In 1847, a group of men from the Cleveland area pooled their money and their minds to create the Cleveland Iron Company. Their objective was to explore for minerals in the remote wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, just three years after iron ore was discovered near what is now Negaunee in 1844. The articles of agreement to form this new company were drawn up on November 9, 1847, and the first stock in the new venture was issued on November 27, 1847. Reborn as Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. in the mid-1980s, and Cliffs Natural Resources in 2008, the company has remained in the forefront of the North American iron ore business since opening its first mine in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in 1850, achieving longevity by successfully adapting its operations to major changes that drove many competitors out of business. In the early 21st century, Cliffs was a pre-eminent global producer and merchant of iron ore and other steel-related products (excerpted from http://www.cliffsnaturalresources.com/About/Pages/History.aspx, accessed January 2011).