Speaking during the company’s third-quarter earnings call, chairman and chief executive Lourenco Goncalves said commissioning is expected to take a few more weeks, and after that, the Toledo, Ohio, USA, plant is to begin producing. 

Goncalves said the output will be used to supply the company’s own mills, but even with its pending acquisition of ArcelorMittal USA, Cliffs will supply HBI on a merchant basis to a select group of electric arc furnace operators. 

“We will have metallics for some. We won’t have metallics for everybody. It will be a competitive process,” he said. Shipments to outside customers probably will begin in the second quarter of next year, he added.  

Goncalves also said the company continues to expect to close the ArcelorMittal acquisition by the end of the year. 

“We continue to be thrilled about the future of Cleveland-Cliffs with this asset portfolio all under one roof and the significant optimization opportunities that come with it,” he said. 

“We will be ending this uniquely challenging year on a high note, and all set for a sensational and transformative year in 2021,” he said.