THE LEAD
S p e c i a l
I s s u e
North American
Iron Ore Report Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., ArcelorMittal SA and, United States Steel Corporation are the companies with the largest market share in the Iron Ore Mining industry in the United States.
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.
I
t was 2020 when Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. underwent a transformation. The mining company delivering iron ore pellets to North American steel companies so far, now became the most major flat-rolled steel manufacturer in North America. The acquisition of AK Steel in March 2020, which matched perfectly with the Company's optimistic future forecast for 8 | SKILLINGS MINING REVIEW July 2021
automobile production and manufacturing in the United States, was part of a strategy focused on American steel. Now that Cleveland-Cliffs has risen to the top of the American steelmaking industry, providing clarity on its long-term business model is in everyone's best interests and an important method to help the company strengthen its long-term competitive edge. In late 2020, Cleveland-Cliffs finished building its first Direct Reduction Plant
and began manufacturing high-quality hot-briquetted iron (HBI). The resultant HBI is a compacted type of direct reduction iron that is formed into briquettes (shape) for ease of shipping, handling, and feeding into blast furnaces and electric arc furnaces (EAFs). The initiative is a significant step forward in helping reduce GHG emissions, thus is a priority for them. It is the world's most modern, efficient, and ecologically friendly Direct Reduction Plant, built on a brownfield re-development site near Toledo, Ohio. It also
