Back on nights - Cliff Natural Resources to reopen Talconite mine, two months earlier than expected

The North American iron ore pellet supplier Cliff Natural Resources will restart operations this August, two months earlier than its expected October start date later this year.

The Talconite mining facility in Minnesota will restart operations earlier following a contact signed with U.S Steel Canada for a 10-year supply of iron ore pellet agreement.

As a result of the agreement, Cliff Natural Resources is expecting a far higher sales volume of 18million tons, instead of the previous forecast of 17.7 million.

Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs' Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said:"We are very pleased to announce an increase of our pellet supply to U.S. Steel Canada, who became a new Cliffs' client in 2016. US Steel Canada used to be a captive client of its former parent company U.S. Steel Corporation. We are also very pleased to announce a higher sales guidance for 2016, thanks to this new business with U.S. Steel Canada, which came at a higher tonnage than we had previously anticipated."

The Talconite mining facility employs around 450 employees, all of which were out of work. The news means that they will be back in work sooner than expected, much to the delighte of Mr Goncalves.

"Most importantly, I am happy to bring our entire UTAC team back to work a lot earlier than previously announced last week." He added.

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