A plan by the Canadian province of Quebec to spend billions to develop the mineral riches of its northern region has been dealt a crippling blow by the pending closure of a major mine as iron ore prices sink and China's interest wanes.The Plan Nord project hopes to attract C$80 billion ($71 billion) of investment to the vast northern region, of which the iron ore-rich Labrador Trough is a major component. The French-speaking province is trying to sell the plan globally and is hoping miners will flock to northern Quebec after the government invests in the infrastructure necessary to open it up.But Plan Nord took a big hit on Wednesday, when Cliffs Natural Resources said it is closing its Bloom Lake iron ore mine after struggling to secure funds to expand the mine and make it viable. Chinese steelmaker Wuhan Iron & Steel owns a minority stake in Bloom Lake.Bloom Lake, one of three producing iron ore mines in Quebec, would have become a major customer for a railway line being considered under Plan Nord.
Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. is an international mining and natural resources company. Shares of CLF fell by 19.98% or $-2.04/share to $8.17. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $7.00 and as high as $27.46. On average, 11487500 shares of CLF exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 29482016.
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