our profitability to decrease significantly.

Natural disasters, weather conditions, disruption of energy, unanticipated geological conditions, equipment failures, and other unexpected events may lead our customers, our suppliers, or our facilities to curtail production or shut down their operations.

Operating levels within the industry are subject to unexpected conditions and events that are beyond the industry’s control. Those events could cause industry members or their suppliers to curtail production or shut down a portion or all of their operations, which could reduce the demand for our iron ore and coal products, and could adversely affect our sales, margins, and profitability.

For example, Algoma shut down a blast furnace for 52 days in 2007. Additionally, in January of 2008, Severstal provided us with a force majeure letter due to a fire on the smaller of its two operating furnaces. At this time, we do not know the impact of the fire on Severstal’s purchase of iron ore pellets. In early November 2007, several small cracks were discovered in a kiln riding ring during routine maintenance at our Tilden mine. As a result of the cracks, a scheduled major repair was extended approximately 15 days more than expected. Full production resumed in mid-January 2008. An electrical explosion at our United Taconite facility on October 12, 2006 resulted in a temporary production curtailment as a result of a loss of electrical power. Full production did not resume until January 2007. In February 2007, severe weather conditions caused significant ice buildup in the basin supplying water to the Hibbing facility tailings basin. This caused a production shutdown that lowered first quarter production output. In August 2007, production at Pinnacle slowed as a result of sandstone intrusions encountered within the coal panel being mined at the time, spreading fixed costs over less production than planned.

Interruptions in production capabilities will inevitably increase our production costs and reduce our profitability. We do not have meaningful excess capacity for current production needs, and we are not able to quickly increase production at one mine to offset an interruption in production at another mine.

A portion of our production costs are fixed regardless of current operating levels. As noted, our operating levels are subject to conditions beyond our control that can delay deliveries or increase the cost of mining at particular mines for varying lengths of time. These conditions include weather conditions (for example, extreme winter weather, floods and availability of process water due to drought) and natural disasters, pit wall failures, unanticipated geological conditions, including variations in the amount of rock and soil overlying the deposits of iron ore and coal, variations in rock and other natural materials and variations in geologic conditions and ore processing changes.

The manufacturing processes that take place in our mining operations, as well as in our processing facilities, depend on critical pieces of equipment. This equipment may, on occasion, be out of service because of unanticipated failures. In addition, many of our mines and processing facilities have been in operation for several decades, and the equipment is aged. In the future, we may experience additional material plant shutdowns or periods of reduced production because of equipment failures. Further, remediation of any interruption in production capability may require us to make large capital expenditures that could have a negative effect on our profitability and cash flows. Our business interruption insurance would not cover all of the lost revenues associated with equipment failures. Longer-term business disruptions could result in a loss of customers, which could adversely affect our future sales levels, and therefore our profitability.

Regarding the impact of unexpected events happening to our suppliers, many of our mines are dependent on one source for electric power and for natural gas. For example, Minnesota Power is the sole supplier of electric power to our Hibbing and United Taconite mines; WEPCO is the sole supplier of electric power to our Tilden and Empire mines; and our Northshore mine is largely dependent on its wholly owned power facility for its electrical supply. A significant interruption in service from our energy suppliers due to terrorism, weather conditions, natural disasters, or any other cause can result in substantial losses that may not be fully recoverable, either from our business interruption insurance or responsible third parties.

We are subject to extensive governmental regulation, which imposes, and will continue to impose, significant costs and liabilities on us, and future regulation could increase those costs and liabilities or limit our ability to produce iron ore and coal products.

We are subject to various federal, provincial, state and local laws and regulations in each jurisdiction in which we have operations on matters such as employee health and safety, air quality, water pollution, plant and wildlife protection, reclamation and restoration of mining properties, the discharge of materials into the environment, and the effects that mining has on groundwater quality and availability. Numerous governmental permits and approvals are required for our operations. We cannot be certain that we have been or will be at all times in complete compliance with such laws, regulations and permits. If we violate or fail to comply with these laws, regulations or permits, we could be fined or otherwise sanctioned by regulators.

Prior to commencement of mining, we must submit to and obtain approval from the appropriate regulatory authority of plans showing where and how mining and reclamation operations are to occur. These plans must include information such as the location of mining areas, stockpiles, surface waters, haul roads, tailings basins

and drainage from mining operations. All requirements imposed by any such authority may be costly and time-consuming and may delay commencement or continuation of exploration or production operations. In addition, new legislation and regulations and orders, including proposals related to climate change and protection of the environment, to which we would be subject or that would further regulate and tax our customers, namely the North American integrated steel producer customers, may also require us or our customers to reduce or otherwise change operations significantly or incur additional costs. Such new legislation, regulations or orders (if enacted) could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or profitability. Our U.S. operations are subject to MACT emissions standards for particulate matter promulgated by the EPA under the Clean Air Act effective October 31, 2006. The EPA’s decision not to regulate emissions of mercury or asbestos in the MACT Rule is the subject of a court remand, and the outcome cannot be predicted.

Further, we are subject to a variety of potential liability exposures arising at certain sites where we do not currently conduct operations. These sites include sites where we formerly conducted iron ore mining or processing or other operations, inactive sites that we currently own, predecessor sites, acquired sites, leased land sites and third-party waste disposal sites. We may be named as a responsible party at other sites in the future and we cannot be certain that the costs associated with these additional sites will not be material.

We also could be held liable for any and all consequences arising out of human exposure to hazardous substances used, released or disposed of by us or other environmental damage, including damage to natural resources. In particular, we and certain of our subsidiaries are involved in various claims relating to the exposure of asbestos and silica to seamen who sailed on the Great Lakes vessels formerly owned and operated by certain of our subsidiaries. The full impact of these claims, as well as whether insurance coverage will be sufficient and whether other defendants named in these claims will be able to fund any costs arising out of these claims, continues to be unknown. See Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

Our Oak Grove mine was notified by MSHA that it might be placed on the Pattern of Violations. MSHA has indicated it will reassess the mine’s safety performance after the first quarter of 2008. If Oak Grove is placed on the Pattern of Violations, it will be subject to a higher level of regulatory enforcement that could potentially negatively impact its operations, reducing production and increasing our costs.

Underground mining is subject to increased safety regulation and may require us to incur additional cost.

Recent mine disasters have led to the enactment and consideration of significant new federal and state laws and regulations relating to safety in underground coal mines. These laws and regulations include requirements for constructing and maintaining caches for the storage of additional self-contained self rescuers throughout underground mines; installing rescue chambers in underground mines; constant tracking of and communication with personnel in the mines; installing cable lifelines from the mine portal to all sections of the mine to assist in emergency escape; submission and approval of emergency response plans; and new and additional safety training. Additionally, new requirements for the prompt reporting of accidents and increased fines and penalties for violations of these and existing regulations have been implemented. These new laws and regulations may cause us to incur substantial additional costs, which may adversely impact our operating performance.

Coal mining is complex due to geological characteristics of the region.

The geological characteristics of coal reserves, such as depth of overburden and coal seam thickness, make them complex and costly to mine. As mines become depleted, replacement reserves may not be available when required or, if available, may not be capable of being mined at costs comparable to those characteristic of the depleting mines. These factors could materially adversely affect the mining operations and cost structures of, and customers’ ability to use coal produced.

Our profitability could be negatively affected if we fail to maintain satisfactory labor relations.

The USW represents all hourly employees at our North American Iron Ore locations except for Northshore. The UMWA represents hourly employees at our North American Coal locations. Our four-year labor agreement with our U.S. iron ore labor force expires August 31, 2008. A five-year agreement runs until March 2009 with our Canadian work force. The current UMWA agreement runs through 2011 at our coal locations. Hourly

employees at the railroads we own that transport products among our facilities are represented by multiple unions with labor agreements that expire at various dates. If the collective bargaining agreements relating to the employees at our mines or railroad are not successfully renegotiated prior to their expiration, we could face work stoppages or labor strikes.

We may encounter labor shortages for critical operational positions, which could affect our ability to produce iron ore products.

At many of our mining locations, many of our mining operational employees are approaching retirement age. As these experienced employees retire, we may have difficulty replacing them at competitive wages. As a result, wages are increasing to address the turnover.

Our profitability could be affected by the failure of outside contractors to perform.

Portman and Sonoma use contractors to handle many of the operational phases of their mining and processing operations and therefore are subject to the performance of outside companies on key production areas.

Our failure to maintain effective internal control over financial reporting may not allow us to accurately report our financial results, which could cause our financial statements to become materially misleading and adversely affect the trading price of our common shares.

We require effective internal control over financial reporting in order to provide reasonable assurance with respect to our financial reports and to effectively prevent fraud. Internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls, or fraud. Therefore, even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. If we cannot provide reasonable assurance with respect to our financial statements and effectively prevent fraud, our financial statements could become materially misleading, which could adversely affect the trading price of our common shares. Implementing new internal controls and testing the internal control framework will require the dedication of additional resources, management time and expense. If we fail to maintain an effective internal control environment and perform timely testing, we could have a material weakness with our internal control over financial reporting. If we have a material weakness, or a weak control environment, our business, financial condition and operating results could be materially impacted.

We may be unable to successfully identify, acquire and integrate strategic acquisition candidates.

Our ability to grow successfully through acquisitions depends upon our ability to identify, negotiate, complete and integrate suitable acquisitions and to obtain necessary financing. It is possible that we will be unable to successfully complete potential acquisitions. In addition, the costs of acquiring other businesses could increase if competition for acquisition candidates increases. Additionally, the success of an acquisition is subject to other risks and uncertainties, including our ability to realize operating efficiencies expected from an acquisition, the size or quality of the resource, delays in realizing the benefits of an acquisition, difficulties in retaining key employees, customers or suppliers of the acquired businesses, difficulties in maintaining uniform controls, procedures, standards and policies throughout acquired companies, the risks associated with the assumption of contingent or undisclosed liabilities of acquisition targets, the impact of changes to our allocation of purchase price, and the ability to generate future cash flows or the availability of financing.

We are subject to risks involving operations in multiple countries.

We have a strategy to broaden our scope as a supplier of iron ore and other raw materials to the integrated steel industry in North American and international markets. As we expand beyond our traditional North American base business, we will be subject to additional risks beyond those risks relating to our North American operations, such as currency fluctuations; legal and tax limitations on our ability to repatriate earnings in a tax-efficient manner; potential negative international impacts resulting from U.S. foreign and domestic policies, including government embargoes or foreign trade restrictions; the imposition of duties, tariffs, import and export

controls and other trade barriers impacting the seaborne iron ore and coal markets; difficulties in staffing and managing multi-national operations; and uncertainties in the enforcement of legal rights and remedies in multiple jurisdictions. If we are unable to manage successfully the risks associated with expanding our global business, these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition.

We are subject to a variety of market risks.

These risks include those caused by changes in the value of equity investments, changes in commodity prices, interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. We have established policies and procedures to manage such risks, however certain risks are beyond our control.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.

We have no unresolved comments from the SEC.

Item 2. Properties.

The following map shows the locations of our operations:

LOGO

Mine Facilities and Equipment. Each of the North American Iron Ore mines has crushing, concentrating, and pelletizing facilities. There are crushing and screening facilities at Koolyanobbing and Cockatoo Island. North American Coal mines have preparation, processing, and load-out facilities, with the Pinnacle and Green Ridge mines sharing facilities. The facilities at each site are in satisfactory condition, although they require routine capital and maintenance expenditures on an ongoing basis. Certain mine equipment generally is powered by electricity, diesel fuel or gasoline. The total cost of the property, plant and equipment, net of applicable accumulated amortization and depreciation as of December 31, 2007, for each of the mines is set forth in the chart below.


	(In Millions)
Location and Name	Total Historical Cost of Mine Plant and Equipment (Excluding Real Estate and Construction in Progress), Net of Applicable Accumulated Amortization and Depreciation
Empire	$	78.1	(1)
Tilden		197.6	(2)
Hibbing		477.0	(3)
Northshore		81.8
United Taconite		78.2
Wabush		482.2	(3)
Pinnacle		58.9
Oak Grove		77.5
Sonoma		—	(4)
Cockatoo Island		—	(5)
Koolyanobbing		199.4
Amapa		—	(4)

(1)	Includes capitalized financing costs of $6.9 million, net of accumulated amortization.

(2)	Includes capitalized financing costs of $16.2 million, net of accumulated amortization.

(3)	Does not reflect depreciation, which is recorded by the individual venturers.

(4)	The mine is in the pre-production stage.

(5)	Cockatoo Island plant and equipment is fully amortized.

North American Iron Ore

We directly or indirectly own and operate interests in the following six North American iron ore mines:

Empire mine

The Empire mine is located on the Marquette Iron Range in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula approximately 15 miles west-southwest of Marquette, Michigan. The mine has been in operation since 1963. Over the past five years, the Empire mine has produced between 4.8 million and 5.4 million tons of iron ore pellets annually.

We own 79.0 percent of Empire, and a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal USA has retained a 21 percent ownership in Empire with limited rights and obligations, which it has a unilateral right to put to us at any time subsequent to the end of 2007. This right has not been exercised. We own directly approximately one-half of the remaining ore reserves at the Empire mine and lease them to Empire. A subsidiary of Cliffs leases the balance of the Empire reserves from the other owners of such reserves and subleases them to Empire.

Tilden mine

The Tilden mine is located on the Marquette Iron Range in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula approximately five miles south of Ishpeming, Michigan. The Tilden mine has been in operation since 1974. Over the past five years, the Tilden mine has produced between 6.9 million and 7.9 million tons of iron ore pellets annually.

We own 85 percent of Tilden, with the remaining minority interest owned by U.S. Steel Canada. Each partner takes its share of production pro rata; however, provisions in the partnership agreement allow additional or reduced production to be delivered under certain circumstances. We own all of the ore reserves at the Tilden mine and lease them to Tilden.

The Empire and Tilden mines are located adjacent to each other. The logistical benefits include a consolidated transportation system, more efficient employee and equipment operating schedules, reduction in redundant facilities and workforce and best practices sharing.

Hibbing mine

The Hibbing mine is located in the center of Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range and is approximately ten miles north of Hibbing, Minnesota and five miles west of Chisholm, Minnesota. The Hibbing mine has been in operation since 1976. Over the past five years, the Hibbing mine has produced between 7.4 million and 8.5 million tons of iron ore pellets annually.

We own 23 percent of Hibbing, ArcelorMittal USA has a 62.3 percent interest, and U.S. Steel Canada has a 14.7 percent interest. Each partner takes its share of production pro rata; however, provisions in the joint venture agreement allow additional or reduced production to be delivered under certain circumstances.

Northshore mine

The Northshore mine is located in northeastern Minnesota, approximately two miles south of Babbitt, Minnesota on the northeastern end of the Mesabi Iron Range. Northshore’s processing facilities are located in Silver Bay, Minnesota, near Lake Superior, on U.S. Highway 61. The Northshore mine has been in continuous operation since 1990. Over the past five years, the Northshore mine has produced between 4.8 million and 5.2 million tons of iron ore pellets annually.

The Northshore mine began production under our management and ownership on October 1, 1994. We own 100 percent of the mine.

United Taconite mine

The United Taconite mine is located on Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range in and around the city of Eveleth, Minnesota. The United Taconite concentrator and pelletizing facilities are located 10 miles south of the mine, near the town of Forbes, Minnesota. The main entrance to the concentrator and pelletizing facilities is on County Road 16, three miles west of State Highway 53. The mine has been operating since 1965. Over the past five years, the United Taconite mine has produced between 1.6 million and 5.3 million tons of iron ore pellets annually.

We own 70 percent of United Taconite, with Laiwu owning the remaining 30 percent. Each partner takes its share of production pro rata.

Wabush mine

The Wabush mine and concentrator is located in Wabush, Labrador, Canada, and the pellet plant is located in Pointe Noire, Quebec, Canada. The Wabush mine has been in operation since 1965. Over the past five years, the Wabush mine has produced between 3.8 million and 5.2 million tons of iron ore pellets annually. We own 26.8 percent of Wabush, Dofasco has a 28.6 percent interest and U.S. Steel Canada has a 44.6 percent interest. At the end of 2007 we were in negotiations to sell our 26.8 percent minority ownership to Dofasco, a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal. Negotiations have not been finalized and it is possible that the transaction may not be consummated.

North American Coal

We directly own and operate the following three North American coal mines:

Pinnacle and Green Ridge mines

The Pinnacle Complex includes the Pinnacle and Green Ridge mines and is located approximately 30 miles southwest of Beckley, West Virginia. The Pinnacle mine has been in operation since 1969. Over the past five years, the Pinnacle mine has produced between 1.4 million and 2.5 million tons of coal annually. The Green Ridge mine has been in operation since 2004 and has produced between 0.4 million and 0.5 million tons of coal annually.

