MECHEL ENTERS INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH GAZPROMBANK OAO TO ARRANGE FINANCING OF
UNIVERSAL ROLLING MILL INSTALLATION PROJECT AT ITS CHELYABINSK METALLURGICAL
PLANT SUBSIDIARY

Moscow, Russia – January 13, 2009 – Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading
Russian mining and metals companies, announces it has entered into an agreement
with Gazprombank OAO to arrange for the financing of a universal rolling mill
installation project at its Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant OAO (CMP OAO)
subsidiary.
In December 2008, Mechel Group-incorporated CMP OAO and Gazprombank OAO signed
the agreement for arranging financing of the universal rail and structural steel
mill construction under the contract between CMP OAO and Minmetals Engineering
Co. Ltd, China.
Pursuant to the agreement, Gazprombank OAO provides fundraising services
amounting up to US$255 million. Financing will be provided in the form of
credits.
Implementation of the CMP OAO investment project for construction of universal
rail and structural steel mill includes the contract between RZD OAO and CMP OAO
for rail products supply from 2010-2030 that was signed in November 2008. Annual
capacity of the mill is over one million tons of rails and structural shapes.
The total investment in the project will amount to more than US$500 million. The
commissioning of the mill is expected at the end of 2010. Danieli Company is the
supplier of the main equipment.
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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.