His comments were included in an announcement indicating Cliffs completed the sale of its Logan County Coal assets in West Virginia to Coronado Coal LLC for $174 million in cash and the assumption of certain liabilities.

The company said its expected tax benefit will be between 20 to 25 percent of the previously disclosed pre-tax loss of approximately $400 million, which represents an additional benefit of $80 million to $100 million in future cash tax savings. Cliffs will record the results in its fourth quarter earnings.

Separately, Cliffs said active production at Bloom Lake has completely ceased and the exit from Eastern Canada is continuing on schedule. The mine has transitioned to care and maintenance status and, consequently, at this time only a small number of employees involved in such activities are still in the payroll. The last shipment of iron ore out of the Port of Sept-Iles will be completed in early January.

"The execution of the strategic initiatives outlined during our Q3 conference call in October 2014 continued to progress as planned during the last two months. The sale of Logan County Coal, which included a meaningful tax benefit to the company, clearly demonstrates our ability to execute complex transactions despite an adverse M&A environment for commodity related transactions," Goncalves said. "Additionally, as we approach the final steps of our exit from Eastern Canada, we have brought to an end the flawed expansion that has cost Cliffs and its shareholders billions of dollars."

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