Oak Grove mine

The Oak Grove mine is located approximately 25 miles southwest of Birmingham, Alabama. The mine has been in operation since 1972. Over the past five years, the Oak Grove mine has produced between 1.3 million and 1.7 million tons of coal annually.

Asia-pacific Iron Ore

Koolyanobbing

The Koolyanobbing operations are located 425 kilometers east of Perth and approximately 50 kilometers northeast of the town of Southern Cross. Koolyanobbing produces lump and fine iron ore. An expansion program was completed in 2006 to increase capacity from six to eight million tonnes per annum. The expansion was primarily driven by the development of iron ore resources at Mount Jackson and Windarling, located 80 kilometers and 100 kilometers north of the existing Koolyanobbing operations, respectively. Over the past five years, the Koolyanobbing operation has produced between 4.9 million and 7.6 million tonnes annually.

Cockatoo Island

The Cockatoo Island operation is located six kilometers to the west of Yampi Peninsula, in the Buccaneer Archipelago, and 140 kilometers north of Derby in the West Kimberley region of Western Australia. The island has been mined for iron ore since 1951, with a break in operations between 1985 and 1993. Over the past five years, Cockatoo Island has produced between 0.6 million and 1.4 million tonnes annually at the 100 percent ownership level.

Portman commenced a beneficiation project in 1993 that was completed in mid-2000. Portman owns a 50 percent interest in a joint venture to mine remnant iron ore deposits. Mining from this phase of the operation commenced in late 2000 and is expected to continue, based on current reserves, until the second quarter of 2008. Studies are underway evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of developing a below-sea-level eastward resource extension of the Cockatoo deposit. Ore is hauled by haul truck to the stockpiles, crushed and screened and then transferred by conveyor to the shiploader.

Transportation

Two railroads, one of which is wholly owned by us, link the Empire and Tilden mines with Lake Michigan at the loading port of Escanaba, Michigan and with the Lake Superior loading port of Marquette, Michigan. From the Mesabi Range, Hibbing pellets are transported by rail to a shiploading port at Superior, Wisconsin. United Taconite pellets are shipped by railroad to the port of Duluth, Minnesota. At Northshore, crude ore is shipped by a wholly owned railroad from the mine to processing and dock facilities at Silver Bay, Minnesota. In Canada, there is an open-pit mine and concentrator at Wabush, Labrador, Newfoundland and a pellet plant and dock facility at Pointe Noire, Quebec. At the Wabush mine, concentrates are shipped by rail from the Scully mine at Wabush to Pointe Noire where they are pelletized for shipment via vessel to Canada, the United States and other international destinations or shipped as concentrates for sinter feed.

Our coal production is shipped domestically by rail, barge and/or truck. Coal for international customers is shipped through the port of Mobile, Alabama or Newport News, Virginia.

All of the ore mined at the Koolyanobbing operations is transported by rail to the Port of Esperance, 575 kilometers to the south for shipment to Asian customers. Direct ship premium fines mined at Cockatoo Island are loaded at a local dock.

Internal Control over Reserve Estimation

We have a corporate policy relating to internal control and procedures with respect to auditing and estimating mineral reserves. The procedures include the calculation of mineral reserves at each mine by mining engineers and geologists under the direction of our Chief Mining Engineer. Our General Manager-Resource Technology compiles, reviews, and submits the calculations to the Corporate Accounting department, where the disclosures for our annual and quarterly reports are prepared based on those calculations. The draft disclosure is submitted to our General Manager-Resource Technology for further review and approval. The draft disclosures are then reviewed and approved by our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Executive Officer before inclusion in our annual and quarterly reports. Additionally, the long-range mine planning and mineral reserve estimates are reviewed annually by our Audit Committee. Furthermore, all changes to mineral reserve estimates, other than those due to production, are documented by our General Manager-Resource Technology and are submitted to our President and Chief Executive Officer for review and approval. Finally, we perform periodic reviews of long-range mine plans and mineral reserve estimates at mine staff meetings and senior management meetings.

Operations

In North America, we produced 21.8 million, 20.8 million and 22.1 million long tons of iron ore pellets in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively, for our account and 12.8 million, 12.8 million and 13.8 million long tons, respectively, on behalf of the steel company owners of the mines. We also produced 1.1 million short tons of coal in North America in 2007, representing our volume since the acquisition of PinnOak on July 31, 2007. In Australia, we produced 8.4 million tonnes, 7.7 million tonnes and 5.2 million tonnes in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively. Asia-Pacific Iron Ore’s 2005 total represents production since the March 31, 2005 acquisition of Portman. See Production and Sales Volume in Item 7 for further information.

Our business is subject to a number of operational factors that can affect our future profitability. A more detailed description of these risks is contained in Item 1A — Risk Factors.

Mine Capacity and Ore Reserves

Reserves are defined by SEC Industry Standard Guide 7 as that part of a mineral deposit that could be economically and legally extracted and produced at the time of the reserve determination. All reserves are classified as proven or probable and are supported by life-of-mine plans.

North American Iron Ore

Our 2008 ore reserve estimates for our iron ore mines as of December 31, 2007 were estimated from fully-designed open pits developed using three-dimensional modeling techniques. These fully designed pits incorporate design slopes, practical mining shapes and access ramps to assure the accuracy of our reserve estimates. The following tables reflect expected current annual capacity and economic ore reserves for our North American and Asia-Pacific iron ore mines as of December 31, 2007.


Mine	Iron Ore Mineralization	Tons in Millions (1)					Mineral Rights				Method of Reserve Estimation
		Current Annual Capacity	Mineral Reserves (2) (3)
			Current Year			Previous Year
			Proven	Probable	Total	Previous Year	Owned		Leased
Empire	Negaunee Iron	5.5	10	—	10	13	57	%	43	%	Geologic - Block
	Formation										Model
	(Magnetite)

Tilden	Negaunee Iron	8.0	210	42	252	259	100	%	0	%	Geologic - Block
	Formation										Model
	(Hematite / Magnetite)

Hibbing Taconite	Biwabik Iron	8.0	129	16	145	152	3	%	97	%	Geologic - Block
	Formation										Model
	(Magnetite)

Northshore	Biwabik Iron	4.8	303	10	313	318	0	%	100	%	Geologic - Block
	Formation										Model
	(Magnetite)

United Taconite	Biwabik Iron	5.2	133	16	149	119	0	%	100	%	Geologic - Block
	Formation										Model
	(Magnetite)

Wabush	Wabush Iron	5.5	37	2	39	44	0	%	100	%	Geologic - Block
	Formation										Model
	(Hematite)

(1)	Tons are long tons of pellets of 2,240 pounds.

(2)	Estimated standard equivalent pellets, including both proven and probable reserves based on life-of-mine operating schedules.

(3)	We regularly evaluate our reserves estimates and updated them in accordance with SEC Industry Guide 7.

In 2007, there were no changes in reserve estimates at Hibbing, Tilden, Northshore or Wabush, except for production.

A new ore reserve estimate was completed at United Taconite that incorporates increased iron ore pellet pricing, addition of new mining areas, and improved pit designs and production schedules. The updated ore reserve estimate calculated a 31 percent increase, or 35 million tons.

During 2007, the geologic resource model at Empire was updated by modifying an ore quality cut-off for oxidation. The net result of gains from a 2006 re-optimization of the life of mine pit design and losses due to this oxidized material resulted in an increase of two million tons in the remaining pellet reserves.

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore


Mine Project	Iron Ore Mineralization	Tons in Millions (1)					Mineral Rights				Method of Reserve Estimation
		Current Annual Capacity	Mineral Reserves (2) (3)
			Mineral Reserves (2) (3)
			Current Year			Previous Year
			Proven	Probable	Total	Previous Year	Owned		Leased
Koolyanobbing (4)	Banded Iron Formations Southern Cross Terrane Yilgarn Mineral Field (Hematite, Goethite)	8.0	7	88	95	87	0	%	100	%	Geologic - Block Model

Cockatoo Island (5)	Sandstone Yampi Formation Kimberley Mineral Field (Hematite)	1.2	—	0.5	0.5	0.9	0	%	100	%	Geologic - Block Model

(1)	Tons are metric tons of 2,205 pounds.

(2)

Reported ore reserves restricted to both proven and probable reserves based on life of mine operating schedules. Koolyanobbing reserves can be derived from up to 15 separate mineral deposits over a 100-kilometer operating distance. 7.4 million tonnes of the Koolyanobbing reserves are sourced from current long-term stockpiles.

(3)	We regularly update our reserves estimates in accordance with SEC Industry Guide 7 and the 2004 Edition of the JORC code.

(4)	An expansion project was completed in 2006 that increased annual production capacity to 8 million tonnes.

(5)	Portman has a 50 percent interest in the Cockatoo Island Joint Venture. Capacity and reserve totals represent 100 percent.

The increase in Koolyanobbing ore reserves is related to exploration success in expanding the mineral resource inventory and conversion of inferred resources to indicated resources. Mining at Cockatoo Island was conducted to deeper levels than originally planned during 2007, with mined production from the current Stage 2 pit now planned to continue until the second quarter of 2008. Product iron grades have also been lowered to assist extension of the mine life, but the revised grades still generate a premium fines product.

North American Coal

Our 2008 reserve estimates for our North American underground coal mines as of December 31, 2007 were estimated using three-dimensional modeling techniques, coupled with mine plan designs. A complete re-estimation of the moist, recoverable coal reserves and life-of-mine plans was completed after the acquisition. The following table reflects expected current annual capacities and economically recoverable reserves for our North American coal mines as of December 31, 2007.

Mine (2)

Category

Tons in Millions (1)

Mineral Rights

Method of
Reserve
Estimation

Infrastructure

Current
Annual
Capacity

Proven and Probable

In-place

Moist Recoverable

Owned

Leased

Pinnacle Complex

4.0

100

Geologic -

Mine, Preparation

Pocahontas No 3

Assigned

126.0

62.9

Block Model

Plant, Load-out

Pocahontas No 4

Unassigned

32.8

11.1

Oak Grove

2.5

100

Geologic -

Mine, Preparation

Blue Creek Seam

Assigned

91.1

49.4

Block Model

Plant, Load-out

Total (3)

6.5

249.9

123.4

(1)	Short tons of 2,000 pounds.

(2)	All coal extracted by underground mining using longwall and continuous miner equipment.

(3)	All recoverable coal < 1 percent sulfur and > 13,000 Btu/lb. As received.

Asia-Pacific Coal

The 2008 reserve estimate for our Asia-Pacific coal mine as of December 31, 2007 is based on a JORC-compliant resource estimate. An optimized pit design for an initial 10-year mine operating schedule was generated supporting the reserve estimate.

The following table reflects expected current annual capacity and economically recoverable reserves for the Sonoma Project:

Mine (2)

Category

Tons in Millions (1)

Mineral Rights

Method of
Reserve
Estimation

Infrastructure

Current
Annual
Capacity

Proven and Probable

In-place

Moist Recoverable

Owned

Leased

Sonoma Mine

Moranbah Coal Measures

Assigned

3.0

Geologic -

Mine, Preparation

B, C and E Seams

Block Model

Plant, Load-out

(1)	Metric tons of 2,205 pounds. In-place tons at eight percent moisture, recoverable clean tons at nine percent moisture. Reserves listed on 100 percent basis. Cleveland-Cliffs has an effective 45 percent interest in the Joint Venture.

(2)	All coal is extracted by conventional surface mining techniques.

The Sonoma Project’s recoverable coal reserves are primarily metallurgical grade coal (standard coking coal plus low volatile coal for pulverized coal injection) and steam coal.

General Information about the Mines

Leases. Mining is conducted on multiple mineral leases having varying expiration dates. Mining leases are routinely renegotiated and renewed as they approach their respective expiration dates.

Exploration and Development. All iron ore mining operations are open-pit mines that are in production. Additional pit development is underway at each mine as required by long-range mine plans. At our North American Iron Ore mines, drilling programs are conducted periodically for the purpose of refining guidance related to ongoing operations.

At Koolyanobbing, an exploration program targeting extensions to the iron ore resource base as well as regional exploration targets in the Yilgarn Mineral Field was active in 2007 and will continue in 2008. At Cockatoo Island, feasibility studies have been completed for a below-sea-level eastward mine pit extension. Environmental permitting has been initiated supporting this proposed extension to the Cockatoo mine life.

An exploration program providing geologic definition of the hematite mineralization at Amapá is ongoing.

The Biwabik, Negaunee, and Wabush Iron Formations are classified as Lake Superior type iron-formations that formed under similar sedimentary conditions in shallow marine basins approximately two billion years ago. Magnetite and/or hematite are the predominant iron oxide ore minerals present, with lesser amounts of goethite and limonite. Chert is the predominant waste mineral present, with lesser amounts of silicate and carbonate minerals. The ore minerals liberate from the waste minerals upon fine grinding.

The mineralization at the Koolyanobbing operations is predominantly hematite and goethite replacements in greenstone-hosted banded iron-formations. Individual deposits tend to be small with complex ore-waste contact relationships. The Koolyanobbing operations reserves are derived from 15 separate mineral deposits distributed over a 100-kilometer operating radius. The mineralization at Cockatoo Island is predominantly friable, hematite-rich sandstone that produces premium high grade, low impurity direct shipping fines.

Mineralized material at the Amapá mine is predominantly hematite occurring in weathered and leached greenstone-hosted banded iron-formation of the Archean Vila Nova Group. Variable degrees of leaching generate friable hematite mineralization suitable for either sinter feed production via crushing and gravity separation or pelletizing feed production via grinding and flotation.

All North American Coal mine operations are underground mines that are in production. Drilling programs are conducted periodically for the purpose of refining guidance related to ongoing operations. The Pocahontas No 3 and Blue Creek Coal Seams are Pennsylvanian Age low ash, high quality coals.

In Australia, the Sonoma mine operation is an open-cut mine located in the northern section of Queensland’s Bowen Basin. A mix of high quality metallurgical coal and thermal coal is recovered from the B and C seams of the Permian Mooranbah Coal Measures.

Geologic models are developed for all mines to define the major ore and waste rock types. Computerized block models are then constructed that include all relevant geologic and metallurgical data. These are used to generate grade and tonnage estimates, followed by detailed mine design and life of mine operating schedules.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings.

Wisconsin Electric Power Company. In December 2006, WEPCO entered into an Asset Sale Agreement to sell its Point Beach Nuclear Plant to FPL Energy Point Beach, LLC. In conjunction with the sale, the parties also negotiated a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) whereby WEPCO would purchase the capacity, energy, and ancillary services from Point Beach. In February 2007, WEPCO filed an application with the MPSC seeking approval of the PPA and designation of Point Beach as an eligible facility under the federal Public Utility Holding Company Act. In September 2007, the MPSC issued its Opinion and Order granting WEPCO’s requested approvals and also determined that all of WEPCO’s Michigan customers, including the Mines, should share in the distribution of proceeds resulting from the sale. The MPSC directed WEPCO to calculate a credit to be applied to customers’ bills for 18 monthly billing cycles following the closing of the transfer of ownership of the Point Beach Nuclear Plant.

In October 2007, WEPCO filed this report and estimated a total of $882 million in net proceeds, after earmarking $70 million in a reserve fund, and allocating the proceeds among its customers through a $0.01364/kWh credit. On October 19, 2007, we filed Comments urging the MPSC to find WEPCO’s report to be in violation of the MPSC’s September 2007 order and requesting the MPSC to direct WEPCO to apply a higher credit. In January 2008, WEPCO filed an amended report and has increased the credit to $0.01581/kWh.

On January 31, 2008, WEPCO filed a new rate case wherein WEPCO has proposed an increase to the tariff rates applicable to Tilden and Empire. The current tariff rates became effective on January 1, 2008. On February 8, 2008, we filed a petition to intervene in the new rate case. We are also currently reviewing the rate case and analyzing the potential impact on our Tilden and Empire mines.

Maritime Asbestos Litigation. As previously disclosed, The Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company and/or The Cleveland-Cliffs Steamship Company have been named defendants in 485 actions brought from 1986 to date by former seamen in which the plaintiffs claim damages under federal law for illnesses allegedly suffered as the result of exposure to airborne asbestos fibers while serving as crew members aboard the vessels previously owned or managed by our entities until the mid-1980s. All of these actions have been consolidated into multidistrict proceedings in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, whose docket now includes a total of over 30,000 maritime cases filed by seamen against ship-owners and other defendants. All of these cases have been dismissed without prejudice, but can be reinstated upon application by plaintiffs’ counsel. The claims against our entities are insured in amounts that vary by policy year; however, the manner in which these retentions will be applied remains uncertain. Our entities continue to vigorously contest these claims and have made no settlements on them.

