Casablanca Capital LP (“Casablanca”), the beneficial owner of approximately 5.2% of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:CLF), today announced it intends to nominate James S. Sawyer for election to the Board of Directors of Cliffs at the Company’s annual meeting of shareholders to be held on July 29, 2014. Mr. Sawyer replaces Patrice Merrin, who withdrew from Casablanca’s six-member, majority slate following her appointment as the first female Director of Glencore plc.

Mr. Sawyer spent 28 years at Praxair, a global leader in industrial gases and the largest such company in North and South America, and served as Praxair’s chief financial officer from 2000 until his retirement in 2013. As CFO, Mr. Sawyer played a key role in Praxair's success and worked extensively with its steelmaker client base. Following his retirement, he served as an advisor to the company until March 2014.

“Jim brings deep experience as an accomplished CFO, and we are thrilled to add him to our slate of highly qualified director nominees,” said Donald Drapkin, Chairman of Casablanca. “Cliffs’ shareholders deserve a substantially reconstituted Board that will be accountable to shareholders, bring fresh perspectives, and have the mandate to help right the ship at Cliffs and deliver value to all investors. Our slate has the depth of experience, critical insight and sense of urgency that we believe the incumbent Board lacks.”

Mr. Sawyer has served as a Director of Aspen Aerogels, Inc. since 2006 and is a member of the Conference Board's Senior Financial Officer's Council and the Financial Executives Institute. Mr. Sawyer was named Senior Financial Officer of the year by Chemical Week magazine in 2003, received the Institutional Investor Chief Financial Officer of the Year award in 2004, and was listed as one of the 25 best CFOs of 2012 by the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Sawyer holds an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University and a master’s degree from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Shareholders who have questions or require assistance in submitting the GOLD proxy card are encouraged to contact Okapi Partners at (212) 297-0720 or (877) 274-8654 (toll-free). Additional information regarding Casablanca’s investment in Cliffs and campaign for shareholder value in connection with the upcoming 2014 Annual Meeting of shareholders, to be held on July 29, 2014, can be found at www.fixcliffs.com.