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The preceding discussion and analysis of
the Company’s operations, financial
performance and results, as well as material
included elsewhere in this report, includes
statements not limited to historical facts.
Such statements are “forward-looking
statements” (as defined in the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995)
that are subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause future results to differ
materially from expected results. Such
statements are based on management’s
beliefs and assumptions made on information
currently available to it. Factors that
could cause the Company’s actual
results to be materially different from
the Company’s expectations include,
but are not limited to the following:
- Displacement of iron production
by North American integrated steel producers
due to electric furnace production or imports of semi-finished
steel or pig iron;
- Loss of major iron ore sales contracts,
or failure of customers to perform under
existing contracts;
- Changes in the financial condition
of the Company’s partners and/or
customers;
- Substantial changes in imports
of steel, iron ore, or ferrous metallic products;
- Development of alternate steel-making
technologies;
- Displacement of steel by competing
materials;
- Unanticipated changes in the market
value of steel, iron ore or ferrous metallics;
- Domestic or international economic
and political conditions;
- Major equipment failure, availability,
and magnitude and duration of repairs;
- Unanticipated geological conditions
or ore processing changes;
- Process difficulties, including
the failure of new technology to perform
as anticipated;
- Availability and cost of the key
components of production (e.g., labor,
electric power, fuel, water);
- Weather conditions (e.g., extreme
winter weather, availability of process
water due to drought);
- Changes in tax laws (e.g., percentage
depletion allowance);
- Changes in laws, regulations or
enforcement practices governing remediation
requirements at existing environmental
sites, remediation technology advancements,
the impact of inflation, the identification
and financial condition of other responsible
parties, and the number of sites and the
extent of remediation activity;
- Changes in laws, regulations or
enforcement practices governing compliance
with safety, health and environmental
standards at operating locations; and,
- Accounting principle or policy
changes by the Financial Accounting Standards
Board or the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Company is under no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
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