Fresh faces among Cliffs Natural Resources’ senior executives won’t impact the development of its Ring of Fire project, says a company spokeswoman.
Joseph Carrabba announced he would be retiring as the company’s president and chief executive by the end of the year. His announcement follows the departure of executive vice-president and president of global Laurie Brlas.
Pat Persico, director of global communications for Cliffs, said although there would be some changes, the teams that run projects like the Ring of Fire will remain unchanged.
“This is a planned retirement,” she said. “It’s a time of transition and we are currently doing an external search for a new CEO. Joe will be on for the rest of the year to kind of help with that transition. (James Kirsch) is now what we call a non-executive chairman of the board. That’s to help with the transition from a management perspective.”
Persico said Bill Boor, Cliff's senior vice-president of global ferroalloys, will continue to lead the project.
Earlier this year, Cliffs suspended its environmental assessment activities in the Ring of Fire.
Delays to the environmental assessment process, land surface rights and negotiations with the province of Ontario were some of the main reasons for the decision.
Persico added they’re still working on making sure those issues are resolved.
