MOSCOW, Oct. 12, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mechel OAO (NYSE:MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces that its subsidiary Mechel Mining OAO won the Minex-2012 Mining Excellence Award's Investor of the Year nomination for implementing the project on development of the Elga coal deposit.
The award committee's independent experts evaluated the amount of work done over the past year and in an open poll and acknowledged Mechel's contribution in developing Russia's mining industry. Investment in the Elga Coal Complex development project totaled some 1.44 billion dollars by December 31, 2011, with approximately 1.42 billion dollars more due to be invested in 2012-2014.
This is the second time in a row that the company won the Minex Mining Excellence Award. In 2011, Mechel's Elga project won the award "For Successful Development of a Mining Industry Project" nomination.
"Over the year that passed since the last Minex forum, we made great progress in developing the Elga coal deposit. In December 2011, we finished laying tracks of the 321-kilometer Elga-Ulak railway, which links the complex with Baikal-Amur Mainline. This year we built a washing plant of some 3-million-tonne annual capacity, in record time, and are constantly buying necessary equipment to develop the complex's infrastructure and technical base. Elga Coal Complex's further implementation and reaching its project capacity will not only mean a dynamic future for Mechel's mining division, but also make a major contribution into development of our country's Far East," Mechel Mining OAO's Chief Executive Officer Igor Zyuzin noted.
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.