Exhibit 31(a)
CERTIFICATION
I, John S. Brinzo, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material
fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the
circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and
other financial information included in this report, fairly
present in all material respects the financial condition,
results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of,
and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I
are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act
Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over
financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act
Rules 13(a)-15(f) and 15(d)-15(f)) for the registrant and
have:
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a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or
caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed
under our supervision, to ensure that material information
relating to the registrant, including its consolidated
subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
entities, particularly during the period in which this annual
report is being prepared; |
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b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting,
or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be
designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the
preparation of financial statements for external purposes in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; |
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c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s
disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report
our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure
controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by
this report based on such evaluation; and |
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d) Disclosed in this report any change in the
registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that
occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter
(the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an
annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably
likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal
control over financial reporting; and |
5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I
have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal
control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s
auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board
of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
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a) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in
the design or operation of internal control over financial
reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the
registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and
report financial information; and |
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b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant role in the
registrant’s internal control over financial reporting. |
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John S. Brinzo |
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Chairman, President and Chief |
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Executive Officer |
Date: February 22, 2005