CLEVELAND _ Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: CLF, Stock Forum) says it may close the Bloom Lake mine near Fermont, Que. at a cost of up to $700 million, and exit its iron ore operations in Eastern Canada.
The mine is about 975 kilometres northeast of Quebec City and 30 kilometres southwest of Labrador City, N.L., in an area known for iron ore deposits.
Cleveland-based Cliffs says its Quebec subsidiary and Bloom Lake partners recently lost an arbitration claim against a former customer, which had terminated a sales agreement in August 2011.
The arbitrator awarded the former customer more than $71 million in compensation and other fees.
Cliffs Natural says investors are still interested in Bloom Lake _ which requires a $1.2-billion expansion _ but not within a time frame that's acceptable to the company.
If the Bloom Lake mine is shut down, Cliffs expects expects closure costs to be in the range of US$650 million to US$700 million within the next five years.