MECHEL REPORTS DECISIONS MADE BY BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Moscow, Russia – September 25, 2012 – Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading
Russian mining and metals companies, reports decisions made by the Board of
Directors.
Mechel OAO’s Board of Directors held a meeting on September 21, 2012, with the
agenda including, among other issues, the measures on restructuring the Group’s
assets in order to improve the company’s financial performance and increase its
shareholder value, in view of the revised strategy approved in May this year. We
reiterate that the revised strategy for Mechel OAO’s development envisions
focusing on such priority areas as mining and full-cycle steelmaking with an
emphasis on  production of long products and high value-added products,
including specialty steel, stainless steel and hardware.
Based on the results of an analysis of Mechel OAO’s assets presented by the
management, the Board of Directors unanimously approved divestment of the
following assets as not consistent with the new development strategy:
enterprises that make up Mechel’s Eastern European Steel Division S.R.L.,
Donetsk Electrometallurgical Plant PJSC (Ukraine), Invicta Merchant Bar Ltd.
(UK), UAB “Mechel Nemunas” (Lithuania), Mechel Service Global B.V. (except
Mechel Service OOO (Russia)), Voskhod-Chrome LLP (Kazakhstan),  Voskhod-Oriel
LLP (Kazakhstan), Tikhvin Ferroalloy Plant OOO (Russia), Southern Urals Nickel
Plant OAO (Russia), Kuzbass Power Sales Company OAO (Russia), Toplofikatsia
Rousse EAD (Bulgaria).
In order to speed up implementation of the mining division’s priority project —
development of the Elga coal deposit — the Board of Directors also recommended
evaluating the possibility of a potential divestment of a minority stake in
Mechel Mining OAO to a strategic partner (but such stake not to exceed 25%).
Mechel OAO’s Chief Executive Officer Yevgeny Mikhel commented on the Board of
Directors’ decisions: “We took an important practical step in implementing the
Group’s renewed strategy. The decisions made by the Board of Directors are fully
in line with Mechel’s declared course on improving our operational efficiency,
development of those investment projects that are most promising from an
opportunity costs standpoint, and will enable us to focus on priority business
areas, work on systematically reducing the level of indebtedness and improving
the company’s shareholder value. I will note that any divestment deals within
the framework of Mechel OAO’s renewed strategy would be subject to receiving
proposals at compelling terms that the Board of Directors consider to be in the
best interest of all shareholders.”

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Mechel OAO
Maria Kolmogorova
Phone: + 7 495 221-88-88
maria.kolmogorova@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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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.