TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – NYSE-listed Cliffs Natural Resources has finalised an interim power agreement with We Energies for its Michigan operations.
The US coal and iron-ore producer on Wednesday said the agreement was one critical step in a series of expected short- and long-term agreements that were essential to the viability of its iron-ore mines in the Upper Peninsula (UP).
"Cliffs is pleased to have reached an agreement with We Energies which positively impacts our costs. The signature of the agreement also benefits the electric consumers in the Upper Peninsula, with the elimination of the onerous [System Support Resource] payments. We continue to work with Governor Snyder's office as we pursue other power-related initiatives to the benefit of Cliffs and the UP community,” Cliffs president and CEO Lourenco Goncalves explained.
A collapse in global iron-ore prices had resulted in many iron-ore producers looking at ways to cut costs.