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BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Investments In Unconsolidated Ventures) (Details) |  |  | 12 Months Ended |  |  |  |  |
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Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2014 Asia Pacific Iron Ore [Member] Facility | Dec. 31, 2013 Asia Pacific Iron Ore [Member] Cockatoo [Member] AUD | Dec. 31, 2013 Investments in Ventures [Member] Amapa [Member] | Dec. 31, 2014 Investments in Ventures [Member] Hibbing [Member] | Dec. 31, 2014 Investments in Ventures [Member] Other Equity Investees [Member] USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2013 Investments in Ventures [Member] Other Equity Investees [Member] USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2014 Other Noncurrent Liabilities [Member] Hibbing [Member] USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2013 Other Noncurrent Liabilities [Member] Hibbing [Member] USD ($)
Schedule of Equity Method Investments [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Ownership interest, equity method investment |  |  |  |  | 30.00%us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestmentOwnershipPercentage / us-gaap_BalanceSheetLocationAxis = clf_InvestmentsinVenturesMember / us-gaap_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis = clf_AmapaMember | 23.00%us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestmentOwnershipPercentage / us-gaap_BalanceSheetLocationAxis = clf_InvestmentsinVenturesMember / us-gaap_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis = clf_HibbingMember | [1] |  |  |  |  |  |
Total percentage of Amapa sold |  |  |  |  | 100.00%clf_TotalPercentageOfAmapaSold / us-gaap_BalanceSheetLocationAxis = clf_InvestmentsinVenturesMember / us-gaap_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis = clf_AmapaMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Investment | $ 7,000,000 us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestments | $ 30,800,000 us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestments |  |  |  |  |  | $ 3,900,000 us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestments / us-gaap_BalanceSheetLocationAxis = clf_InvestmentsinVenturesMember / us-gaap_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis = clf_OtherEquityInvesteesMember | $ 34,700,000 us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestments / us-gaap_BalanceSheetLocationAxis = clf_InvestmentsinVenturesMember / us-gaap_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis = clf_OtherEquityInvesteesMember | $ 3,100,000 us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestments / us-gaap_BalanceSheetLocationAxis = us-gaap_OtherNoncurrentLiabilitiesMember / us-gaap_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis = clf_HibbingMember | [1] | $ (3,900,000)us-gaap_EquityMethodInvestments / us-gaap_BalanceSheetLocationAxis = us-gaap_OtherNoncurrentLiabilitiesMember / us-gaap_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis = clf_HibbingMember | [1]
Proceeds from sale of economic interest (in AUD) |  |  |  | 4.00 us-gaap_ProceedsFromDivestitureOfInterestInJointVenture / us-gaap_ScheduleOfEquityMethodInvestmentEquityMethodInvesteeNameAxis = clf_CockatooMember / us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis = clf_AsiaPacificIronOreMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Number Of Mines |  |  | 1 clf_NumberOfMines / us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis = clf_AsiaPacificIronOreMember |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
[1] | 1 At December 31, 2013, the classification for Hibbing was Other liabilities.

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- Definition Total percentage of Amapa sold + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 323 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 3 -Subparagraph (a)(1) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6382943&loc=d3e33918-111571 + Details
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- Definition This item represents the carrying amount on the entity's balance sheet of its investment in common stock of an equity method investee. This is not an indicator of the fair value of the investment, rather it is the initial cost adjusted for the entity's share of earnings and losses of the investee, adjusted for any distributions (dividends) and other than temporary impairment (OTTI) losses recognized. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.12) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 323 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=35755396&loc=d3e33749-111570 + Details
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- Definition The cash inflow from the sale of an investment interest in a joint venture that the reporting entity has not previously accounted for using consolidation or the equity method of accounting. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Glossary Investing Activities -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6516133 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 12 -Subparagraph (b) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=31042434&loc=d3e3179-108585 + Details
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