Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. announced that Edward C. Dowling Jr., Executive Vice President—Operations, has elected to resign to accept a senior executive position with a major global mining company. Mr. Dowling joined Cleveland-Cliffs in April 1998 as Senior Vice President—Operations and made numerous contributions during his tenure with the company.

The company announced that Jack Tuomi, Vice President—Operations Services, will become Acting Vice President of Operations, effective Nov. 1, 2004. In this capacity, Mr. Tuomi will be responsible for all mine operations, plus safety, research and engineering, quality, and materials and energy.

The company indicated that it will initiate a comprehensive search for a permanent replacement to head Cliffs' operations. This process will include the evaluation of both internal and external candidates and could take a period of several months.

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