In April 2007, a lawsuit was filed naming the Company, The Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company, The Cleveland-Cliffs Steamship Company and other subsidiaries as defendants in a maritime asbestos lawsuit brought in the Court of Common Pleas in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. The plaintiff has alleged exposure to asbestos while serving as a crew member aboard vessels previously owned or managed by our entities between 1967 and 1971. Unlike the cases referenced above, this case was not subject to the multidistrict proceedings in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and accordingly, was not subject to the dismissal. On December 21, 2007, we settled this litigation for an amount within the limits on available insurance coverage.

The Rio Tinto Mine Site. See NOTE 5 — ENVIRONMENTAL AND MINE CLOSURE OBLIGATIONS in Item 8.

Northshore Air Permit Matters. On December 16, 2006, Northshore submitted an application to the MPCA for an administrative amendment to its air pollution operating permit. The proposed amendment requested the deletion of a term in the air permit that was derived from a court case brought against the Silver Bay taconite operations in 1972. The permit term incorporated elements of the court-ordered requirement to reduce fiber emissions to below a medically significant level by installing controls that would be deemed adequate if the fiber levels in Silver Bay were below those of a “control city such as St. Paul”. We requested deletion of this “control city” permit requirement on the grounds that the court-ordered requirements had been satisfied more than 20 years ago and should no longer be included in the permit. The MPCA denied our application on February 23, 2007. We have appealed the denial to the Minnesota Court of Appeals (the “Amendment Appeal”). The Amendment Appeal is currently pending. Oral arguments were held on our appeal on February 21, 2008.

Subsequent to the filing of the Amendment Appeal, the MPCA alleged that Northshore was in violation of the control city standard based on new data that the MPCA collected showing that current fiber levels in St. Paul were lower than in Silver Bay for a period in 2007. Northshore filed a motion with the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota to re-open the original Reserve Mining case, requesting that the court declare the control city standard satisfied and the court’s injunction voided, or if the control city standard remained in effect, clarify that it was a fixed standard set at the 1980 level rather than a moving standard (the “Federal Suit”). Shortly thereafter, the Save Lake Superior Association and the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota with respect to alleged violations of the control city standard (the “Citizens Suit”). On September 20, 2007, the court granted Northshore’s motion to stay the Citizen’s Suit pending resolution of the Federal Suit.

The Court entered an order in the Federal Suit on December 21, 2007, concluding that the 1975 federal court injunction from the case no longer had any force or effect. However, the court’s order also stated that the control city standard was a state permit requirement that can only be addressed in state court. While the determination that the 1975 federal injunction no longer has any effect is favorable, Northshore is currently analyzing the implications of the Federal Court order with respect to Northshore’s operating permit and pending state appeal. On February 19, 2008, Northshore filed an appeal of certain aspects of the Federal Court’s order. The impact of the Federal Court order on the Citizen’s Suit is also unclear, although the MPCA stated during depositions in the Federal Court proceedings in November 2007 that based on current fiber sample results, it believes Northshore to be in compliance with the control city permit term.

American Steamship Litigation. One of our subsidiaries, Cliffs Sales Company, currently contracts with ASC for the transportation of iron ore pellets from various ports on the Great Lakes to a blast furnace ore dock in Cleveland, Ohio. There are nine years remaining on that contract and we filed suit against ASC on February 21, 2007 alleging breach of contract and unjust enrichment claims for damages in connection with overcharges by ASC for fuel adjustments. We also requested declaratory relief for the fuel adjustment provisions of the contract as well as with respect to ASC’s obligation to shuttle iron ore. On May 18, 2007, ASC filed its own action against Cliffs Sales and adding Northshore Mining Company and Oglebay Norton Marine Services Company, LLC, as parties. ASC requested declaratory relief stating that its fuel adjustment charges were proper and that it had no obligation to shuttle iron ore during the winter. ASC also requested damages in connection with an alleged anticipatory breach of the contract based on our breach of contract claims. Both cases have been consolidated for purposes of discovery.

Carl’s Tire Retreading Superfund Site. In July 2006 we received a Request for Information relating to contamination of the Carl’s Tire Retreading Superfund Site in Grawn, Grand Traverse County, Michigan resulting from a fire that began at the site in December 1995. The site was a tire recycling business to which the Tilden and Empire Mines shipped tires before the fire. In November 2006, we received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice notifying us that the EPA is seeking about $3.1 million in response costs associated with releases of hazardous substances from the fire. In April 2007, we, along with 25 other PRPs, received a group settlement demand for approximately $2.3 million. We have entered into a group settlement agreement with five other PRPs. Our share of the settlement is $1.3 million.

West Virginia Flood Litigation. As of February 2008, our Pinnacle Mining Company has been named as a defendant in six lawsuits brought against over sixty defendants who were allegedly involved in land disturbing activities (primarily mining or logging) in Wyoming County, West Virginia. In each case the plaintiffs allege that these activities in Wyoming County resulted in flooding on or after July 8, 2001. The plaintiffs seek a permanent injunction and unstated personal and property damages under a number of legal theories. We are currently investigating these cases. We intend to defend these cases vigorously.

Alabama Dust Litigation. In 1996 and 1997, two cases (White, et al v. USX Corporation, et al, and Weekley, et al v. USX Corporation, et al.) were brought alleging that dust from the Concord Preparation Plant damaged properties in the area. In 2002, the parties entered into settlement agreements with the former owner in exchange for a lump sum payment and the agreement to implement remedial measures. However, the plaintiffs were not required to dismiss their claims. PinnOak was added to these cases in 2004 and 2006. The plaintiffs in these matters are now seeking additional remediation measures and we are opposing this assertion and believe that any amounts ultimately paid in this matter will not be material. In addition to the two cases noted above, in

2004 approximately 160 individual plaintiffs brought an action (Waid, et al v. U.S. Steel Mining Company, et al.) against PinnOak asserting injuries arising from particulate emissions from the Concord Preparation Plant. PinnOak is seeking a summary judgment in this most recent matter because it had previously been concluded under the 2002 settlement agreement.

In 2006, in Gamble et al v. PinnOak Resources, LLC, et al, 13 plaintiffs brought an action against PinnOak related to the operation of the Concord Preparation Plant. These plaintiffs assert that dangerous levels of coal dust emissions have been allowed to accumulate at that facility. We deny this allegation and are defending the matter vigorously.

Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

None.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT


Name	Position with Cleveland-Cliffs Inc as of February 26, 2008	Age
J.A. Carrabba	Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer	55
D.J. Gallagher	President, North America	55
W.A. Brake Jr	Executive Vice President — Cliffs Metallics and Chief Technical Officer	47
W.R. Calfee	Executive Vice President — Commercial, North America	61
W.C. Boor	Senior Vice President — Business Development	41
L. Brlas	Senior Vice President — Chief Financial Officer	50
R.L. Kummer	Senior Vice President — Human Resources	51
D.D. Vetor	Senior Vice President — North American Coal	49
G.W. Hawk Jr	General Counsel and Secretary	51

There is no family relationship between any of our executive officers, or between any of our executive officers and any of our Directors. Officers are elected to serve until successors have been elected. All of the above-named executive officers were elected effective on the dates listed below for each such officer.

The business experience of the persons named above for the past five years is as follows:


J.A. Carrabba		Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, May 2007 to date.
		President and Chief Executive Officer, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, September 2006 to May 2007.
		President and Chief Operating Officer, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, May 2005 to August 2006.
		President and Chief Operating Officer, Diavik Diamond Mines, April 2003 to May 2005.
		General Manager, Weipa Bauxite Operation, Comalco Aluminum March 2000 to April 2003.
D.J. Gallagher		President, North American Business Unit, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, November 2007 to date.
		President, North American Iron Ore, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, December 2006 to November 2007.
		President, North American Iron Ore, and Acting Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, July 2006 to December 2006.
		Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, May 2005 to July 2006.
		Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, July 2003 to May 2005.
		Vice President — Sales, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, August 1998 to July 2003.


W.A. Brake Jr		Executive Vice President, Cliffs Metallics and Chief Technical Officer, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, April 2007 to date.
		Executive Vice President — Operations, Mittal Steel USA, January 2006 to August 2006.
		Executive Vice President — Operations East, Mittal Steel USA, March 2005 to January 2006.
		Vice President & General Manager, International Steel Group, March 2003 to March 2005.
		Division Manager — Hot Rolling, International Steel Group, April 2002 to March 2003.
W.R. Calfee		Executive Vice President — Commercial, North America, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, July 2006 to date.
		Executive Vice President — Commercial, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, October 1995 to July 2006.
W.C. Boor		Senior Vice President, Business Development, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, May 2007 to date.
		Executive Vice President — Strategy and Development, American Gypsum Co, (a subsidiary of Eagle Materials Inc.) February 2005 to April 2007.
		Senior Vice President — Corporate Development and Investor Relations, Eagle Materials Inc., May 2002 to February 2005.
L. Brlas		Senior Vice President — Chief Financial Officer, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, October 2007 to date.
		Senior Vice President — Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, December 2006 to October 2007.
		Senior Vice President — Chief Financial Officer, STERIS Corporation, April 2000 to December 2006.
R.L. Kummer		Senior Vice President — Human Resources, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, January 2003 to date.
D.D. Vetor		Senior Vice President, North American Coal, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, November 2007 to date.
		Vice President — Operations - North American Iron Ore, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, July 2006 to November 2007.
		General Manager of Safety and Operations Improvement, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, December, 2005 to July 2006.
		Vice President — Operations, Diavik Diamond Mines, 2003 to November 2005.
G.W. Hawk, Jr		General Counsel and Secretary, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, January 2005 to date.
		Assistant General Counsel and Secretary, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, August 2003 to December 2004.
		Assistant General Counsel, Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, February 2003 to July 2003.
		Deputy General Counsel, Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc., 1998 to 2003.

PART II

Item 5.

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Stock Exchange Information

Our Common Shares (ticker symbol CLF) are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Chicago Stock Exchange.

Common Share Price Performance and Dividends


	2007						2006
	High		Low		Dividends		High		Low		Dividends
First Quarter	$	64.84	$	46.00	$	0.125	$	55.18	$	40.25	$	0.100
Second Quarter		92.06		64.20		0.125		50.43		31.39		0.125
Third Quarter		90.00		56.39		0.125		40.10		33.16		0.125
Fourth Quarter		106.29		73.50		0.125		49.47		36.83		0.125

Year		106.29		46.00	$	0.500		55.18		31.39	$	0.475

At February 25, 2008, we had 1,536 shareholders of record.

Shareholder Return Performance

The following graph shows changes over the past five-year period in the value of $100 invested in: (1) Cliffs’ Common Shares; (2) S&P Stock Index; and (3) S&P Steel Group Index. The values of each investment are based on price change plus reinvestment of all dividends.

LOGO


		2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INC	Return %		156.65	103.83	71.91	10.29	110.09
	Cum $	100.00	256.65	523.13	899.28	991.80	2,083.68
S&P 500 Index — Total Return	Return %		28.68	10.87	4.89	15.79	5.42
	Cum $	100.00	128.68	142.67	149.65	173.28	182.67
S&P 500 Steel Index	Return %		69.65	59.88	21.91	77.12	20.15
	Cum $	100.00	169.65	271.23	330.67	585.68	703.70

Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

The Company sold a total of 33 shares of common stock, par value $0.25 per share, of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (“Common Shares”) for an aggregate consideration of $3,191.14 on October 15, 2007 and October 31, 2007, pursuant to the Cleveland-Cliffs Inc VNQDC Plan to the Trustee of the Trust maintained under the VNQDC Plan. These sales were made in reliance on Rule 506 of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to an election made by two managerial employees under the VNQDC.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities


Period	(a) Total Number of Shares (or Units) Purchased	(b) Average Price Paid per Share (or Unit) $	(c) Total Number of Shares (or Units) Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs (1)	(d) Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares (or Units) that May Yet be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs
October 1 — 31, 2007	—	—	—	1,247,700
November 1 — 30, 2007	—	—	—	1,247,700
December 1 — 31, 2007	—		—	1,247,700

Total	—		—	1,247,700

(1)	On July 11, 2006, the Board of Directors approved the repurchase up to an aggregate of two million outstanding Common Shares. There were no repurchases in the fourth quarter under this program.

Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

Summary of Financial and Other Statistical Data

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and Consolidated Subsidiaries


	2007 (a)			2006			2005 (b)			2004			2003 (f)
Financial data (in millions, except per share amounts and employees)
Revenue from product sales and services	$	2,275.2		$	1,921.7		$	1,739.5		$	1,203.1		$	825.1
Cost of goods sold and operating expenses		(1,813.2	)		(1,507.7	)		(1,350.5	)		(1,053.6	)		(835.0	)
Other operating income (expense)		(80.4	)		(48.3	)		(32.5	)		(31.9	)		(38.4	)

Operating income (loss)		381.6			365.7			356.5			117.6			(48.3	)
Income (loss) from continuing operations		269.8			279.8			273.2			320.2			(34.9	)
Income (loss) from discontinued operations		0.2			0.3			(0.8	)		3.4			—

Income (loss) before extraordinary gain and cumulative effect of accounting changes		270.0			280.1			272.4			323.6			(34.9	)
Extraordinary gain (f)		—			—			—			—			2.2
Cumulative effect of accounting changes income
(loss) (c)		—			—			5.2			—			—

Net income (loss)		270.0			280.1			277.6			323.6			(32.7	)
Preferred stock dividends		(5.2	)		(5.6	)		(5.6	)		(5.3	)		—

Income (loss) applicable to common shares		264.8			274.5			272.0			318.3			(32.7	)
Earnings (loss) per common share — basic (d) (e)
Continuing operations		6.38			6.52			6.16			7.39			(.85	)
Discontinued operations		—			.01			(.02	)		.08			—
Cumulative effect of accounting changes and extraordinary gain		—			—			.12			—			.05

Earnings (loss) per common share		6.38			6.53			6.26			7.47			(.80	)
Earnings (loss) per common share — diluted (d) (e)
Continuing operations		5.14			5.19			4.92			5.84			(.85	)
Discontinued operations		—			.01			(.02	)		.06			—
Cumulative effect of accounting changes and extraordinary gain		—			—			.09			—			.05

Earnings (loss) per common share — diluted (d) (e)		5.14			5.20			4.99			5.90			(.80	)
Total assets		3,075.8			1,939.7			1,746.7			1,232.3			881.6
Debt obligations effectively serviced		505.8			47.2			49.6			9.1			34.6
Net cash from (used by) operating activities		288.9			428.5			514.6			(141.4	)		42.7
Redeemable cumulative convertible perpetual preferred stock		134.7			172.3			172.5			172.5			—
Distributions to preferred shareholders cash dividends		5.5			5.6			5.6			5.3			—
Distributions to common shareholders cash dividends
- Per share (d) (e)		.50			.48			.30			.05			—
- Total		20.9			20.2			13.1			2.2			—
Repurchases of common shares		2.2			121.5			—			6.5			—
Iron ore and coal production and sales statistics (tons in millions - North America; tonnes in millions - Asia-Pacific)
Production tonnage - North American iron ore		34.6			33.6			35.9			34.4			30.3
- North American coal		1.1			—			—			—			—
- Asia-Pacific iron ore		8.4			7.7			5.2			—			—
Production tonnage — North American iron ore (Company share)		21.8			20.8			22.1			21.7			18.1
Sales tonnage - North American iron ore		22.3			20.4			22.3			22.6			19.2
- North American coal		1.2			—			—			—			—
- Asia-Pacific iron ore		8.1			7.4			4.9			—			—
Common share outstanding (millions) (d) (e)
- Average for year		41.5			42.1			43.4			42.6			41.0
- At year-end		43.6			40.9			43.8			43.2			42.0
Employees at year-end (g)		5,298			4,189			4,085			3,777			3,956

(a)	On July 31, 2007, we completed the acquisition of PinnOak, a producer of high-quality, low-volatile metallurgical coal. Results for 2007 include PinnOak’s results since the acquisition.

(b)

On April 19, 2005, we completed the acquisition of 80.4 percent of Portman, an iron ore mining company in Australia. The acquisition was initiated on March 31, 2005 by the purchase of approximately 68.7 percent of Portman’s outstanding shares. Results for 2005 include Portman’s results since the acquisition.

(c)	Effective January 1, 2005, we adopted EITF 04-6, “Accounting for Stripping Costs Incurred during Production in the Mining Industry”.

