Heat Treat Industry News

July 07, 2010

Cliffs buys North American coal assets for US$757 million

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc, North America’s largest iron-ore pellet producer, has agreed to purchase privately-owned coal producer, INR Energy LLC's West Virginia coal operations for US$757 million in cash.

The deal will boost Cliffs total global coal equity production capacity to 11Mt/y by 2012, at a split of 8Mt/y coking coal and 3Mt/y thermal coal.

INR’s operations include two underground metallurgical coal mines, Powellton and Chilton-Dingess, as well as the Toney Fork number two thermal coal mine.

In its 2010 outlook, Cliffs forecast production of 3.4Mt from its North American coal mines and 1.6Mt from Sonoma in Queensland, Australia. The company has capacity of 5.5Mt/y in North America.

Joseph Carrabba, Cliffs’s chief executive and chairman, said: “We currently anticipate expanding INR’s production of high-volatile metallurgical coal to 2.4Mt by 2012.”

INR was formed in 2007 to invest in all aspects of mining, including coal and industrial minerals mining operations.

The principal investors in INR are the Energy & Minerals Group and Barclays Capital.

http://www.mining-journal.com/

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