Cliffs makes Fortune 500 list

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Cliffs Natural Resources announced Friday it has been added to the Fortune 500 list for 2011, Fortune Magazine’s annual ranking of America’s largest companies by revenue.

Cliffs made the list for the first time at No. 477 with 2010 revenue of $4.7 billion.

The mining company’s rise was spurred by increased acquisitions of mining operations, higher production and record prices for iron ore.

Cliffs is part owner and manager of Hibbing Taconite and owns and operates North Shore Mining in Silver Bay-Babbitt and United Taconite in Eveleth. It also owns mines in Michigan and Canada.

“We are pleased to attain this ranking in the prestigious Fortune 500,” Joseph A. Carrabba, chairman, president and CEO of Cliffs, said in a prepared statement. “We consider it another significant milestone in our growth.”

Cliffs, formerly Cleveland Cliffs, also owns two iron ore mining complexes in western Australia. The company also has a 45 percent economic interest in a coking and thermal coal mine in Queensland, Australia. In addition, Cliffs has a major chromite project, in the pre-feasibility stage of development, in Ontario.

Tags: iron range, silver bay, news, business, eveleth, hibbing