Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. reported that negotiators for the company and the United Steelworkers of America have made progress toward a new, competitive labor agreement but additional bargaining would be required to resolve a number of complex issues.

The current agreements, which expire at midnight, July 31, 2004, cover the bargaining unit employees at Cliffs' Empire, Tilden, Hibbing Taconite, and United Taconite mines.

"We began this round of bargaining by asking the Steelworkers to partner with us in our effort to be the pre-eminent supplier of iron ore pellets in North America. This objective requires a new contract that is similar to the agreements the Steelworkers have already made with Cliffs' major industry competitors and customers," said Randy L. Kummer, Senior Vice President—Human Resources.

"The discussions between the company and the union have been forthright and amicable, and we have reached tentative agreement on a number of major issues. Based on the progress the company and the union have made to date, we are hopeful that we will resolve the remaining complex issues before the end of July," Mr. Kummer said. Kummer added, "While we are encouraged by the progress made to date, challenging issues remain and we cannot rule out the potential of being unable to reach an agreement by July 31."

The company said that the next round of talks most likely would be scheduled within the next few weeks.

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Cleveland-Cliffs is the largest producer of iron ore pellets in North America, and sells the majority of its pellets to integrated steel companies in North America and Canada. The company operates six iron ore mines located in Michigan, Minnesota and Eastern Canada.