Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

BUSINESS SUMMARY AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 1 - BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with SEC rules and regulations and, in the opinion of management, include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) necessary to present fairly, the financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income and cash flows for the periods presented. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. 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. The results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2014 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2014 or any other future period. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013.

Basis of Consolidation

The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include our accounts and the accounts of our wholly-owned and majority-owned subsidiaries, including the following operations:



Name	Location	Ownership Interest	Operation
Northshore	Minnesota	100.0%	Iron Ore
United Taconite	Minnesota	100.0%	Iron Ore
Wabush	Newfoundland and Labrador/ Quebec, Canada	100.0%	Iron Ore
Bloom Lake	Quebec, Canada	82.8%	Iron Ore
Tilden	Michigan	85.0%	Iron Ore
Empire	Michigan	79.0%	Iron Ore
Koolyanobbing	Western Australia	100.0%	Iron Ore
Pinnacle	West Virginia	100.0%	Coal
Oak Grove	Alabama	100.0%	Coal
CLCC	West Virginia	100.0%	Coal

Intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated upon consolidation.

Also included in our consolidated results are Cliffs Chromite Ontario Inc. and Cliffs Chromite Far North Inc. Cliffs Chromite Ontario Inc. holds a 100 percent interest in each of the Black Label and Black Thor chromite deposits and, together with Cliffs Chromite Far North Inc., a 70 percent interest in the Big Daddy chromite deposit, all located in northern Ontario, Canada.

Equity Method Investments

Investments in unconsolidated ventures that we have the ability to exercise significant influence over, but not control, are accounted for under the equity method. The following table presents the detail of our investments in unconsolidated ventures and where those investments are classified in the Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Position as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013. Parentheses indicate a net liability.



				(In Millions)
Investment	Classification	Accounting Method	Interest Percentage	March 31, 2014		December 31, 2013
Hibbing	Other non-current assets¹	Equity Method	23	$	1.7	$	(3.9	)
Other	Other non-current assets	Equity Method	Various	34.3		34.7
				$	36.0	$	30.8

¹At December 31, 2013, the classification for Hibbing was Other liabilities.

Significant Accounting Policies

A detailed description of our significant accounting policies can be found in the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. The significant accounting policies requiring updates have been included within the disclosures below.

Foreign Currency

Our financial statements are prepared with the U.S. dollar as the reporting currency. The functional currency of the Company’s Australian subsidiaries is the Australian dollar. The functional currency of all other international subsidiaries is the U.S. dollar. The financial statements of international subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars using the exchange rate at each balance sheet date for assets and liabilities and a weighted average exchange rate for each period for revenues, expenses, gains and losses. Where the local currency is the functional currency, translation adjustments are recorded as Accumulated other comprehensive loss. Income taxes generally are not provided for foreign currency translation adjustments. To the extent that monetary assets and liabilities, inclusive of intercompany notes, are recorded in a currency other than the functional currency, these amounts are remeasured each reporting period, with the resulting gain or loss being recorded in the Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Operations. Transaction gains and losses resulting from remeasurement of short-term intercompany loans are included in Miscellaneous - net in our Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Operations. For the three months ended March 31, 2014, net losses of $6.5 million related to the impact of transaction gains and losses resulting from remeasurement, of which losses of $8.8 million and losses of $3.1 million, respectively, resulted from remeasurement of short-term intercompany loans and cash and cash equivalents. For the three months ended March 31, 2013, net gains of $3.7 million related to the impact of transaction gains and losses resulting from remeasurement, of which losses of $0.5 million and losses of $0.3 million, respectively, resulted from remeasurement of short-term intercompany loans and cash and cash equivalents.