Beloretsk, Russia – April 14, 2009 – Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces that its Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant OAO subsidiary (BMP OAO) started commercial production of a new product - steel ropes manufactured from plastically drafted strands.

BMP OAO launched a new product – steel ropes manufactured from plastically drafted strands of 25 mm - 57 mm diameter. The main advantage of the new product is high structural density and tensile strength, durability of wires in strands and strands in ropes ,low wearing of sheaves and reels due to bigger area of contact with a rope’s bearing surface. The lifetime of steel ropes with plastically drafted strands is 1.5 times longer as compared to conventional ropes. Such ropes are used in open mine excavators, in mine hoists, tower and hoisting cranes, in oil production, etc.

Before launching the new product and pilot lots manufacturing, computer-aided calculation of the rope’s geometry was carried out. The first lots of steel ropes were shipped to Mechel’s subsidiaries, Korshunov Mining Plant OAO and Southern Kuzbass OAO, and their quality received positive feedback. The new products undergo regular tests of their mechanical and physical properties in the plant’s lab. All samples of plastically drafted ropes conform to the master data.

A number of Russian mining, oil and gas producing plants, machine building and fishing companies have already expressed their interest in buying ropes from plastically drafted strands.