OREANDA-NEWS. On September 11, 2008 Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announced that a new long wall face has been commissioned at the Olzherasskaya-Novaya Mine, at its Southern Kuzbass OAO coal mining subsidiary, reported the press-centre of Mechel.

New high productive long wall face No. 21-1-3 in seam 21 has been commissioned at the Olzherasskaya-Novaya Mine.

Mechel invested approximately USD100.0 million (RUR2.5 billion) in the mine’s construction.

The mining face is equipped with a powered mining complex, manufactured by CODCO of China, using a special sub-level caving method, which enables thick seam mining in one coal layer of up to 10 meters.

The powered mining complex equipment was reinstalled from the mined-out extraction pillar of the mine’s long wall face No. 21-1-5.

The new long wall face’s coal reserves will exceed 1.5 million tonnes, which will be worked on by the mine’s extraction team for about one year. The monthly productivity of the long wall face will be 150,000 - 180,000 tonnes of coal.

“The Olzherasskaya-Novaya Mine, which is equipped with the most advanced and highly productive underground mining equipment, removed its first tonne of coal in September 2006 and first million tonnes of coal in May 2007. The mine’s designed capacity, which is expected to be reached in 2010, will be 2.4 million tonnes per year.

The commissioning of the new long wall face will increase mined volumes of GZhO (gas, fat, and meager) grade coal and will provide Mechel’s Kuzbass Central Processing Plant with a high grade raw material,” Mechel Management OOO Chief Executive Officer Vladimir Polin commented.