(d)

On May 9, 2006, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a two-for-one stock split of its common shares. The record date for the stock split was June 15, 2006 with a distribution date of June 30, 2006. Accordingly, all common shares and per share amounts have been adjusted retroactively to reflect the stock split. Additionally, all diluted per share amounts reflect the “as-if-converted” effect of our convertible preferred stock as required by EITF 04-8.

(e)

On November 9, 2004, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a two-for-one stock split of its common shares. The record date for the stock split was December 15, 2004, with a distribution date of December 31, 2004. Accordingly, all common shares and per share amounts have been adjusted retroactively to reflect the stock split.

(f)	In 2003, we recognized a $2.2 million extraordinary gain in the acquisition of the assets of Eveleth Mines; $3.3 million acquisition and startup costs for this same mine, renamed United Taconite and $8.7 million of restructuring charges related to a salaried employee reduction program.

(g)	Includes employees of managed mining ventures.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Overview

The year 2007 was filled with progress and transition for Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and is expected to be looked upon as a watershed in our transition to an international mining entity.

Specifically, we made our entry into South America through the acquisition of a 30 percent interest in the Amapá Project; began mineral diversification with an acquisition of a 45 percent economic interest in the Australian Sonoma Coal project; and continued this diversification with the acquisition of PinnOak, a U.S.-based producer of metallurgical coal.

In addition to these strategic accomplishments, our core business, North American Iron Ore, achieved record sales margin. We also achieved record shipments in our Asia-Pacific Iron Ore segment that allowed it to take advantage of unprecedented seaborne pricing for iron ore.

Safety remains the No. 1 priority within Cleveland-Cliffs. Our continuous improvement efforts in this area resulted in a reportable incident rate, as defined by MSHA, of 1.93 in North America, or 38 basis points below last year’s result of 2.31. Unfortunately, despite continued progress, we did experience a fatality at our United Taconite mine resulting from the mechanical failure of a drill. Our newly acquired North American Coal operations achieved a 6.09 reportable incident rate since the July 31, 2007 acquisition. The MSHA reportable incident rate at underground bituminous coal mines was 7.36 for 2006.

At our Asia-Pacific Iron Ore operations, Koolyanobbing’s LTIFR for the year was 4.14, which is higher than last year’s result of 3.5. During 2007, six LTI’s were recorded at the Koolyanobbing operation. At Cockatoo Island, three LTI’s were incurred, resulting in a LTIFR of 6.1 for the year, compared with two LTI’s, resulting in a LTIFR of 7.87 in 2006. Asia-Pacific Iron Ore safety statistics include employees and contractors.

We continued to deliver strong financial performance in 2007. Revenues increased to $2.3 billion, with net income of $5.14 per diluted share. This compares with revenues of $1.9 billion and net income of $5.20 per diluted share in 2006.

Global crude steel growth, a significant driver of our business, was up approximately seven percent from 2006 with supply and demand of steel raw materials extremely tight. In North America, the relining of two of our customers’ blast furnaces, as well as softness in steel pricing over the summer, did not prevent us from reaching 22 million sales tons of iron ore in North America. Reasonable industry fundamentals returned in the fall and most producers reacted to lower service center inventories by achieving multiple rounds of price increases. Steelmakers in China continue their strong demand for iron ore as our Asia-Pacific Iron Ore segment produced near capacity with over eight million sales tonnes.

World-wide demand for metallurgical coal increased throughout the year as port constraints in Australia and production problems at large mines in the United States continued to place upward pressure on pricing.

During the year we reorganized our financial reporting into operating segments according to product category and geographic location. The three reportable segments are North American Iron Ore, North American Coal and Asia-Pacific Iron Ore.

North American Iron Ore is comprised of our interests in three iron ore mines in Minnesota, two in Michigan and one in eastern Canada; North American Coal is made up of our July 2007 acquisition of PinnOak Resources and its two metallurgical coal mines in West Virginia and one metallurgical coal mine in Alabama. Asia-Pacific Iron Ore includes our interests in Portman Limited, and its iron ore assets in Western Australia. We report revenues and sales margin separately for each of these three segments.

In addition, we have two segments that do not meet disclosure requirements. Our Asia-Pacific Coal operating segment is comprised of our 45 percent economic interest in the Sonoma Coal Project, and our Latin America Iron Ore operating segment is comprised of our 30 percent interest in the Amapá Project located in Brazil.

Below is a brief performance discussion for each of the reportable segments:

North American Iron Ore

North American Iron Ore pellet sales volume for 2007 was 22.3 million tons, a nine percent increase from the 20.4 million tons sold last year. The year-over-year increase in sales volume is attributed to increased production, deliveries and our customers’ fulfilling their minimum purchase obligations.

North American Iron Ore revenue per ton was up three percent versus last year. As a result of our strategic procurement, maintenance and other business improvement programs, as well as the implementation of Six Sigma and Lean Sigma at our North American mines, North American Iron Ore cost per ton was flat in comparison to last year. This compares with a PPI increase of 4.1 percent, which is a measurement of industrial company cost inflation.

Principally, as a result this cost containment, North American Iron Ore sales margin per ton increased 11 percent from 2006.

In North America, we are engaged with expanding our leadership position in the industry by focusing on high product quality, technical excellence, superior relationships with our customers and partners and improved operational efficiency through cost saving initiatives. We operate a fully-equipped research and development facility in Ishpeming, Michigan. Our research and development group is staffed with experienced engineers and scientists and is organized to support the geological interpretation, process mineralogy, mine engineering, mineral processing, pyrometallurgy, advanced process control and analytical service disciplines. Our research and development group is also utilized by iron ore pellet customers for laboratory testing and simulation of blast furnace conditions.

North American Coal

Our North American Coal segment is comprised of the PinnOak acquisition completed on July 31, 2007. PinnOak was a privately-owned U.S. producer of high-quality, low-volatile metallurgical coal. The acquisition furthers our growth strategy and expands our diversification of products for the integrated steel industry. North American Coal operations include two complexes comprising three underground mines — the Pinnacle and Green Ridge mines in southern West Virginia and the Oak Grove mine near Birmingham, Alabama. Combined, the mines have rated capacity to produce 6.5 million short tons of premium-quality metallurgical coal annually.

During the five months that we have owned the assets, metallurgical coal sales volume was 1.2 million short tons.

In August, production at the Pinnacle mine in West Virginia slowed as a result of sandstone intrusions encountered within the coal panel being mined at the time. This slowdown prompted the decision in late September to move the mine’s longwall plow system to another panel. In mid-October, the plow system was brought back into production.

In addition, we have invested in business improvement initiatives and safety activities designed to improve future production. These investments reduced our 2007 production. The slowdown, and resulting lack of leverage over fixed costs, such as labor, energy and administration, contributed to a loss of sales margin and unusually high per-ton costs of goods sold. However, as we build production volumes at the metallurgical coal mines through 2008, our cost per ton is expected to steadily and significantly decrease.

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore sales volume for 2007 increased 10 percent to 8.1 million tonnes, compared with 7.4 million tonnes in 2006. Increased production capacity has allowed Asia-Pacific to supply higher sales volumes at increased price realizations driven by intense demand from the Asian steel industry, particularly in China.

As a result of this demand, revenues per tonne increased 12 percent from the prior year. Per-tonne costs in Asia-Pacific Iron Ore, which increased 16 percent, continue to be negatively impacted by foreign exchange rates, as the U.S. dollar weakened relative to the Australian dollar, as well as higher maintenance and contract labor expenditures. Our Asia-Pacific Iron Ore management team has put in place a new contractor for mine operations that has cost control incentives. This is expected to result in better cost control in 2008.

Strategic Transactions

In 2007, we continued our strategic transformation to an international mining company through the following acquisitions and partnerships:

On March 5, 2007, we acquired a 30 percent interest in Amapá, a Brazilian iron ore project, through the acquisition of 100 percent of the shares of Centennial Amapá for approximately $133 million. The remaining 70 percent of the Amapá Project is owned by MMX, which is managing the construction and operations of the Amapá Project while we are supplying supplemental technical support.

In January 2008, Anglo American plc entered into a period of exclusive discussions with the controlling shareholder of MMX to purchase controlling interest in MMX’s 51 percent interest in the Minas-Rio iron ore project and its 70 percent interest in the Amapá Project. The proposed transaction is subject to a number of terms and conditions, including MMX board and regulatory approvals and the negotiation of definitive transaction documents. In addition, MMX will be required to obtain security holder approval for the completion of the transaction.

Total project funding requirements are estimated to be between $550 and $650 million (our share $165 million to $195 million), including approximately $415 million to $490 million (our share $125 million to $147 million) to be funded with project debt, and approximately $135 million to $160 million (our share $40 million to $48 million) to be funded with equity contributions. As of December 31, 2007, Amapá had debt outstanding of approximately $419 million, with approximately $83 million representing loans from MMX. These loans will be converted to permanent financing under existing third party credit facilities during 2008. We are committed to funding 30 percent of the equity contributions and have guaranteed 30 percent of the third party project level debt until the project meets certain performance criteria. As of December 31, 2007, approximately $101 million of project debt was guaranteed by Cliffs. Capital contributions through December 31, 2007 have totaled approximately $89 million (our share $26.7 million). Amapá was in compliance with its debt covenant requirements at December 31, 2007.

The Amapá Project consists of a significant iron ore deposit, a 192-kilometer railway connecting the mine location to an existing port facility and 71 hectares of real estate on the banks of the Amazon River, reserved for a loading terminal. The Amapá Project began production of sinter fines in late-December 2007. It is expected that completion of construction of the concentrator and ramp-up of production will occur in 2008. Once fully operational, production is targeted at 6.5 million tonnes of fines products annually.

On April 18, 2007, we executed agreements to participate in the Sonoma Coal Project, a coking and thermal coal project located in Queensland, Australia. As of December 31, 2007, we invested $120.1 million to acquire and develop mining tenements and related infrastructure including the construction of a washplant, which will produce coal to meet the growing global demand. Our total investment in Sonoma is estimated to be $127.7 million. Immediately preceding our investment in Sonoma, QCoal owned exploration permits and applications for mining leases for the real estate that is involved in the Sonoma Project (“Mining Assets”); however, development of the Mining Assets requires significant infrastructure including the construction of a rail loop and related equipment (“Non-Mining Assets”) and a facility that prepares the extracted coal for sale (the “Washplant”). Pursuant to a combination of interrelated agreements creating a structure whereby Cliffs owns 100 percent of the Washplant, 8.33 percent of the Mining Assets and 45 percent of the Non-Mining Assets of Sonoma, we obtained a 45 percent economic interest in the collective operations of Sonoma.

Mining operations reached a milestone in December 2007, when the first coal was extracted from the mine. The Washplant is currently undergoing commissioning and is expected to be fully operational by the end of the first quarter of 2008. Severe flooding at the mine in mid-February 2008 has caused a delay in previously

scheduled shipments. Incorporating the effects of the flooding, we expect total production of 2.0 million tonnes for 2008 and three to four million tonnes annually in 2009 and beyond. Production will include a mix of hard coking coal and thermal coal.

On June 19, 2007, we entered into an alliance whereby Kobe Steel agreed to license its patented ITmk3^® iron-making technology to us. The alliance, which has a 10-year term, covers use of the proprietary process in the United States and Canada, Australia and Brazil, and may be expanded to include other geographic regions. Used for the production of high-purity iron nuggets containing more than 96 percent iron, the ITmk3^® process provides the means to create high-quality raw materials for EAFs. Steel producers utilizing EAFs currently account for 60 percent of North America’s steelmaking capacity. On August 22, 2007, IronUnits LLC and its joint venture partner, Kobe Iron Nugget LLC formed Michigan Iron Nugget LLC. This new entity is the first manifestation of the Cliffs/Kobe alliance and will oversee the feasibility stage of building a commercial iron nugget plant in Marquette County, Michigan.

In November 2007, we acquired a 70 percent controlling interest in Renewafuel. Founded in 2005, Renewafuel produces high-quality, dense fuel cubes made from renewable and consistently available components such as corn stalks, switch grass, grains, soybean and oat hulls, wood, and wood byproducts.

This is a strategic investment that provides an opportunity to utilize a “green” solution for further reduction of emissions consistent with our objective to contain costs and enhance efficiencies in a socially responsible manner. In addition to the potential use of Renewafuel’s biofuel cubes in our production process, the cubes will be marketable to other organizations as a potential substitute for Western coal and natural gas.

Renewafuel’s biofuel cubes — about the size of a coal briquette — generate about the same amount of energy as coal from the Western United States; however, the green fuel emits 90 percent less sulfur dioxide, 35 percent less particulate matter and 30 percent less acid gases than coal. In addition, the cubes are made from feedstocks that are considered biogenic carbon — meaning they are already part of the natural carbon balance and will not add to atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide. Combustion of the cubes is considered “greenhouse neutral” under most existing carbon dioxide registry and trading programs.

The energy cubes can be used as a carbon neutral stand-alone fuel or a “green” supplement blended with existing fuels in industrial furnaces and boilers. The energy cubes generate more than 40 times the energy required to produce and transport them.

Capital Resources

We have taken a balanced approach to allocation of our capital resources and free cash flow. We have made strategic investments both domestically and internationally, increased our capital expenditures, strengthened our balance sheet, increased funding of our employee benefit obligations and increased our borrowing capacity.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Refer to NOTE 1 — BUSINESS SUMMARY AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES — of the Consolidated Financial Statements for a description of recent accounting pronouncements, including the respective dates of adoption and effects on results of operations and financial condition.

2007 Versus 2006

North American Iron Ore

Sales Margin

Following is a summary of North American Iron Ore sales margin for 2007 versus 2006:


	(In Millions)
							Change due to
	2007			2006			Sales price and rate		Sales volume			Freight and reimbursements			Total change
	2007			2006			Sales price and rate		Sales volume			Freight and reimbursements			Total change
Revenue from product sales and services	$	1,745.4		$	1,560.7		$	39.3	$	122.4		$	23.0		$	184.7
Cost of goods sold and operating expenses		(1,347.5	)		(1,233.3	)		0.6		(91.8	)		(23.0	)		(114.2	)

Sales margin	$	397.9		$	327.4		$	39.9	$	30.6		$	—		$	70.5

Sales tons		22.3			20.4

The increase in sales revenue was due to a sales volume increase of 1.9 million tons, or $122.4 million, higher sales prices, $39.3 million and higher freight and venture partners’ reimbursements, $23.0 million. Sales volume in 2007 included 1.5 million tons of pellets purchased and paid for by customers at year-end under take-or-pay provisions of existing long-term supply agreements. First half shipments in 2007 included 1.2 million tons of pellets purchased in upper Great Lakes stockpiles and paid for in 2006. Revenue recognition related to the December 2006 stockpile transaction totaling $62.6 million was deferred until the product was delivered in 2007. Sales prices per-ton increased 2.8 percent, reflecting the effect of contractual base price increases, higher term supply agreement escalation factors including higher steel pricing, higher PPI and lag-year adjustments.

The increase in cost of goods sold and operating expenses primarily reflected higher volume, $91.8 million. On a per-ton basis, cost of goods sold and operating expenses were flat in comparison to last year, as a result of our strategic procurement, maintenance and other business improvement programs, as well as the implementation of Six Sigma and Lean Sigma.

Production

Following is a summary of North American Iron Ore production tonnage for 2007 versus 2006:


	(In Millions) (1)
	Company Share		Total
Mine	2007	2006	2007	2006
Empire	3.9	3.8	4.9	4.9
Tilden	6.1	5.9	7.2	6.9
Hibbing	1.7	1.9	7.4	8.3
Northshore	5.2	5.1	5.2	5.1
United Taconite	3.7	3.0	5.3	4.3
Wabush	1.2	1.1	4.6	4.1

Total	21.8	20.8	34.6	33.6

(1)	Long tons of pellets of 2,240 pounds.

The decrease in Hibbing’s production was a result of the shutdown in late February 2007 due to severe weather conditions that caused significant buildup of ice in the basin supplying water to the processing facility.

Year-over-year production at Tilden benefited from major maintenance work and operating improvements performed in the prior year, and United Taconite production increased due to its recovery from last year’s electrical accident. Production at Wabush was higher as a result of pit design improvements to mitigate dewatering issues.

We reinitiated construction activity to restart an idled pellet furnace at the Northshore facility that will increase capacity by approximately 0.6 million tons of pellets in 2008 and 0.8 million tons to our annual capacity thereafter.

Production at Empire for 2008 is expected to slow to 3.6 million tons in order to extend the life of the mine. Negotiations to sell Wabash are currently in process but have not been finalized. There is a possibility that this transaction may not be consummated.

