MECHEL ANNOUNCES LAUNCHING NEW PRODUCT AT ITS BELORETSK METALLURGICAL PLANT


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.

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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.