During a ribbon-cutting ceremony that included Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, Cliffs chairman and chief executive Lourenco Goncalves said the natural-gas-fired US$1 billion investment marks the beginning of a new era in American ironmaking and steelmaking. 

“Natural-gas–based iron reduction is the future of our industry,” Goncalves said.  

“The production and use of hot briquetted iron within our operations has catalyzed what has been a phenomenal year for us and, very importantly, has supercharged our greenhouse emissions reduction program. It has also boosted our profitability through enhanced productivity in our blast furnaces and the avoidance of prime scrap purchases from third parties for use in our EAFs and BOFs.”

You can watch the full ceremony here.