Company Website: http://www.cliffsnaturalresources.com
CLEVELAND -- (Business Wire)

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Pinnacle Mining Company, LLC (“Pinnacle”), will temporarily halt production at its Pinnacle Mine Complex.

Plans call for the production shutdown, which will affect approximately 360 employees, to begin Monday, Feb. 2, and run through Feb. 28. Cliffs indicated the 2009 production plan at the Pinnacle Complex called for the mines to produce approximately 85,000 tons in February. Mine management met Friday afternoon with local leadership of the United Mine Workers of America to notify them of the production curtailment.

The Pinnacle Complex, which is located near Pineville, WV, includes the Pinnacle and Green Ridge #1 and Green Ridge #2 mines and the Pinnacle Preparation Plant. The Pinnacle and Green Ridge #1 mines both will halt production during February, while the prep plant will operate on a reduced schedule to serve customer requirements. The Green Ridge #2 mine was previously idled.

Pinnacle produces metallurgical coal for the steel industry. Metallurgical coal demand has been reduced as the steel industry has cut back production in the face of the global economic slowdown.

“The month-long production curtailment at Pinnacle is necessary to balance our production and inventory with customer demand,” said Duke Vetor, senior vice president, Cliffs North American Coal.

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ABOUT CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INC.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., headquartered in Cleveland, is an international mining company, the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America and a major supplier of metallurgical coal to the global steelmaking industry. The Company operates six iron ore mines in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada, and owns three coking coal mines in West Virginia and Alabama. Cliffs also wholly owns Portman Limited, a large iron ore mining company in Australia, serving the Asian iron ore markets with direct-shipping fines and lump ore. In addition, the Company has a 30% interest in the Amapá Project, a Brazilian iron ore project, and a 45% economic interest in the Sonoma Project, an Australian coking and thermal coal project.

News releases and other information on the Company are available on the Internet at:
http://www.cliffsnaturalresources.com or
www.cliffsnaturalresources.com/Inves...

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