North American Coal

Sales Margin

Following is a summary of North American Coal sales margin since the July 31, 2007 acquisition:


	(In Millions, except tonnage)
	Five Months Ended December 31, 2007
Revenues from product sales and services	$	85.2
Cost of goods sold and operating expense		(116.9	)

Sales margin	$	(31.7	)

Sales tons (in thousands)		1,171

In August, production at our Pinnacle mine in West Virginia slowed as a result of sandstone intrusions encountered within the coal panel being mined at the time. This slowdown prompted the operating decision in late September to move the mine’s longwall plow system to another panel. In mid-October, the plow system was brought back into production. In addition, we have invested in business improvement initiatives and safety activities designed to enhance future production at our Oak Grove mine. These investments reduced our 2007 production.

The net impact of these factors contributed to a $31.7 million loss of sales margin. As production volumes build through 2008, our per-ton costs are anticipated to steadily and significantly decrease each quarter.

Production

Following is a summary of North American Coal production tonnage for 2007:


		(In Thousands)
Mine		Five Months Ended December 31, 2007 (1)
Oak Grove		406
Pinnacle		558
Green Ridge		127

Total		1,091

(1)	Tons are short tons of 2,000 pounds.

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore

Sales Margin

Following is a summary of Asia-Pacific Iron Ore sales margin for 2007 versus 2006:


	(In Millions)
							Change due to
	2007			2006			Sales price and rate			Sales volume			Total change
Revenue from product sales and services	$	444.6		$	361.0		$	48.9		$	34.7		$	83.6
Cost of goods sold and operating expenses		(348.8	)		(274.4	)		(48.0	)		(26.4	)		(74.4	)

Sales margin	$	95.8		$	86.6		$	0.9		$	8.3		$	9.2

Sales tonnes		8.1			7.4

The increase in sales revenue was due to higher sales prices, $48.9 million and higher volume, $34.7 million. Portman’s sales prices reflected the effects of the 9.5 percent increase in the international benchmark price of iron ore fines and lump. The 0.7 million tonne volume increase reflected the completion of the two-million-tonne per annum expansion at Koolyanobbing in late 2006.

The increase in cost of goods sold and operating expenses primarily reflected changes in foreign currency rates, changeover costs associated with a new mining contractor, increased selling and shipping costs and the effect of higher volume.

Production

Following is a summary of Asia-Pacific Iron Ore production tonnage for 2007 versus 2006:


	(In Millions) (1)
	Total
Mine	2007	2006
Koolyanobbing	7.7	7.0
Cockatoo Island	0.7	0.7

Total	8.4	7.7

(1)	Metric tons of 2,205 pounds.

The increase in production primarily reflected the completion of the expansion at Koolyanobbing in late 2006. Production at Cockatoo Island is expected to continue into the second quarter of 2008, with shipments to end in the third quarter of 2008.

In July 2007, Portman was notified that its exploration and mining rights under two leases would not be extended beyond July 3, 2007. The mining leases permit Portman to explore for and mine iron ore on mining tenements north of Portman’s Koolyanobbing operations, including the rights to 4.5 million tonnes of iron ore reserves. Portman has since negotiated an in-principle agreement to transfer these rights to the other party in exchange for additional mining rights to new leases. A formal agreement to this effect is expected to be ratified in the first quarter of 2008.

Other Operating Income (Expense)

•

Selling, general and administrative expense of $114.2 million increased $41.8 million compared with the prior year, primarily reflecting higher employment costs related to our expanding business, including expenses at North American Coal and our Asia-Pacific locations; increased outside professional service fees and higher legal fees.

•

Gain on sale of assets of $18.4 million primarily reflected the fourth quarter 2007 gain on the sale of portions of the former LTVSMC site. The sale included cash proceeds of approximately $18 million.

•

Miscellaneous-net expense of $2.3 million increased $14.7 million compared with last year, primarily reflecting increased mark-to-market hedging losses at our Asia-Pacific Iron Ore business.

Other Income (Expense)

•

Interest income of $20.0 million increased $2.8 million compared with the prior year, reflecting average higher cash and investment balances and higher average interest rates in our Asia-Pacific iron ore business.

•

Interest expense of $22.6 million increased $17.3 million compared with the prior year, primarily reflecting borrowings from the credit facility to fund the acquisition of PinnOak.

Income Taxes

Income tax expense of $84.1 million in 2007 was $6.8 million lower than the comparable amount in 2006. The decrease was due to lower pre-tax income in 2007 and a lower effective tax rate. See NOTE 9 — INCOME TAXES in Item 8 for further information.

Minority Interest

Minority interest decreased $1.5 million, or nine percent from the prior year. Minority interest represents the 19.6 percent minority interest related to Asia-Pacific iron ore earnings.

Equity Loss in Ventures

The equity loss in ventures, $11.2 million, represents the results from the Company’s investment in Amapá, primarily pre-production costs, $7.2 million and operating losses from the railroad, $4.0 million.

2006 Versus 2005

North American Iron Ore

Sales Margin

Following is a summary of North American Iron Ore sales margin for 2006 versus 2005:


	(In Millions)
							Change due to
	2006			2005			Sales price and rate			Sales volume			Freight and reimbursements			Total change
Revenue from product sales and services	$	1,560.7		$	1,535.0		$	111.6		$	(111.2	)	$	25.3		$	25.7
Cost of goods sold and operating expenses		(1,233.3	)		(1,176.4	)		(112.3	)		80.7			(25.3	)		(56.9	)

Sales margin	$	327.4		$	358.6		$	(0.7	)	$	(30.5	)	$	—		$	(31.2	)

Sales tons		20.4			22.3
Production tons — total		33.6			35.9
Production tons — Cliffs’ share		20.8			22.1

The increase in sales revenue was due to higher sales prices, $111.6 million and higher freight and venture partners’ reimbursements, partially offset by a sales volume decrease of 1.9 million tons, or $111.2 million. The 9.3 percent increase in sales prices primarily reflected the effect of contractual base price increases, higher term supply agreement escalation factors including higher steel pricing, higher PPI and lag-year adjustments, partially offset by the impact of lower international benchmark pellet prices. The price of blast furnace pellets for Eastern Canadian producers decreased 3.5 percent. Included in 2006 revenues were approximately 1.3 million tons of 2006 sales at 2005 contract prices and $21.6 million of revenue related to pricing adjustments on 2005 sales.

Cost of goods sold and operating expenses increased $56.9 million or approximately five percent. The increase reflected higher unit production costs of $112.3 million and higher freight and venture partners’ cost reimbursements, $25.3 million. Lower sales volume reduced costs $80.7 million. On a per-ton basis, cost of goods sold and operating expenses increased approximately 13 percent, primarily due to higher maintenance activity, increased energy and supply pricing, increased stripping and higher employment costs. Production costs were also impacted by an approximate $15 million cost effect related to production curtailments caused by the October 12, 2006 explosion at the United Taconite processing plant.

Production


	(In Millions) (1)
	Company Share		Total
Mine	2006	2005	2006	2005
Empire	3.8	3.8	4.9	4.8
Tilden	5.9	6.7	6.9	7.9
Hibbing	1.9	2.0	8.3	8.5
Northshore	5.1	4.9	5.1	4.9
United Taconite	3.0	3.4	4.3	4.9
Wabush	1.1	1.3	4.1	4.9

Total	20.8	22.1	33.6	35.9

(1)	Long tons of pellets of 2,240 pounds.

Production at Tilden in 2006 was lower than the previous year due to unplanned equipment repairs and a change in mix to produce more magnetite pellets to fulfill customer requirements. Magnetite pellets have lower productivity than hematite pellets.

The decrease in United Taconite production was due to the electrical explosion at the United Taconite processing plant on October 12, 2006. Production at the United Taconite plant was temporarily curtailed as a result of the loss of electrical power resulting from the explosion. Repairs to the plant’s Line 2 were completed and full production resumed in January 2007.

Crude ore mining at Wabush was significantly impacted by pit de-watering difficulties, which adversely impacted production and costs.

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore

Sales Margin

Following is a summary of Asia-Pacific Iron Ore sales margin for 2006 versus 2005:


	(In Millions)
							Change due to
	2006			2005 (1)			Sales price and rate			Sales volume			Total change
Revenue from product sales and services	$	361.0		$	204.5		$	51.5		$	105.0		$	156.5
Cost of goods sold and operating expenses		(274.4	)		(174.1	)		(10.9	)		(89.4	)		(100.3	)

Sales margin	$	86.6		$	30.4		$	40.6		$	15.6		$	56.2

Sales tonnes		7.4			4.9
Production tonnes — total		7.7			5.2

(1)	Represents results since the March 31, 2005 acquisition.

Sales revenue increased $156.5 million or approximately 77 percent. The increase in sales revenue was due to higher volume, $105.0 million and higher sales prices, $51.5 million. The 2.5 million tonne volume increase reflected the expansion of the Koolyanobbing operations in 2006 and the exclusion of sales prior to the March 31, 2005 acquisition. Asia-Pacific iron ore sales prices include the effects of a 19 percent increase in the international benchmark price of iron ore fines and lump.

Cost of goods sold and operating expenses increased $100.3 million or approximately 58 percent. The increase primarily reflected the effect of higher volume and an increase in unit production costs, primarily higher contract labor.

Production

Following is a summary of Asia-Pacific Iron Ore production tonnage for 2006 versus 2005:


	(In Millions) (1)
	Total
Mine	2006	2005
Koolyanobbing	7.0	4.7
Cockatoo Island	0.7	0.5

Total	7.7	5.2

(1)	Metric tons of 2,205 pounds.

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore 2005 production reflects results since the March 31, 2005 acquisition. An expansion of the Koolyanobbing facility was completed in 2006 that increased the Portman’s wholly-owned production capacity from six to eight million tonnes per annum.

Other Operating Income (Expense)

•

Casualty recoveries in 2005 of $12.3 million related to a five-week production curtailment at the Empire and Tilden mines in 2003 due to the loss of electric power as a result of flooding in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We recovered a portion of our deductible in 2007, totaling $3.2 million;

•

Selling, general and administrative expenses of $72.4 million increased $10.3 million compared with the prior year, reflecting increased outside professional services and full-year expense at our Asia-Pacific iron ore business and a $3.0 million property damage insurance deductible associated with the electrical explosion at United Taconite, partially offset by lower incentive compensation;

•

Miscellaneous-net income of $12.4 million was $8.2 million higher than the prior year, primarily reflecting higher mark-to-market currency gains at Portman and higher customer bankruptcy recoveries related to WCI’s 2003 bankruptcy filing.

Other Income (Expense)

•

Interest income of $17.2 million was $3.3 million higher than the prior year, reflecting higher average cash balances and higher interest rates.

Income Taxes

During 2005, an $8.9 million adjustment to reverse a valuation allowance on net operating losses attributable to pre-consolidated separate return years of one of our subsidiaries was recognized. Excluding the $8.9 million reversal in 2005, income tax expense of $90.9 million in 2006 was $2.8 million lower than the comparable amount last year. The decrease was due to a lower effective tax rate, partially offset by higher pre-tax income in 2006. See NOTE 9 — INCOME TAXES — for further information.

Minority Interest

Minority interest increased $7.0 million, or almost 70 percent from the prior year. Minority interest represents the 19.6 percent minority interest related to our Asia-Pacific iron ore earnings.

Discontinued Operations

Our arrangements with Ferrominera, a government-owned company responsible for the development of Venezuela’s iron ore industry, to provide technical assistance in support of improving operations of a 3.3 million tonne per year pelletizing facility, were terminated in the third quarter of 2005. We recorded after-tax income of $0.2 million related to this contract in 2006, compared with 2005 after-tax expense of $1.7 million, which included our exit costs.

On July 23, 2004, CAL, an affiliate of the Company jointly owned by a subsidiary of the Company (82.3945 percent) and Outotec (17.6055 percent), a German company (formerly known as Lurgi Metallurgie GmbH), completed the sale of CAL’s HBI facility located in Trinidad and Tobago to ArcelorMittal USA. Terms of the sale included a purchase price of $8.0 million plus assumption of liabilities. ArcelorMittal USA closed this facility at the end of 2005. We recorded after-tax income of $0.1 million in 2006, compared with after-tax income of $0.9 million in 2005.

The results of discontinued operations for CAL and Ferrominera were recorded under Income (Loss) from Discontinued Operations in the Statements of Consolidated Operations.

Cash Flow and Liquidity

Following is a summary of our cash flows for 2007, 2006 and 2005:


	(In Millions)
	2007			2006			2005
Acquisition of PinnOak (net of $2.6 million of cash acquired)	$	(343.8	)	$	—		$	—
Capital expenditures		(199.5	)		(119.5	)		(97.8	)
Investment in ventures		(180.6	)		(13.4	)		(8.5	)
Repayment of PinnOak debt		(159.6	)		—			—
Net purchase of marketable securities		(44.7	)		—			—
Dividends on common and preferred stock		(26.4	)		(25.8	)		(18.7	)
Repurchases of common stock		(2.2	)		(121.5	)		—
Net borrowings under credit facility		440.0			—			—
Net cash from operating activities		288.9			428.5			514.6
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash		11.8			5.9			(2.2	)
Investment in Portman (net of $24.1 million cash acquired)		—			—			(409.0	)
Other		21.5			4.4			(0.3	)

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents from continuing operations		(194.6	)		158.6			(21.9	)
Cash from (used by) discontinued operations		—			0.3			(2.2	)

Increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	$	(194.6	)	$	158.9		$	(24.1	)

See NOTE 2 — ACQUISITIONS AND OTHER INVESTMENTS for information regarding the PinnOak acquisition and repayment of debt as well as our investments in ventures.

Capital expenditures included the acquisition and development of mining tenements and related infrastructure including the construction of a washplant at Sonoma; the 0.8 million capacity expansion at Northshore and the re-build of the substation at United Taconite resulting from the October 2006 explosion. We anticipate that total cash used for investments and capital expenditures in 2008 will be approximately $200 million. We expect to fund our capital expenditures from available cash, current operations and borrowings under our credit facility.

Common stock repurchases in 2007 and 2006 reflected the purchase of 45,000 shares and 3.2 million shares, respectively, of 4.5 million shares authorized under two 2006 repurchase programs. Also, we increased our quarterly common share dividend to $.175 per share from $.125 per share effective with the quarterly dividend payable on March 3, 2008 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 15, 2008.

The decrease in operating cash flows in 2007 compared with 2006 was primarily due to changes in operating assets and liabilities. A summary of cash due to changes in operating assets and liabilities is as follows:


	(In Millions)
	2007			2006			2005
Net proceeds of short-term marketable securities	$	—		$	9.9		$	172.8
Changes in product inventories		3.2			(29.9	)		9.8
Changes in receivables and other assets		18.0			73.0			(64.8	)
Changes in deferred revenues		(34.2	)		62.4			0.2
Changes in payables and accrued expenses		(14.8	)		3.4			73.3

Cash (used by) from changes in operating assets and liabilities	$	(27.8	)	$	118.8		$	191.3

Our product inventory balances at December 31, 2007 and 2006 were as follows:


	(In Millions)
	2007			2006
	Amount		Tons*	Amount		Tons*
North American Iron Ore	$	114.3	3.4	$	129.5	3.8
North American Coal		8.3	0.1		—	—
Asia-Pacific Iron Ore		30.2	1.1		20.8	0.9

Total	$	152.8		$	150.3

*	North American Iron Ore tons are long tons of pellets of 2,240 pounds

North American Coal tons are short tons of 2,000 pounds

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore tons are metric tons of 2,205 pounds

The decrease in North American Iron Ore pellet inventory was primarily due to higher sales volume, partially offset by higher production. The increase in Asia-Pacific Iron Ore inventory is primarily due to increased production attributable to the expansion of the Koolyanobbing operations and higher opening inventory compared with the prior year, partially offset by higher sales.

Operating cash flows in 2005 included the proceeds from the sale of $182.7 million of highly liquid marketable securities used in connection with our acquisition of Portman, net of $9.9 million purchases of ARS.

Net cash from operating activities in 2007, 2006 and 2005 also reflected $123.9 million, $95.7 million and $86.2 million of income tax payments and $37.7 million, $56.1 million and $55.8 million of contributions to pension plans and VEBAs, respectively. In 2006, we received a $67.5 million refund from the WEPCO escrow account.

Following is a summary of key liquidity measures:


	(In Millions)
	At December 31,
	2007			2006
Cash and cash equivalents	$	157.1		$	351.7

Debt	$	(446.2	)	$	(6.9	)

Working capital	$	355.0		$	407.4

Cash and cash equivalents included $127.8 million and $97.6 million at our Asia-Pacific Iron Ore operations at December 31, 2007 and 2006, respectively.

