Cleveland-Cliffs Reaffirms Commitment to Middletown Works Decarbonization Project and Continued Collaboration with U.S. Department of Energy Page 1

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (NYSE: CLF) (“Cliffs”) remains fully committed to the transformation project underway at its integrated Middletown Works facility in Middletown, Ohio. As previously announced, Cliffs was selected for award negotiations for up to $500 million in total funding from the Department of Energy for the replacement of its Middletown blast furnace with a Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) facility and two Electric Melting (EMF) furnaces. The Company continues to actively negotiate with the Department of Energy regarding award-specific terms. Cliffs remains optimistic about receiving final approvals and moving forward with this carbon-friendly, high-yield project.

Lourenco Goncalves, Cliffs Chairman, President and CEO, said, “We continue to negotiate the award and execute the project for the transformative Middletown project. The project validates Cleveland-Cliffs as a world-class technology leader in steelmaking. Following our recent field trials of hydrogen reduction in Indiana Harbor and Middletown, and our recognized success in Direct Reduction in Toledo, OH, this project is a logical next step. Having done so well in partnering with our UAW and USW represented workforces throughout the Midwest from Minnesota to Pennsylvania, we are excited to partner with our IAM represented steelworkers in Middletown. Cleveland-Cliffs is honored to have the Department of Energy’s support for this transformative project that will benefit our workforce and the communities in which they live for decades to come.”

Project Overview

If awarded, the Company will replace its existing blast furnace at its Middletown Works Facility in Middletown, Ohio with a 2.5mtpa Hydrogen-Ready Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) Plant and two 120MW Electric Melting Furnaces (EMF) to feed molten iron to the existing infrastructure already in place at the site, including the BOF, Caster, Hot Strip Mill and various finishing facilities. Middletown will retain its existing crude steel production capacity of approximately 3 million net tons per year and will no longer use coke for ironmaking. EMF technology is well established and, together with hydrogen injection into blast furnaces, is a preferred route to meaningful carbon reduction for integrated steelmakers globally.

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