NEWS & EVENTS: Breaking News
26.06.2009 10:01
June 26. Russian mining and metallurgical company Mechel will supply 2 mn tons of coking coal concentrate to clients in China, Japan and South Korea in 2009, which is more than twice as much as the company’s output of these products in 1Q 2009, the miner reported. Last year, Mechel produced 11 mn tons of coking coal concentrate, but since 4Q 2009 the company along with other metal makers had to slash output due to a decline in demand. In January-March 2009, Mechel, controlled by its CEO Igor Zyuzin, produced 2.2 mn tons of coal concentrate, of which 884,000 tons fall to coking coal, while the rest is thermal coal. Coking coal output fell 76% y-o-y in 1Q 2009. The company has not unveiled its 2009 output guidance so far on news that metal makers have yet to see signs of significant improvements in market conditions and their prospects remain vague. However, Mechel points out that new, large contracts with Chinese companies will enable it to boost capacity utilization, which is extremely important given the current challenging economic environment. Coking coal will be exported to Asia from Yakutugol, owned by Mechel. What’s more, Asian consumers will receive 2.3 mn tons of thermal coal produced by Yakutugol and another asset of Mechel – South Kuzbass. In the first quarter, the company produced 2.4 mn tons of thermal coal and 1.3 mn tons of concentrate of these coal grades.
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