MECHEL ANNOUNCES PROGRESS IN CONSTRUCTING THE RAILWAY SPUR TRACK TO THE ELGA
COAL DEPOSIT

Neryungri, Russia – February 3, 2009 – Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the
leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces that its Yakutugol HC OAO
coal mining subsidiary continues active operations in constructing the road to
the Elga coal deposit.
The total length of the railroad will be more than 315 kilometers. At present,
traffic is possible from the Ulak station towards the Elga deposit up to the
270th km. In addition, 80 km of the access motor road have been repaired, 143 km
of motor roadbed have been constructed, and 37 km of pioneer road have been
constructed that now enable traffic.
Repair of 59 km of the railroad has been completed. To make this railroad
section completely ready, ballasting and surfacing of rails needs to be
completed. Due to severe climate conditions and low temperatures, this procedure
is expected to be completed in the spring.
Active construction of the bridgeworks and laying of water-drain pipe are
currently underway along the entire railroad track section. To date, 24 railroad
bridges have been erected with up to 99% readiness, and more than 100 of
water-drain pipes have been laid. The bridge on the 61st kilometer is completely
constructed, and its commissioning enabled the builders to continue laying the
track superstructure. Total length of the rail and tie network laid in January
2009 is 2 km. Motor traffic became possible across the Yalta and Ugan rivers on
the 79th km and 84th km, respectively. The builders have to erect eight
additional highway bridges across the Undytkan, Undytyn, Tuksani, Algama, Chapa,
Karaslak, and Taik rivers.
There are 122 mechanized complexes employed in constructing the railway spur
track; depending on the type of the work they perform each is equipped with
bulldozers, excavators, vibrorollers, graders, and dump trucks. In total, over
1,000 units of road-building machinery are being employed at the project this
moment. Specialists of approximately 40 contractors and subcontractors from
various parts of Russia are performing the work, including the companies from
Khabarovsk, Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Tomsk, Saratov, Odintsovo, Chita, Aldan, and
Irkutsk. The general contractor for the project is Transstroy Engineering
Corporation ZAO.
The works to construct the road are being strictly controlled in terms of their
quality and scope, with specialists of Yakutugol HC OAO’s Directorate for the
Elga Deposit Development carrying out regular on-site inspection of the
construction and installation works.
Relocation of the construction equipment to the Upper Ulak station is scheduled
to start in mid-February. Yakutugol HC OAO’s own machinery will be allocated for
this project, as well as equipment from Mechel Mining OAO’s subsidiaries,
Korshunov Mining Plant OAO and Southern Kuzbass OAO. Approximately 30 machinery
units will be allocated in the first stage of this project..

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Mechel OAO
Ilya Zhitomirsky
Phone: + 7 495 221 88 88
ilya.zhitomirsky@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, steel, rolled products, ferroalloys, 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.