On August 17, 2007, we entered into a five-year unsecured credit facility with a syndicate of 13 financial institutions, which replaced a $500 million credit facility scheduled to expire in 2011 and a $150 million credit facility scheduled to expire in 2008. The new facility provides $800 million in borrowing capacity, comprised of $200 million in term loans and $600 million in revolving loans, swing loans and letters of credit. Loans are drawn with a choice of interest rates and maturities, subject to the terms of the agreement. Interest rates are either (1) a range from LIBOR plus 0.45 percent to LIBOR plus 1.125 percent based on debt and earnings or (2) the prime rate or the prime rate plus 1.125 percent based on debt and earnings. The credit facility has two financial covenants: (1) debt to earnings ratio and (2) interest coverage ratio. As of December 31, 2007, we were in compliance with the covenants in the credit agreement.

As of December 31, 2007, $240 million was drawn in revolving loans and the principal amount of letter of credit obligations totaled $16.2 million under the new credit facility. We also had $200 million drawn in term loans. We had $343.8 million of borrowing capacity available under the $800 million credit facility at December 31, 2007. The weighted average annual interest rate for outstanding revolving and term loans under the credit facility was 5.81 percent as of December 31, 2007. After the effect of interest rate hedging, the weighted average annual borrowing rate was 5.68 percent.

Portman is party to a A$40 million multi-option credit facility, which was finalized in April 2007. The floating interest rate is 20 basis points over the 90-day bank bill swap rate in Australia. At December 31, 2007, the outstanding bank commitments were A$12.5 million, reducing borrowing capacity to A$27.5 million. The facility has two covenants: (1) debt to earnings ratio and (2) interest coverage ratio. As of December 31, 2007, Portman was in compliance with the covenants in the credit facility.

In 2005, Portman secured five-year financing from its customers in China as part of its long-term sales agreements to assist with the funding of the expansion of its Koolyanobbing mining operations. The borrowings, totaling $6.2 million at December 31, 2007, accrue interest annually at five percent. The borrowings require principal payments of approximately $0.8 million plus accrued interest to be made each January 31 for the next two years, with the balance due in full on January 31, 2010.

Contractual Obligations and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Other than operating leases primarily utilized for certain equipment and office space, we do not have any off-balance sheet financing. Following is a summary of our contractual obligations at December 31, 2007:


	Payments Due by Period (1) (In Millions)
Contractual Obligations	Total		Less Than 1 Year		1 - 3 Years		3 - 5 Years		More Than 5 Years
Long-term debt	$	555.0	$	0.8	$	114.2	$	440.0	$	—
Interest on debt (2)		122.7		23.9		48.8		50.0		—
Capital lease obligations		77.4		9.7		18.8		17.1		31.8
Operating leases		77.9		18.2		31.5		16.8		11.4
Purchase obligations
Open purchase orders		227.0		180.5		28.6		17.9		—
Minimum “take or pay” purchase commitments (3)		517.0		144.3		177.3		130.1		65.3

Total purchase obligations		744.0		324.8		205.9		148.0		65.3
Other long-term liabilities
Pension funding minimums		87.9		24.0		34.8		29.1		—
OPEB claim payments		125.6		16.9		24.0		22.8		61.9
Mine closure obligations		118.5		3.5		0.8		15.6		98.6
FIN 48 obligations (4)		18.7		8.3		10.4		—		—
Personal injury		16.5		3.6		4.3		1.3		7.3
PinnOak contingent consideration		99.5		—		99.5		—		—
Other (5)		201.0

Total other long-term liabilities		667.7		56.3		173.8		68.8		167.8

Total	$	2,244.7	$	433.7	$	593.0	$	740.7	$	276.3

(1)	Includes our consolidated obligations.

(2)	Interest calculated using a variable rate of 5.2 percent in 2008 and 2009 for the $200 million term debt and 5.8 percent from 2010 to 2012. Interest calculated using a variable rate of 5.6 percent from 2008 to 2012 for the $240 million revolving debt.

(3)	Includes minimum electric power demand charges, minimum coal, diesel and natural gas obligations, minimum railroad transportation obligations, minimum port facility obligations and minimum water pipeline access obligations for the Sonoma washplant.

(4)	Includes accrued interest.

(5)	Primarily includes income taxes payable and deferred income tax amounts for which payment timing is non-determinable.

Pensions and Other Postretirement Benefits

Defined benefit pension expense totaled $17.4 million, $23.0 million and $18.9 million for 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The decrease in defined benefit pension expense was due primarily to the effects of greater than expected asset returns, demographic gains and an increase in the assumed discount rate used to determine plan obligations.

OPEB expense totaled $4.5 million, $9.8 million and $13.7 million for 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively. The decrease in OPEB expense was due primarily to the effects of contributions made to the VEBAs during 2006, demographic gains, greater than expected asset returns and an increase in the assumed discount rate used to determine plan obligations.

See Employee Retirement Benefit Obligations under Critical Accounting Policies below and NOTE 8 — RETIREMENT RELATED BENEFITS in Item 8 for further information.

Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant

On December 19, 2006 WEPCO entered into an Asset Sale Agreement to sell its Point Beach Nuclear Plant. In conjunction with the sale, the parties to the transaction also negotiated a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) whereby WEPCO would purchase the capacity, energy, and ancillary services from Point Beach.

On September 25, 2007, the MPSC issued its Opinion and Order and determined that all of WEPCO’s Michigan customers, including the Empire and Tilden mines, should share in the distribution of proceeds resulting from the sale. The MPSC directed WEPCO to calculate an equal mills per kWh credit to be applied to customers’ bills for 18 monthly billing cycles following the close of the Point Beach Nuclear Plant sale.

WEPCO estimates a total of $882 million in net proceeds resulting from the transfer of ownership. The funds will be applied based on future consumption by its customers beginning in December 2007 through a $0.01581/kWh credit. Based on WEPCO’s proposal on projected electricity usage, the 2008 distribution to us would be approximately $32 million and will be reflected as a reduction in Cost of goods sold and operating expenses.

Sale of Wabush

On June 6, 2007, Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd. (traded on the TSX-Venture Exchange under the symbol CLM) made a conditional offer to acquire the 71.4 percent of Wabush owned directly or indirectly by the Company (26.8 percent) and U.S. Steel Canada (44.6 percent) for cash plus warrants for the purchase of CLM common shares and the assumption by CLM of employee and asset retirement obligations. The offer was non-binding upon the Company and U.S. Steel Canada except for the grant to CLM of limited exclusivity and was conditional upon various matters including the negotiation and finalization of the definitive agreement and the Dofasco right of first refusal referred to below.

As part of the transaction, if completed, we would enter into an agreement whereby CLM would sell a pro rata share to us annually from 4.8 million tons of expected annual Wabush production from the date of the closing through December 31, 2009. In 2007, Wabush produced 4.6 million tons of pellets with our share totaling 1.2 million tons.

Dofasco, a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal, holds the remaining 28.6 percent of Wabush. The notification to Dofasco of the conditional acceptance of CLM’s offer by the Company and U.S. Steel Canada on June 8, 2007, triggered a 90-day right of first refusal option by Dofasco under terms of the joint venture agreement.

On August 30, 2007, Dofasco provided notice to the Company and U.S. Steel Canada that it was exercising its right of first refusal to purchase the Company’s and U.S. Steel Canada’s interest in Wabush. Negotiations have not been finalized and it is possible that the transaction may not be consummated.

Market Risk

We are subject to a variety of market risks, including those caused by changes in market value of equity investments, commodity prices, foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. We have established policies and procedures to manage risks; however, certain risks are beyond our control.

Our investment policy relating to cash and cash equivalents is to preserve principal and liquidity while maximizing the return through investment of available funds. The carrying value of these investments approximates fair value on the reporting dates.

Interest for borrowings under our credit facility is a floating rate, dependent in part on the LIBOR rate, as such we are exposed to the effects of interest rate changes. Based on $440 million in outstanding revolving and term loans at December 31, 2007, a 100 basis point change to the LIBOR rate would result in a change of $4.5 million to interest expense on an annual basis.

In October 2007, we entered into a $100 million fixed rate swap to convert a portion of this floating rate into a fixed rate. With the swap agreement, we pay a fixed three-month LIBOR rate for $100 million of our floating rate borrowings. The interest rate swap terminates in October 2009 and qualifies as a cash flow hedge.

Approximately 6 percent of our U.S. pension trust assets and 2.5 percent of VEBA assets are exposed to sub prime risk, all of which is investment grade and fully collateralized by properties. These investments primarily include Mortgage-Backed Securities and the Home Equity subset of the Asset-Backed Securities sector with AAA and AA credit quality ratings. While these structures have experienced spread widening in conjunction with the recent market volatility and re-pricing of risk, over-collateralization of the deals lessens the potential for principal loss in these tranches and the securities held have not been subject to ratings downgrades to date. The U.S. pension and VEBA trusts have no allocations to mortgage related collateralized debt obligations.

The rising cost of energy is an important issue for us as it comprises approximately 24 percent of our North American Iron Ore production costs. Our strategy to address increasing energy rates includes improving efficiency in energy usage and utilizing the lowest cost alternative fuel. We also use forward purchases of natural gas and diesel fuel to stabilize fluctuations in near-term prices. Our North American Iron Ore mines, including our share of ventures, consumed 14.0 million mmbtu’s of natural gas at an average price of $7.95 per mmbtu and 23.9 million gallons of diesel fuel at an average price of $2.31 per gallon. Recent trends indicate that electric power, natural gas and oil costs can be expected to increase over time, although the direction and magnitude of short-term changes are difficult to predict. As of December 31, 2007, we purchased or have forward purchase contracts for 3.8 million and 2.0 million mmbtu’s of natural gas for 2008 and 2009, respectively, at an average price of $8.48 per mmbtu and 6.2 million gallons of diesel fuel at $2.12 per gallon for our North American Iron Ore mining ventures.

Our mining ventures enter into forward contracts for certain commodities, primarily natural gas and diesel fuel, as a hedge against price volatility. Such contracts, which are in quantities expected to be delivered and used in the production process, are a means to limit exposure to price fluctuations. At December 31, 2007, the notional amounts of the outstanding natural gas and diesel forward contracts were $52.5 million, with an unrecognized fair value gain of $5.7 million based on December 31, 2007 forward rates. The natural gas contracts mature at various times through September 2009 and the diesel fuel contracts mature at various times through December 2009. If the forward rates were to change 10 percent from the year-end rate, the value and potential cash flow effect on the contracts would be approximately $5.8 million.

Our share of the Wabush operation in Canada represented approximately six percent of our North American pellet production. This operation is subject to currency exchange fluctuations between the U.S. and Canadian dollars; however, we do not hedge our exposure to this currency exchange fluctuation. During 2007, the value of the Canadian dollar rose against the U.S. dollar from $0.86 U.S. dollar per Canadian dollar at the end of 2006 to $1.02 U.S. dollars per Canadian dollar at December 31, 2007, an increase of 19 percent. The average exchange rate increased to $0.94 U.S. dollar per Canadian dollar in 2007 from an average of $0.88 U.S. dollar per Canadian dollar for 2006, an increase of approximately seven percent.

We are subject to changes in foreign currency exchange rates in Australia as a result of our operations at Portman and Sonoma, which could impact our financial condition. Foreign exchange risk arises from our exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates because our reporting currency is the United States dollar. We do not hedge our exposure to this currency exchange fluctuation. A hypothetical one percent movement in quoted foreign currency exchange rates could result in a fair value change of approximately $11 million in our net investment.

Portman hedges a portion of its United States currency-denominated sales in accordance with a formal policy. The primary objective for using derivative financial instruments is to reduce the earnings volatility attributable to changes in Australian and United States currency fluctuations. The instruments are subject to formal documentation, intended to achieve qualifying hedge treatment, and are tested at inception and at each reporting period as to effectiveness. Changes in fair value for highly effective hedges are recorded as a component of other comprehensive income. Ineffective portions are charged to operations. At December 31, 2007, Portman had outstanding hedges totaling $362.5 million in the form of call options, collar options, convertible collar options and forward exchange contracts. The contracts have varying maturity dates ranging from January 2008 to November 2010, and a fair value adjustment based on the December 31, 2007 exchange rate of $21.3 million. A one hundred basis point increase in rates from the month-end rate would increase the fair value and cash flow by $3.0 million and a one hundred basis point decrease would decrease the fair value and cash flow by $2.5 million.

Outlook

Pricing

There has been a reported settlement of a 65 percent increase in pricing for iron ore fines for 2008. We are incorporating this into our estimates for pricing projections for lump and pellets. However, negotiations are still underway and there may be changes to the pricing for fines. In addition, pellets and lump may settle at different pricing levels.

North American Iron Ore

Our North American Iron Ore operations continue to produce at or near capacity. In 2008, Cliffs-managed iron ore pellet production in North America is expected to approximate 31.5 million tons Our share of this production is expected to be approximately 21 million tons. As we sell through current inventory, 2008 sales tons are estimated at 23 million tons. In estimating our revenue per ton for North American Iron Ore we made certain assumptions for the various factors included in our North American Iron Ore supply agreements. These include:

•

A 65 percent increase in the World Pellet Price;

•

Modest increases among producer price indices;

•

Approximately 16 percent increase in factors related to steel pricing; and,

•

A combination of contractual base price increases, lag-year adjustments and capped pricing.

The combination of these factors results in an estimated revenue per ton of $76 for 2008. Following is the estimated impact of changes in key assumptions on our North American Iron Ore revenue per ton:

•

Each 10 percent change from the 65 percent increase in World Pellet Price is expected to change our average realization per ton by $0.66; and,

•

Each $10 change from $650 per ton in the average hot rolled steel price at certain steelmaking facilities will result in a change in realization of $0.25 per ton.

We expect 2008 North American Iron Ore unit production costs to increase approximately four percent to approximately $50.00 per ton.

North American Coal

North American Coal is expected to produce and sell 4.5 million tons of metallurgical coal in 2008. We expect sales per ton to be approximately $91 in 2008. Cost per ton for the year is expected to be approximately $77. This full-year cost expectation assumes sequential quarterly improvement throughout the year as we ramp up production and execute business improvement initiatives at our coal mines.

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore 2008 production volume is expected to be 7.9 million tonnes, with expected sales volume of 8.0 million tonnes. We expect Asia-Pacific revenue-per-tonne of approximately $88. This estimate assumes a 65 percent increase in the 2008 international settlement price for lumps and fines, which is subject to change, as well as consideration that in 2007 our Asia-Pacific Iron Ore segment benefited from a $30 million revenue currency hedging benefit unlikely to repeat in 2008.

We expect Asia-Pacific Iron Ore costs of approximately $53 per tonne. This estimate includes an expanded $23 million exploration program at the Company’s Koolyanobbing operations targeted at expanding our iron ore reserves in Australia.

Sonoma Coal Project

Our Sonoma Coal Project is scheduled to commence shipments in the first quarter of 2008. Severe flooding at the mine in mid-February 2008, has caused a delay in previously scheduled shipments. Incorporating the effects of the flooding, we expect total production of 2.0 million tonnes for 2008 in nearly equal amounts of hard coking and thermal coal. Revenue per tonne at Sonoma is expected to average $82, with projected cost of $78 per tonne.

Amapá Iron Ore Project

MMX has management control over the venture and has indicated plans to complete construction of the concentrator and ramp-up operations during 2008. Production and sales are expected to total three to four million tonnes in 2008. Based on start-up delays and production levels, we expect to incur significant equity losses in 2008. MMX expects Amapá to produce at the 6.5 million tonne design level in 2009.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses and Other Expectations

As we continue to invest in management infrastructure related to our rapid growth and increased business development, selling, general and administrative expenses are anticipated to be approximately $150 million in 2008. We anticipate an effective tax rate in the range of 24 to 26 percent for the year. We also expect 2008 capital expenditures of approximately $200 million and depreciation and amortization of approximately $170 million.

Critical Accounting Estimates

Management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. Preparation of financial statements requires management to make assumptions, estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, costs and expenses, and the related disclosures of contingencies. Management bases its estimates on various assumptions and historical experience, which are believed to be reasonable; however, due to the inherent nature of estimates, actual results may differ significantly due to changed conditions or assumptions. On a regular basis, management reviews the accounting policies, assumptions, estimates and judgments to ensure that our financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with GAAP. However, because future events and their effects cannot be determined with certainty, actual results could differ from our assumptions and estimates, and such differences could be material. Management believes that the following critical accounting estimates and judgments have a significant impact on our financial statements.

Revenue Recognition

North American Iron Ore

We recorded revenue, cost of goods sold and sales margin of $87 million, $74 million and $13 million, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2007 related to sales to customers under minimum purchase requirements of supply agreements, who have paid for the iron ore and requested the Company to not ship the iron ore until the spring of 2008, when the Great Lakes waterways re-open for shipping. These bill-and-hold sales were made pursuant to long-term contracts that include annual take-or-pay arrangements.

