Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

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BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2014
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Basis Of Consolidation
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
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 June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013. Parentheses indicate a net liability.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(In Millions)
Investment
 
Classification
 
Accounting
Method
 
Interest
Percentage
 
June 30,
2014
 
December 31, 2013
Hibbing
 
Other non-current assets1
 
Equity Method
 
23%
 
$
9.5

 
$
(3.9
)
Other
 
Other non-current assets
 
Equity Method
 
Various
 
34.1

 
34.7

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
$
43.6

 
$
30.8

                                         
1 At December 31, 2013, the classification for Hibbing was Other liabilities.
Foreign Currency Transactions and Translations Policy [Policy Text Block]
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 and six months ended June 30, 2014, net losses of $11.4 million and $18.1 million, respectively, related to the impact of transaction gains and losses resulting from remeasurement. Of these transaction gains and losses, for the three months ended June 30, 2014, losses of $4.2 million and $2.0 million, respectively, and for the six months ended June 30, 2014 losses of $13.0 million and $5.1 million, respectively, resulted from remeasurement of short-term intercompany loans and cash and cash equivalents. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2013, net gains of $47.0 million and $50.5 million, respectively, related to the impact of transaction gains and losses resulting from remeasurement. Of these transaction gains and losses, for the three months ended June 30, 2013 gains of $28.7 million and $12.2 million, respectively, and for the six months ended June 30, 2013 $28.2 million and $11.9 million, respectively, resulted from remeasurement of short-term intercompany loans and cash and cash equivalents.
New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In June 2014, the FASB amended the accounting guidance for share-based payments through ASU 2014-12, Accounting for Share-Based Payments When the Terms of an Award Provide That a Performance Target Could Be Achieved after the Requisite Service Period.  Under the updated guidance, performance targets that affect vesting and that could be achieved after the requisite service period are treated as performance conditions.  A reporting entity should apply existing guidance in Topic 718 as it relates to awards with performance conditions that affect vesting to account for such awards.  As such, the performance target should not be reflected in estimating the grant-date fair value of the award.  Compensation cost should be recognized in the period in which it becomes probable that the performance target will be achieved and should represent the compensation cost attributable to the period(s) for which the requisite service has already been rendered.  If the performance target becomes probable of being achieved before the end of the requisite service period, the remaining unrecognized compensation cost should be recognized prospectively over the remaining requisite service period.  The total amount of compensation cost recognized during and after the requisite service period should reflect the number of awards that are expected to vest and should be adjusted to reflect those awards that ultimately vest.  The requisite service period ends when the employee can cease rendering service and still be eligible to vest in the award if the performance target is achieved.  As indicated in the definition of vest, the stated vesting period (which includes the period in which the performance target could be achieved) may differ from the requisite service period.  The update is effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2015 and may be adopted either prospectively or retrospectively.  Earlier adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the impact the adoption of the updated guidance will have on the Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Position, Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Operations or Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Cash Flows and do not expect that this guidance will have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In June 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers.  The new revenue guidance broadly replaces the revenue guidance provided throughout the Codification.  The core principle of the revenue guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services.  To achieve that core principle, an entity should apply the following steps: (1) identify the contract(s) with a customer, (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (3) determine the transaction price, (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (5) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation.  The new revenue guidance also requires the capitalization of certain contract acquisition costs.  Reporting entities must provide new disclosures providing qualitative and quantitative information on the nature, amount, timing, and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers.  New disclosures also include qualitative and quantitative information on significant judgments, changes in judgments, and contract acquisition assets.  The update is effective for annual periods and interim periods within those annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016 and may be adopted either retrospectively or retrospectively with the cumulative effect.  Earlier adoption is not permitted. We are still evaluating the impact of the updated guidance on the Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Position, Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Operations or Statements of Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Cash Flows.