OREANDA-NEWS. On July 29, 2008 Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announced that a flash of methane has occurred at its Southern Kuzbass OAO coal subsidiary’s Lenin Mine, reported the press-centre of Mechel.

Today at 11:03 a.m. local time (7:03 a.m. Moscow time), a flash of methane occurred at Southern Kuzbass OAO’s Lenin Mine (Mezhdurechensk, Kemerovo Region), while repair work was being performed at the depth of 310 meters. At that time, 41 miners were in the flash area. All of them safely rose to the mine’s surface. As of 2:30 p.m. local time 17 miners were being treated for burns at local hospitals.

The production area is equipped with modern mining and face equipment. At the moment of the flash, in-seam degasification was being performed by means of a surface vacuum-pump station and a continuous feed of nitrogen with an inert foam to the face mined-out area through the nitrogen feeding pipes from the underground gasifier along the belt and air headings.

“Operations are currently being carried out to eliminate the accident’s after-effects according to the approved emergency plan. All mining operations at the mine have been suspended. Mechel OAO CEO Igor Zyuzin and Mechel Mining OAO CEO Igor Khafizov traveled to the place of the accident,” Mechel Management OOO Chief Executive Officer Vladimir Polin commented.