In December 2006, two customers purchased and paid for 1.2 million tons of pellets in upper lakes stockpiles to meet 2006 contractual requirements. At the request of the customers, the ore was not shipped. We considered whether revenue should be recognized on these sales under the “collect and hold” guidance discussed in SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104 Topic 13, but because a fixed shipment schedule was not established prior to year-end, revenue recognition on these transactions, totaling $62.6 million, was deferred until the product was delivered in 2007.

Most of our North American Iron Ore long-term supply agreements are comprised of a base price with annual price adjustment factors. These price adjustment factors vary from agreement to agreement but typically include adjustments based upon changes in international pellet prices, changes in specified Producers Price Indices including those for all commodities, industrial commodities, energy and steel. The adjustments generally operate in the same manner, with each factor typically comprising a portion of the price adjustment, although the weighting of each factor varies from agreement to agreement. One of our term supply agreements contains price collars, which typically limit the percentage increase or decrease in prices for our iron ore pellets during any one year. In most cases, these adjustment factors have not been finalized at the time our product is sold; we routinely estimate these adjustment factors. The price adjustment factors have been evaluated as embedded derivatives. We evaluated the embedded derivatives in the supply agreements in accordance with the provisions of SFAS 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, as amended by SFAS 138, Accounting for Certain Derivative Instruments and Certain Hedging Activities — an amendment of FASB Statement No. 133. The price adjustment factors share the same economic characteristics and risks as the host contract and are integral to the host contract as inflation adjustments; accordingly they have not been separately valued as derivative instruments. Certain supply agreements with one customer include provisions for supplemental revenue or refunds based on the customer’s annual steel pricing for the year the product is consumed in the customer’s blast furnaces. We account for this provision as derivative instruments at the time of sale and record this provision at fair value until the year the product is consumed and the amounts are settled as an adjustment to revenue.

Under some North American term supply agreements, we ship the product to ports on the Great Lakes and/or to the customer’s facilities prior to the transfer of title. Our rationale for shipping iron ore products to some customers in advance of payment for the products is to minimize credit risk exposure. Generally, our North American term supply agreements specify that title and risk of loss pass to the customer when payment for the pellets is received. This is a practice utilized to reduce our financial risk to customer insolvency.

Revenue from product sales includes cost reimbursements from venture partners for their share of mine costs. The mining ventures function as captive cost companies; they supply product only to their owners effectively on a cost basis. Accordingly, the minority interests’ revenue amounts are stated at cost of production and are offset in entirety by an equal amount included in cost of goods sold resulting in no profits or losses reflected in minority interest participants. As we are responsible for product fulfillment, we have the risks and rewards of a principal in the transaction and accordingly we record revenue in this arrangement on a gross basis in accordance with EITF 99-19, Reporting Revenue Gross as a Principal Versus Net as an Agent, under the line item “Freight and other reimbursements”.

Revenue from product sales also includes reimbursement for freight charges paid on behalf of customers in Freight and Venture Partners’ Cost Reimbursements separate from product revenue, in accordance with EITF 00-10, Accounting for Shipping and Handling Fees and Costs. Where we are joint venture participants in the ownership of a North American iron ore mine, our contracts entitle us to receive royalties and management fees, which we earn as the pellets are produced.

North American Coal

For domestic coal sales, revenue is recognized when title passes to the customer. This generally occurs when coal is loaded into rail cars at the mine. For export coal sales, this generally occurs when coal is loaded into the vessel at the terminal.

Asia-Pacific Iron Ore

Portman’s sales revenue is recognized at the F.O.B. point, which is generally when the product is loaded into the vessel. Foreign currency revenues are converted to Australian dollars at the currency exchange rate in effect at the time of the transaction.

See Accounting Policies in Item 8 for a complete discussion of our revenue recognition policy.

Litigation Accruals

We are subject to proceedings, lawsuits and other claims. We are required to assess the likelihood of any adverse judgments or outcomes to these matters as well as the potential ranges of probable losses. A determination of the amount of accrual required, if any, for these contingencies is made after careful analysis of each matter. The required accrual may change in the future due to new developments in each matter or changes in approach, such as a change in settlement strategy in dealing with these matters. We do not believe that any such matter will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

Tax Contingencies

Domestic and foreign tax authorities periodically audit our income tax returns. These audits include questions regarding our tax-filing positions, including the timing and amount of deductions and allocation of income among various tax jurisdictions. At any time, multiple tax years are subject to audit by the various tax authorities. In evaluating the exposures associated with our various tax-filing positions, we record reserves for exposures where a position taken has not met a more-likely-than-not threshold. A number of years may elapse before a particular matter, for which we have established a reserve, is audited and fully resolved. When facts change or the actual results of a settlement with tax authorities differs from our established reserve for a matter, we adjust our tax contingencies reserve and income tax provision in the period in which the facts changed or the income tax matter is resolved.

Prior to 2007, we recorded estimated tax liabilities to the extent they were probable and could be reasonably estimated. On January 1, 2007, we adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes (“FIN 48”). The effects of applying this Interpretation resulted in a decrease of $7.7 million to retained earnings as of January 1, 2007. FIN 48 prescribes a more-likely-than-not threshold for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken (or expected to be taken in a tax return). This Interpretation also provides guidance on derecognition of income tax assets and liabilities, accounting for interest and penalties associated with tax positions, accounting for income taxes in interim periods and income tax disclosures.

Mineral Reserves

We regularly evaluate our economic mineral reserves and update them as required in accordance with SEC Industry Guide 7. The estimated mineral reserves could be affected by future industry conditions, geological conditions and ongoing mine planning. Maintenance of effective production capacity or the mineral reserve could require increases in capital and development expenditures. Generally as mining operations progress, haul lengths and lifts increase. Alternatively, changes in economic conditions, or the expected quality of ore reserves could decrease capacity or ore reserves. Technological progress could alleviate such factors, or increase capacity or ore reserves.

We use our mineral reserve estimates combined with our estimated annual production levels, to determine the mine closure dates utilized in recording the fair value liability for asset retirement obligations. See NOTE 5 — ENVIRONMENTAL AND MINE CLOSURE OBLIGATIONS — for further information. Since the liability

represents the present value of the expected future obligation, a significant change in mineral reserves or mine lives would have a substantial effect on the recorded obligation. We also utilize economic mineral reserves for evaluating potential impairments of mine assets and in determining maximum useful lives utilized to calculate depreciation and amortization of long-lived mine assets. Decreases in mineral reserves or mine lives could significantly affect these items.

Asset Retirement Obligations

The accrued mine closure obligations for our active mining operations provide for contractual and legal obligations associated with the eventual closure of the mining operations. Our obligations are determined based on detailed estimates adjusted for factors that an outside party would consider (i.e., inflation, overhead and profit), which were escalated (at an assumed three percent) to the estimated closure dates, and then discounted using a credit-adjusted risk-free interest rate for the initial estimates. The estimate at December 31, 2007 and 2006 included incremental increases in the closure cost estimates and changes in estimates of mine lives. The closure date for each location was determined based on the exhaustion date of the remaining iron ore reserves. The estimated obligations are particularly sensitive to the impact of changes in mine lives given the difference between the inflation and discount rates. Changes in the base estimates of legal and contractual closure costs due to changed legal or contractual requirements, available technology, inflation, overhead or profit rates would also have a significant impact on the recorded obligations. See NOTE 6 — ENVIRONMENTAL AND MINE CLOSURE OBLIGATIONS — for further information.

Asset Impairment

We monitor conditions that indicate that the carrying value of an asset or asset group may be impaired. We determine impairment based on the asset’s ability to generate cash flow greater than its carrying value, utilizing an undiscounted probability-weighted analysis. If the analysis indicates the asset is impaired, the carrying value is adjusted to fair value. Fair value can be determined by market value and also comparable sales transactions or using a discounted cash flow method. The impairment analysis and fair value determination can result in significantly different outcomes based on critical assumptions and estimates including the quantity and quality of remaining economic ore reserves, future iron ore prices and production costs.

Environmental Remediation Costs

We have a formal policy for environmental protection and restoration. Our obligations for known environmental problems at active and closed mining operations and other sites have been recognized based on estimates of the cost of investigation and remediation at each site. If the estimate can only be estimated as a range of possible amounts, with no specific amount being most likely, the minimum of the range is accrued. Management reviews its environmental remediation sites quarterly to determine if additional cost adjustments or disclosures are required. The characteristics of environmental remediation obligations, where information concerning the nature and extent of clean-up activities is not immediately available, or changes in regulatory requirements, result in a significant risk of increase to the obligations as they mature. Expected future expenditures are not discounted to present value unless the amount and timing of the cash disbursements are readily known. Potential insurance recoveries are not recognized until realized.

Employee Retirement Benefit Obligations

The Company and its North American Iron Ore mining ventures sponsor defined benefit pension plans covering substantially all North American employees. These plans are largely noncontributory, and benefits are generally based on employees’ years of service and average earnings for a defined period prior to retirement. We do not provide OPEB for most U.S. salaried employees hired after January 1, 1993.

Pursuant to a 2003 asset purchase agreement with the previous owner, PinnOak assumed postretirement benefits for certain employees who will vest more than five years after the asset purchase date of June 30, 2003. Postretirement benefits for vested employees and those that will vest within the five-year period subsequent to the acquisition date remain obligations of the previous owner. PinnOak records a provision for estimated postretirement benefits for employees not covered by the asset purchase agreement with the former owner based upon annual valuations.

Portman does not have employee retirement benefit obligations.

On September 12, 2006, the Company’s Board of Directors approved modifications to the pension benefits provided to salaried participants. The modifications retroactively reinstated the final average pay benefit formula (previously terminated and replaced with a cash balance formula in July 2003) to allow for additional accruals through June 30, 2008 or the continuation of benefits under an improved cash balance formula, whichever is greater. The change increased the PBO by $15.1 million and pension expense by $1.1 million in 2006. Following is a summary of our defined benefit pension and OPEB funding and expense for the years 2005 through 2008:


	(In Millions)
	Pension				OPEB
	Funding		Expense		Funding		Expense
2005	$	38.1	$	18.9	$	29.2	$	13.7
2006		40.7		23.0		30.4		9.8
2007		32.5		17.4		23.0		4.5
2008 (Estimated)		24.4		15.4		16.0		3.9

Assumptions used in determining the benefit obligations and the value of plan assets for defined benefit pension plans and postretirement benefit plans (primarily retiree healthcare benefits) offered by the Company are evaluated periodically by management. Critical assumptions, such as the discount rate used to measure the benefit obligations, the expected long-term rate of return on plan assets, and the medical care cost trend are reviewed annually. At December 31, 2007, we increased our discount rate for U.S. plans to 6.00 percent from 5.75 percent at December 31, 2006. Additionally, we adopted the IRS static 2023/2015 (separate pre-retirement and postretirement) table on December 31, 2007, to determine the expected life of our plan participants, replacing the 1994 GAM table. Following are sensitivities on estimated 2008 pension and OPEB expense of potential further changes in these key assumptions:


	Increase in 2008
	Expense (In Millions)
	Pension		OPEB
Decrease discount rate .25 percent	$	1.5	$	0.4
Decrease return on assets 1 percent		5.8		1.3
Increase medical trend rate 1 percent		N/A		4.1

Changes in actuarial assumptions, including discount rates, employee retirement rates, mortality, compensation levels, plan asset investment performance, and healthcare costs, are determined by the Company based on analyses of actual and expected factors. Changes in actuarial assumptions and/or investment performance of plan assets can have a significant impact on our financial condition due to the magnitude of our retirement obligations. See NOTE 8 — RETIREMENT RELATED BENEFITS in Item 8 for further information.

Accounting for Business Combinations

In July 2007, we completed the acquisition of PinnOak. We allocated the purchase price to assets acquired and liabilities assumed based on their relative fair value at the date of acquisition, pursuant to SFAS 141, Business Combinations. The estimated purchase price allocation is preliminary and is subject to revision. Additional valuation work is being conducted on mineral reserves, black lung obligations, property, plant and equipment and real estate values. In estimating the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, we consider information obtained during our due diligence process and utilize various valuation methods, including market prices, where available, comparisons to transactions for similar assets and liabilities and present value of estimated future cash flows. We are required to make subjective estimates in connection with these valuations and allocations.

Forward-Looking Statements

This report contains statements that constitute “forward-looking statements.” These forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of predictive, future-tense or forward-looking terminology, such as “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates,” “intends,” “may,” “will” or similar terms. These statements speak only as of the date of this report, and we undertake no ongoing obligation, other than that imposed by law, to update these statements. These statements appear in a number of places in this report and include statements regarding our intent, belief or current expectations of our directors or our officers with respect to, among other things:

•

trends affecting our financial condition, results of operations or future prospects;

•

uncertainty relating to contractual disputes with any of our customers;

•

our business and growth strategies;

•

uncertainties relating to our ability to identify and consummate any strategic investments;

•

adverse changes in currency values;

•

uncertainty relating to contractual disputes with any of our significant energy, material or service providers;

•

the success of cost-savings efforts;

•

uncertainties related to underground mining;

•

labor relations;

•

our financing plans and forecasts; and

•

the potential existence of significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting that may be identified during the performance of testing under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

You are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve significant risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, some of which are unknown. For additional factors affecting the business of Cleveland-Cliffs Inc, see Item 1A. Risk Factors.

You are urged to carefully consider these risk factors. All forward-looking statements attributable to us are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements.

Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Information regarding our Market Risk is presented under the caption Market Risk, which is included in Item 7 and is incorporated by reference and made a part hereof.

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Statements of Consolidated Financial Position

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and Consolidated Subsidiaries


	December 31 (In Millions)
	2007		2006
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$	157.1	$	351.7
Trade accounts receivable		84.9		32.3
Inventories		241.9		200.9
Supplies and other inventories		77.0		77.5
Deferred and refundable taxes		19.7		9.7
Derivative assets		69.5		32.9
Other		104.5		77.3

TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS		754.6		782.3
NET PROPERTIES		1,823.9		884.9
OTHER ASSETS
Prepaid pensions — salaried		6.7		2.2
Long-term receivables		38.0		43.7
Deferred income taxes		42.1		107.0
Deposits and miscellaneous		89.5		83.7
Investments in ventures		265.3		7.0
Marketable securities		55.7		28.9

TOTAL OTHER ASSETS		497.3		272.5

TOTAL ASSETS	$	3,075.8	$	1,939.7

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

Statements of Consolidated Financial Position

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and Consolidated Subsidiaries


	December 31 (In Millions)
	2007			2006
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable	$	149.9		$	142.4
Accrued employment costs		73.2			48.0
Other postretirement benefits		11.2			18.3
Income taxes payable		11.5			29.1
State and local taxes payable		33.6			25.6
Environmental and mine closure obligations		7.6			8.8
Accrued expenses		50.1			28.1
Deferred revenue		28.4			62.6
Other		34.1			12.0

TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES		399.6			374.9
POSTEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT LIABILITIES
Pensions		90.0			140.4
Other postretirement benefits		114.8			139.0

TOTAL POSTEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT LIABILITIES		204.8			279.4
ENVIRONMENTAL AND MINE CLOSURE OBLIGATIONS		123.2			95.1
DEFERRED INCOME TAXES		189.0			117.9
REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY		240.0			—
TERM LOAN		200.0			—
CONTINGENT CONSIDERATION		99.5			—
DEFERRED PAYMENT		96.2			—
OTHER LIABILITIES		107.3			68.5

TOTAL LIABILITIES		1,659.6			935.8
MINORITY INTEREST		117.8			85.8
3.25% REDEEMABLE CUMULATIVE CONVERTIBLE PERPETUAL PREFERRED STOCK — ISSUED 172,500 SHARES 134,715 AND 172,300 OUTSTANDING IN 2007 AND 2006		134.7			172.3
SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preferred stock — no par value
Class A — 3,000,000 shares authorized and unissued
Class B — 4,000,000 shares authorized and unissued
Common Shares — par value $0.25 a share
Authorized — 112,000,000 shares;
Issued — 67,311,764 shares		16.8			16.8
Capital in excess of par value of shares		116.6			103.2
Retained Earnings		1,316.2			1,078.5
Cost of 23,727,961 Common Shares in treasury (2006 — 26,406,414 shares)		(255.6	)		(282.8	)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(30.3	)		(169.9	)

TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY		1,163.7			745.8

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY	$	3,075.8		$	1,939.7

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

Statements of Consolidated Operations

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and Consolidated Subsidiaries


