MECHEL REPORTS FINISHING LAYING RAILWAY TRACKS TO ELGA COAL COMPLEX

Neryungri, Russia — January 11, 2012 – Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the
leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces that it has finished
laying tracks from Ulak station to the Elga coal deposit which is being
developed by Mechel Mining OAO’s subsidiary, Yakutugol Holding Company OAO.
The last section of track of the railway link to the Elga deposit was laid in
December 2011. This has opened traffic along the entire route from Baikal-Amur
Mainline’s Ulak station to the Elga deposit. The railway track’s construction
has thus far required investment of some 40 billion rubles (1.25 billion US
dollars*).
Construction involved laying 321 kilometers of tracks.
Mechel began constructing the railway link to the Elga coal deposit in February
2008. During this time, some 70 contracting parties from various Russian regions
were involved in construction works.  Metallurgshakhtspetsstroy ZAO, Mechel
Mining OAO’s subsidiary, is the project’s general contractor. The railway was
built in difficult climatic and geological conditions. A total of 76 bridges
were built in the course of the railway’s construction. As earlier reported,
mining at the Elga open pit began in August 2011, producing some 200,000 tonnes
by the year’s end.
“The railway’s completion is one of the most complicated and important stages in
implementing the unique project of developing the Elga coal deposit, which is
one of the world’s largest coking coal fields. The launch of direct railway
access to Elga Coal Complex will in 2012 significantly facilitate delivery of
materiel necessary to increase production at Elga, as well as allow rail
transportation of coal mined at the deposit. It must be noted that this
project’s scale is unique for the mining industry. Completion of railway
construction together with the launch of mining at the deposit in such a short
time, considering the 2008-2009 crisis, once again proves that Mechel is one of
the few companies with the potential to handle a project of such magnitude,”
Mechel OAO’s Chairman of the Board of Directors Igor Zyuzin noted.
* According to the Russian Central Bank exchange rate of 31.87 RUR/$ as of
January 11, 2012.

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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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Mechel Mining OAO is Mechel OAO’s subsidiary consolidating the group’s mining
assets. Mechel Mining OAO is Russia’s top coking coal producer as well as one of
the world’s largest producers of coking coal concentrate. The company focuses on
producing and selling coking coal concentrate, iron ore concentrate and coke.
Mechel Mining includes Southern Kuzbass Coal Company OAO (Kemerovo Region),
Yakutugol Holding Company OAO (Sakha Republic), Elga Coal Complex (Yakutugol
Holding Company’s branch), Korshunov Mining Plant OAO (Irkutsk Region), Moscow
Coke and Gas Plant OAO and Mechel-Coke OOO. Mechel Mining’s headquarters are in
Moscow.
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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.