MECHEL REPORTS SIGNING PROTOCOL OF INTENT WITH CHINA NATIONAL COAL GROUP

Tianjin, China - September 21, 2010.  - Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the
leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces it has signed a Protocol
of Intent with China National Coal Group.
On September, 21 the Protocol of Intent was signed between Mechel OAO and China
National Coal Group – the second largest coal producer in China. The Protocol
was signed within the framework of the regular round of Sino-Russian energy
negotiators' meetings which was headed by Mr. Igor Sechin, Deputy Prime Minister
of Russia, on the one hand, and Mr. Wang Qishan, Vice Premier of the State
Council of China, on the other hand.
The Protocol of Intent was signed by Mr. Igor Zyuzin, Chairman of Mechel’s Board
of Directors, on behalf of Mechel OAO and Mr. Wang An, Chairman of China
National Coal Group, on behalf of China National Coal Group.
China National Coal Group’s core businesses include coal production and trading
as well as coke and coal-chemical products, coal mining equipment manufacturing,
power generation, coal mine construction, and relevant engineering technical
services. China National Coal is the world’s largest and leading underground
coal mining equipment producer.
The Protocol was signed in order to establish mutual strategic partnership
between the companies.
Mechel OAO has long-standing and stable partnership relations with Chinese
consumers successfully supplying coals of various grades, iron-ore concentrate
and ferroalloys. Strong relations are established with the main Chinese
associations in the sphere of metallurgy and coke chemistry. Since March 2010
Mechel’s official representative office operates in Beijing.
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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, steel, ferrochrome, ferrosilicon, 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.