INDUSTRIAL WASHING OF ELGA SAMPLE CONFIRMS HIGH QUALITY OF DEPOSIT’S COKING COAL
Moscow, Russia — December 13, 2011 – Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading
Russian mining and metals companies, announces that Southern Kuzbass Coal
Company’s washing plant produced first coking coal concentrate out of the Elga
deposit’s coal.
A sample lot of some 4,000 tonnes of Elga’s coking coal was washed at Southern
Kuzbass Coal Company OAO’s Sibir plant. The concentrate obtained by industrial
washing has qualities which rate the Elga deposit’s coals with high-value grades
of caking coals.
The concentrate produced at Sibir was sent to Mechel-Coke OOO for test
industrial coking. Using coal of this quality allows production of coke with
high structural durability, which in its turn helps improve technological and
economic results of blast furnace production.
Results of the coking coal washing tests will enable a better understanding of
the technological specifics of working with Elga coal. This information will be
used in designing and constructing Elga Coal Complex’s permanent washing plant.
“Use of the Elga deposit’s coking coal will provide Mechel’s coke and chemical
facilities with fully internally-sourced fuel, which will enable us to
significantly improve our coke products’ quality and guarantee our independence
from external suppliers. Moreover, Elga Coal Complex’s products will allow
Mechel to increase exports of coal grades that are in demand,” Mechel OAO’s
Chairman of the Board of Directors Igor Zyuzin noted.
Production at Elga Open Pit began in August 2011. In the first few months the
open pit produced only oxidized coals, characterized as steam coals with high
calorific value. Since August, the open pit produced some 200,000 tonnes of
coal.
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Mechel OAO
Ekaterina Videman
Tel: + 7 495 221 88 88
ekaterina.videman@mechel.com
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Mechel is one of the leading Russian companies. Its business includes four
segments: mining, steel, ferroalloy and power. Mechel unites producers of coal,
iron ore concentrate, nickel, ferrochrome, ferrosilicon, steel, rolled products,
hardware, heat and electric power. Mechel products are marketed domestically and
internationally.
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Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or other
forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial
performance of Mechel, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S.
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that
these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may
differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements. We refer you to
the documents Mechel files from time to time with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission, including our Form 20-F. These documents contain and
identify important factors, including those contained in the section captioned
“Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in our
Form 20-F, that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those
contained in our projections or forward-looking statements, including, among
others, the achievement of anticipated levels of profitability, growth, cost and
synergy
of our recent acquisitions, the impact of competitive pricing, the ability to
obtain necessary regulatory approvals and licenses, the impact of developments
in the Russian economic, political and legal environment, volatility in stock
markets or in the price of our shares or ADRs, financial risk management and the
impact of general business and global economic conditions.