for AUD$141 Million in Cash

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prnews






CLEVELAND, Nov. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) (Paris: CLF) announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Cliffs Australia Coal Pty Ltd, has finalized the sale of its 45% economic interest in the Sonoma coal mine located in Queensland, Australia to its joint venture partners, QCoal Sonoma Pty Ltd (QCoal) and JS Sonoma Pty Ltd (JSS).







Cliffs divested its interests in the Sonoma mine along with its ownership of the affiliated wash plant. The Company sold 90% of its interest to QCoal and the remaining 10% to JSS.

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Cliffs received approximately AUD$141 million in cash upon the closing of the transaction.



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, the Company is a major global iron ore producer and a significant producer of high- and low-volatile metallurgical coal. Cliffs' strategy is to continually achieve greater scale and diversification in the mining industry through a focus on serving the world's largest and fastest growing steel markets. Driven by the core values of social, environmental and capital stewardship, Cliffs associates across the globe endeavor to provide all stakeholders operating and financial transparency.



The Company is organized through a global commercial group responsible for sales and delivery of Cliffs products and a global operations group responsible for the production of the minerals the Company markets. Cliffs operates iron ore and coal mines in North America and two iron ore mining complexes in Western Australia. In addition, Cliffs has a major chromite project, in the feasibility stage of development, located in Ontario, Canada.






SOURCE Cliffs Natural Resources Inc.



For further information: Global Communications and Investor Relations Contacts: Jessica Moran, Director, Investor Relations, +1-216-694-6532; Patricia Persico, Director, Global Communications, +1-216-694-5316