Cliffs celebrating 170th anniversary, reflects on past & expresses plans for future

MARQUETTE — President and CEO of Cliff’s Natural Resources addressed community leaders today, ensuring that the company will be around for many years to come.

“How do we make decisions for the long-term? Our decision can’t wait for tomorrow. There’s a reason our company has been around for 170 years. We had a few years that were out of the range but not anymore, we’re back,” said Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves.

Celebrating the 170th Anniversary of Cliff’s Natural Resources and how the company plans to keep moving forward was a key focus in today’s address to community members. “We are going to protect our core business by continuing to produce great, high quality, custom made, environmentally friendly pellets to our customers,” said Goncalves.

Keeping these objectives in mind will allegedly allow Cliffs to further expand their customer base. Cliff’s has undergone a massive business transformation in the past two and a half years while working to decrease their amount of debt. “We are now, as of February, perform a net debt of 1.2 billion and with the cash flow we expect to generate this year, that number will be well below a billion dollars by the end of the year, so we are in good shape,” said Goncalves.

One point of interest was the current state and future of the Tilden Mine. In regards to finding additional resources after the Tilden Mine is eventually of no use, those plans are still being discussed.

“We are always looking into new, possible developments but I think that if the future of Cliff’s is to grow in size, that is not the right approach. The right approach is understanding where the clients are going with their production,” said Goncalves.

Finding alternative resources without the help of a financial partner, such as alternative iron units from the Great Lakes is a possibility for the future of Cliffs but no set plans have yet been executed.