	Year Ended December 31, (In Millions, Except Per Share Amounts)
	2007			2006			2005
REVENUES FROM PRODUCT SALES AND SERVICES
Product	$	1,997.3		$	1,669.1		$	1,512.2
Freight and venture partners’ cost reimbursements		277.9			252.6			227.3

		2,275.2			1,921.7			1,739.5
COST OF GOODS SOLD AND OPERATING EXPENSES		(1,813.2	)		(1,507.7	)		(1,350.5	)

SALES MARGIN		462.0			414.0			389.0
OTHER OPERATING INCOME (EXPENSE)
Royalties and management fee revenue		14.5			11.7			13.1
Casualty recoveries		3.2			—			12.3
Selling, general and administrative expenses		(114.2	)		(72.4	)		(62.1	)
Gain on sale of assets — net		18.4			—			—
Miscellaneous — net		(2.3	)		12.4			4.2

		(80.4	)		(48.3	)		(32.5	)

OPERATING INCOME		381.6			365.7			356.5
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE)
Interest income		20.0			17.2			13.9
Interest expense		(22.6	)		(5.3	)		(4.5	)
Other — net		1.7			10.2			2.2

		(0.9	)		22.1			11.6

INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE INCOME TAXES, MINORITY INTEREST, EQUITY LOSS FROM VENTURES AND CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF ACCOUNTING CHANGE		380.7			387.8			368.1
PROVISION FOR INCOME TAXES		(84.1	)		(90.9	)		(84.8	)
MINORITY INTEREST (net of tax $4.7 million, $7.3 million and $5.4 million in 2007, 2006 and 2005)		(15.6	)		(17.1	)		(10.1	)
EQUITY LOSS FROM VENTURES		(11.2	)		—			—

INCOME FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS		269.8			279.8			273.2
INCOME (LOSS) FROM DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS
(net of tax 0.2 million, $0.2 million and $0.4 million in 2007, 2006 and 2005)		0.2			0.3			(0.8	)

INCOME BEFORE CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF ACCOUNTING CHANGE		270.0			280.1			272.4
CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF ACCOUNTING CHANGE (net of tax $2.8 million)		—			—			5.2

NET INCOME		270.0			280.1			277.6
PREFERRED STOCK DIVIDENDS		(5.2	)		(5.6	)		(5.6	)

INCOME APPLICABLE TO COMMON SHARES	$	264.8		$	274.5		$	272.0

EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE — BASIC
Continuing operations	$	6.38		$	6.52		$	6.16
Discontinued operations		—			.01			(.02	)
Cumulative effect of accounting changes		—			—			.12

EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE — BASIC	$	6.38		$	6.53		$	6.26

EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE — DILUTED
Continuing operations	$	5.14		$	5.19		$	4.92
Discontinued operations		—			.01			(.02	)
Cumulative effect of accounting changes		—			—			.09

EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE — DILUTED	$	5.14		$	5.20		$	4.99

AVERAGE NUMBER OF SHARES (In thousands)
Basic		41,494			42,072			43,456
Diluted		52,513			53,827			55,673

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

Statements of Consolidated Cash Flows

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and Consolidated Subsidiaries


		Year Ended December 31, (In Millions, Brackets Indicate Cash Decrease)
		2007			2006			2005
CASH FLOW FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS OPERATING ACTIVITIES
Net income		$	270.0		$	280.1		$	277.6
(Income) loss from discontinued operations			(0.2	)		(0.3	)		0.8
Cumulative effect of accounting change			—			—			(5.2	)
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash from operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization			107.2			73.9			42.8
Minority interest			15.6			17.1			10.1
Share-based compensation			11.8			4.9			—
Equity loss in ventures (net of tax)			11.2			—			—
Environmental and closure obligation			1.3			(1.6	)		6.0
Pensions and other postretirement benefits			(35.4	)		(40.3	)		(35.2	)
Deferred income taxes			(33.1	)		(4.8	)		(4.4	)
Derivatives and currency hedges			(15.4	)		(8.0	)		36.7
Gain on sale of assets			(17.9	)		(9.9	)		(11.3	)
Excess tax benefit from share-based compensation			(4.3	)		(1.2	)		—
Casualty recoveries			(3.2	)		—			(12.3	)
Proceeds from casualty recoveries			3.2			—			12.3
Other			5.9			(0.2	)		5.4
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Receivables & other assets			18.0			73.0			(64.8	)
Product inventories			3.2			(29.9	)		9.8
Deferred revenue			(34.2	)		62.4			0.2
Payables and accrued expenses			(14.8	)		3.4			73.3
Sales of marketable securities			—			13.6			182.8
Purchases of marketable securities			—			(3.7	)		(10.0	)

Net cash from operating activities			288.9			428.5			514.6
INVESTING ACTIVITIES
Acquisition of PinnOak			(343.8	)		—			—
Purchase of property, plant and equipment:			(199.5	)		(119.5	)		(97.8	)
Investments in ventures			(180.6	)		(13.4	)		(8.5	)
Purchase of marketable securities			(85.3	)		—			—
Redemption of marketable securities			40.6			—			—
Proceeds from sale of assets			23.2			5.5			4.4
Investment in Portman Limited			—			—			(409.0	)
Payment of currency hedges			—			—			(9.8	)

Net cash used by investing activities			(745.4	)		(127.4	)		(520.7	)
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
Borrowings under credit facilities			1,195.0			—			175.0
Repayments under credit facilities			(755.0	)		—			(175.0	)
Repayment of PinnOak debt			(159.6	)		—			—
Common Stock dividends			(20.9	)		(20.2	)		(13.1	)
Preferred Stock dividends			(5.5	)		(5.6	)		(5.6	)
Repayment of capital lease obligations			(4.3	)		(3.1	)		—
Repayment of other borrowings			(2.6	)		(0.8	)		—
Repurchases of Common Stock			(2.2	)		(121.5	)		—
Issuance costs of revolving credit			(1.0	)		(1.0	)		(2.7	)
Excess tax benefit from share-based compensation			4.3			1.2			—
Contributions by minority interest			1.9			1.9			2.1
Proceeds from stock options exercised			—			0.7			5.7

Net cash from (used by) financing activities			250.1			(148.4	)		(13.6	)
EFFECT OF EXCHANGE RATE CHANGES ON CASH			11.8			5.9			(2.2	)

CASH FROM (USED BY) CONTINUING OPERATIONS			(194.6	)		158.6			(21.9	)
CASH FROM (USED BY) DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS	— OPERATING		—			0.3			(5.2	)
	— INVESTING		—			—			3.0

INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS			(194.6	)		158.9			(24.1	)
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT BEGINNING OF YEAR			351.7			192.8			216.9

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AT END OF YEAR		$	157.1		$	351.7		$	192.8

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

Statements of Consolidated Shareholders’ Equity

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and Consolidated Subsidiaries


	(In Millions)
	Number of Common Shares		Common Shares		Capital in Excess of Par Value of Shares		Retained Earnings			Common Shares in Treasury			Accumulated Other Compre- hensive Income (Loss)			Total
January 1, 2005	21.6		$	16.8	$	92.3	$	565.3		$	(169.4	)	$	(81.0	)	$	424.0
Comprehensive income
Net income	—			—		—		277.6			—			—			277.6
Other comprehensive income
Minimum pension liability	—			—		—		—			—			(19.5	)		(19.5	)
Unrealized gain on securities	—			—		—		—			—			1.5			1.5
Unrealized loss on Foreign Currency Translation	—			—		—		—			—			(24.7	)		(24.7	)
Unrealized loss on derivative instruments	—			—		—		—			—			(1.9	)		(1.9	)

Total comprehensive income	—			—		—		—			—			—			233.0
Stock options exercised	0.1			—		3.2		—			2.5			—			5.7
Stock and other incentive plans	0.2			—		5.0		—			2.6			—			7.6
Preferred Stock dividends	—			—		—		(5.6	)		—			—			(5.6	)
Common Stock dividends	—			—		—		(13.1	)		—			—			(13.1	)

December 31, 2005	21.9			16.8		100.5		824.2			(164.3	)		(125.6	)		651.6
Comprehensive income
Net income	—			—		—		280.1			—			—			280.1
Other comprehensive income
Minimum pension and OPEB liability	—			—		—		—			—			17.9			17.9
Unrealized gain on marketable securities	—			—		—		—			—			7.9			7.9
Unrealized gain on Foreign Currency Translation	—			—		—		—			—			34.3			34.3
Unrealized gain on derivative instruments	—			—		—		—			—			6.3			6.3

Total comprehensive income	—			—		—		—			—			—			346.5
Effect of implementing SFAS 158	—			—		—		—			—			(110.7	)		(110.7	)
Stock options exercised	—			—		0.3		—			0.4			—			0.7
Stock and other incentive plans	0.2			—		2.3		—			2.5			—			4.8
Stock split	21.2			—		—		—			—			—			—
Repurchases of Common Stock	(2.4	)		—		—		—			(121.5	)		—			(121.5	)
Conversion of Preferred Stock	—			—		0.1		—			0.1			—			0.2
Preferred Stock dividends	—			—		—		(5.6	)		—			—			(5.6	)
Common Stock dividends	—			—		—		(20.2	)		—			—			(20.2	)

December 31, 2006	40.9			16.8		103.2		1,078.5			(282.8	)		(169.9	)		745.8
Comprehensive income
Net income	—			—		—		270.0			—			—			270.0
Other comprehensive income
Pension and OPEB liability	—			—		—		—			—			38.8			38.8
Unrealized net gain on marketable securities	—			—		—		—			—			0.6			0.6
Unrealized net gain on Foreign Currency Translation	—			—		—		—			—			86.9			86.9
Unrealized loss on interest rate swap	—			—		—		—			—			(0.9	)		(0.9	)
Unrealized gain on derivative instruments	—			—		—		—			—			14.2			14.2

Total comprehensive income	—			—		—		—			—			—			409.6
Effect of implementing FIN 48	—			—		—		(7.7	)		—			—			(7.7	)
Stock options exercised	—			—		—		—			0.2			—			0.2
Stock and other incentive plans	0.2			—		4.1		—			2.5			—			6.6
Repurchases of Common Stock	—			—		—		—			(2.2	)		—			(2.2	)
Conversion of Preferred Stock	2.5			—		9.3		1.6			26.7			—			37.6
Preferred Stock dividends	—			—		—		(5.3	)		—			—			(5.3	)
Common Stock dividends	—			—		—		(20.9	)		—			—			(20.9	)

December 31, 2007	43.6		$	16.8	$	116.6	$	1,316.2		$	(255.6	)	$	(30.3	)	$	1,163.7

See notes to consolidated financial statements.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and Consolidated Subsidiaries

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

NOTE 1 — BUSINESS SUMMARY AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Business Summary

We are an international mining company, the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America and a major supplier of metallurgical coal to the global steelmaking industry. We operate six iron ore mines in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada, and three coking coal mines in West Virginia and Alabama. We also own 80.4 percent of Portman, a large iron ore mining company in Australia, serving the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore. In addition, we have a 30 percent interest in the Amapá Project, a Brazilian iron ore project, and a 45 percent economic interest in the Sonoma Project, an Australian coking and thermal coal project. Our company is organized and managed according to product category and geographic location: North American Iron Ore, North American Coal, Asia-Pacific Iron Ore, Asia-Pacific Coal and Latin American Iron Ore.

Accounting Policies

We consider the following policies to be beneficial in understanding the judgments that are involved in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements and the uncertainties that could impact our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Reclassifications: Certain amounts in the prior years’ consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. They included the reclassification of certain amounts included in Miscellaneous-net to Sales, General and Administrative expenses and Other-net to Interest expense.

Basis of Consolidation: The consolidated financial statements include our accounts and the accounts of our consolidated subsidiaries, including the following significant subsidiaries:


Name	Location	Ownership Interest
Northshore	Minnesota	100.0	%
Pinnacle	West Virginia	100.0
Oak Grove	Alabama	100.0
Tilden	Michigan	85.0
Portman	Western Australia	80.4
Empire	Michigan	79.0
United Taconite	Minnesota	70.0

Intercompany accounts are eliminated in consolidation.

Our investments in ventures include our 30 percent equity interest in Amapá, a project located in Brazil, our 23 percent equity interest in Hibbing, an unincorporated joint venture in Minnesota, and our 26.83 percent equity interest in Wabush, an unincorporated joint venture located in Canada, and Portman’s 50 percent non-controlling interest in Cockatoo Island.

Investments in joint ventures in which our ownership is 50 percent or less, or in which we do not have control but have the ability to exercise significant influence over operating and financial policies, are accounted for under the equity method. Our share of equity income (loss) is eliminated against consolidated product inventory upon production, and against cost of goods sold and operating expenses when sold. This effectively reduces our cost for our share of the mining venture’s production to its cost, reflecting the cost-based nature of our participation in unconsolidated ventures.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and Consolidated Subsidiaries

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements — (Continued)

Sonoma Coal Project: We own 100 percent of CAWO, 8.33 percent of the Mining Assets and 45 percent of the Non-Mining Assets. Through various interrelated arrangements, we achieve a 45 percent economic interest in Sonoma despite the stated ownership of the individual pieces of the Sonoma Project. CAWO is consolidated as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and because we are the primary beneficiary, we absorb greater than 50 percent of the residual returns and expected losses of CAWO. We have an undivided interest in the Mining and Non-Mining Assets of the Sonoma Coal Project and, as it is in an extractive industry, we pro rata consolidate these assets and its share of costs in accordance with EITF 00-1, Investor Balance Sheet and Income Statement Display under the Equity Method for Investments in Certain Partnerships and Other Ventures. Although SMM does not have sufficient equity at risk and accordingly is a VIE under paragraph 5(a) of FIN 46R, Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, we are not the primary beneficiary of SMM. Accordingly, we account for our investment in SMM in accordance with the equity method.

Our 30 percent ownership interest in Amapá, in which we do not have control but have the ability to exercise influence over operating and financial policies, is accounted for under the equity method. Accordingly our share of the results from Amapá are reflected as Equity loss from ventures on the Statements of Consolidated Operations.

The financial information of Amapá included in our financial statements is as of and for the period from the date of acquisition through November 30, 2007. The earlier cut-off is to allow for sufficient time needed by Amapá to properly close and prepare complete financial information, including consolidating and eliminating entries, conversion to U.S. GAAP and review and approval by the Company. There were no intervening transactions or events which materially affect Amapá’s financial position or results of operations that were not reflected in our year-end financial statements.

The following table presents the detail of our Investments in ventures and where those investments are classified on the Statements of Consolidated Financial Position. Parentheses indicate a net liability.


			(In Millions)
			December 31,
Investment	Classification	Interest Percentage	2007			2006
Amapá	Investments in ventures	30	$	247.2		$	—
Wabush	Investments in ventures	27		5.8			5.3
Cockatoo	Other current liabilities	50		(9.9	)		(2.9	)
Hibbing	Other liabilities	23		(0.3	)		(9.9	)
Other	Investments in ventures			12.3			1.7

			$	255.1		$	(5.8	)

Revenue Recognition:

North American Iron Ore

Revenue is recognized on the sale of products when title to the product has transferred to the customer in accordance with the specified terms of each term supply agreement and all applicable criteria for revenue recognition have been satisfied. Generally, our North American Iron Ore term supply agreements provide that title and risk of loss pass to the customer when payment is received. This is a practice utilized to reduce our financial risk due to customer insolvency. This practice is not believed to be widely used throughout the balance of the industry.

The Company recognizes revenue based on the gross amount billed to a customer as it earned revenue from the sale of the goods or services. Revenue from product sales also includes reimbursement for freight charges paid on behalf of customers in Freight and Venture Partners’ Cost Reimbursements separate from product revenue, in accordance with EITF 00-10, Accounting for Shipping and Handling Fees and Costs.

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc and Consolidated Subsidiaries

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements — (Continued)

The mining ventures function as captive cost companies; they supply product only to their owners effectively on a cost basis. Accordingly, the minority interests’ revenue amounts are stated at cost of production and are offset in entirety by an equal amount included in cost of goods sold resulting in no sales margin reflected in minority interest participants. As the Company is responsible for product fulfillment, it has the risks and rewards of a principal in the transaction and accordingly records revenue in this arrangement on a gross basis in accordance with EITF 99-19, Reporting Revenue Gross as a Principal Versus Net as an Agent, in Freight and Venture Partners’ Cost Reimbursements.

Following is a summary of reimbursements in our North American Iron Ore operations:


		(In Millions)
		2007		2006		2005
Reimbursements for:
Freight		$	78.3	$	70.4	$	70.5
Venture partners’ cost			197.3		182.2		156.8

Total reimbursements	&nbs