Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2024

Asset Retirement Obligation [Abstract]

NOTE 10 - ASSET RETIREMENT OBLIGATIONS

The accrued closure obligation provides for contractual and legal obligations related to our indefinitely idled and closed operations and for the eventual closure of our active operations. The closure date for each of our active mine sites was determined based on the exhaustion date of the remaining mineral reserves, and the amortization of the related asset and accretion of the liability is recognized over the estimated mine lives. The closure date and expected timing of the capital requirements to meet our obligations for our indefinitely idled or closed mines is determined based on the unique circumstances of each property. For indefinitely idled or closed mines, the accretion of the liability is recognized over the anticipated timing of remediation. Asset retirement obligations at our active steelmaking operations primarily include the closure and post-closure care for on-site landfills and other waste containment facilities. Asset retirement obligations have been recorded at present values using settlement dates based on when we expect these facilities to reach capacity and close.

The following is a summary of our asset retirement obligations:


(In millions)	March 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
Asset retirement obligations1	$	510	$	459
Less: current portion	61		15
Long-term asset retirement obligations	$	449	$	444

1 Includes $263 million and $259 million related to our active operations as of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

The following is a roll-forward of our asset retirement obligations:


(In millions)	2024		2023
Asset retirement obligations as of January 1	$	459	$	520
Accretion expense	5		8
Revision in estimated cash flows	48		—
Remediation payments	(2)		(4)
Asset retirement obligations as of March 31	$	510	$	524

During the first quarter of 2024, we announced the indefinite idle of our Weirton tinplate production plant, resulting in an increase to our asset retirement obligations as a result of acceleration of the timing and refinement in the cost of required remediation.