CLEVELAND, Dec. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) (Paris: CLF) today announced Dave Anthony will join the organization as vice president, senior project director, of Cliffs' Canadian chromite operations, effective January 2011. In this position, Mr. Anthony will lead the technical development of Cliffs' chromite deposits in Northern Ontario, Canada, overseeing project scope, execution plans, schedules and budgets to successfully design, procure, construct and begin production.  He will report to William Boor, senior vice president, president – Ferroalloys.

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Earlier this year, Cliffs purchased two large chromite deposits and the controlling interest in a third deposit in the Ring of Fire area of Northern Ontario.  Cliffs subsequently announced its intent to develop the mining operation in the Ring of Fire and a ferrochrome processing operation at a site to be determined in Ontario.  Prefeasibility studies are underway, with projected start-up in 2015.

Mr. Anthony has more than 30 years of engineering and environmental experience in the mining industry.  Most recently, he worked with Barrick Gold Corp. as chief operating officer, responsible for African Barrick Gold (ABG) Mines & Capital Projects.  He also has held general management positions with Barrick's gold and copper operations in Tanzania, directing the design, commissioning and operating of greenfield projects.  Mr. Anthony also completed designs for mining companies across the globe while a senior metallurgist for SNC-Lavalin Engineers & Constructors LTD, a leading Toronto-based engineering and construction group.  In addition, Mr. Anthony held engineering and environmental roles with major Canadian-based mining operators for more than 20 years.

"As Cliffs establishes its presence in the ferroalloys industry, Dave's ability to bring large, complex mining projects to fruition, and his experience in Canada, will be instrumental to future success," Mr. Boor commented. "A demonstrated leader, Dave brings a wealth of knowledge and global mining experience that will be crucial for the development of this greenfield project."

Mr. Anthony received his B.Sc. Mining Engineering (Mineral Processing) from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.  He is a member of the Association of Professional Geologists and Geophysicists of Alberta, Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario, and Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy.

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About Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. is an international mining and natural resources company. A member of the S&P 500 Index, we are the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America, a major supplier of direct-shipping lump and fines iron ore out of Australia and a significant producer of high and low volatile metallurgical coal. With core values of environmental and capital stewardship, our colleagues across the globe endeavor to provide all stakeholders operating and financial transparency as embodied in the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework. Our Company is organized through three geographic business units:

The North American business unit is comprised of six iron ore mines owned or managed in Michigan, Minnesota and Canada and six coal mines located in West Virginia and Alabama. The Asia Pacific business unit is comprised of two iron ore mining complexes in Western Australia and a 45% economic interest in a coking and thermal coal mine in Queensland, Australia. The Latin American business unit includes a 30% interest in the Amapa Project, an iron ore project in the state of Amapa in Brazil.

Other projects under development include a biomass production plant in Michigan and Ring of Fire chromite properties in Ontario, Canada. Over recent years, Cliffs has been executing a strategy designed to achieve scale in the mining industry and focused on serving the world's largest and fastest growing steel markets.

News releases and other information on the Company are available on the Internet at:  http://www.cliffsnaturalresources.com or www.cliffsnaturalresources.com/Investors/Pages/default.aspx?b=1041&1=1

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This news release contains predictive statements that are intended to be made as "forward-looking" within the safe harbor protections of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although the Company believes that its forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are subject to risk and uncertainties.

Actual results may differ materially from such statements for a variety of reasons; availability of capital equipment and component parts; availability of float capacity; ability to maintain adequate liquidity and our ability to access capital markets; changes in the financial condition of our partners and/or customers; rejection of major contracts and/or venture agreements by customers and/or participants under provisions of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code or similar statutes in other countries; events or circumstances that could impair or adversely impact the viability of a mine and the carrying value of associated assets; inability to achieve expected production levels; reductions in current resource estimates; impacts of increasing governmental regulation including failure to receive or maintain required environmental permits; problems with productivity, third party contractors, labor disputes, weather conditions, fluctuations in ore grade, tons mined, changes in cost factors including energy costs, transportation, mine closure obligations and employee benefit costs; the ability to identify, acquire and integrate strategic acquisition candidates; risks associated with operations in multiple countries and the effect of these various risks on our future cash flows, debt levels, liquidity and financial position.

Reference is also made to the detailed explanation of the many factors and risks that may cause such predictive statements to turn out differently, set forth in the Company's Annual Report and Reports on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and previous news releases filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are publicly available on Cliffs Natural Resources' website. The information contained in this document speaks as of the date of this news release and may be superseded by subsequent events.

SOURCE Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.