OREANDA-NEWS. On October 20, 2008 Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announced that its Yakutugol OAO coal mining subsidiary has entered into a contract to acquire mining equipment for developing the Phase 1 pit to begin development of the Elga coal deposit, reported the press-centre of Mechel.

The machinery manufactured by Komatsu was provided by Mining Solutions OOO, which specializes in supplying tools and equipment for geological exploration, open pit mining, and deep drilling. The equipment required for constructing the railway spur track connecting the Ulak railroad station of the Baikal-Amur Mainline with the Elga coal deposit in Yakutia is scheduled to arrive in stages and will be completely supplied by 2009. The contract provides for the delivery of bulldozers, excavators, dump trucks, loaders, and a drilling rig for developing the Phase 1 pit to begin development of the deposit.

The first batch of the equipment arrived at the deposit in October with the unloading of two Komatsu D 275 А-5 bulldozers currently underway at the Upper Ulak station. Assembling the equipment will be completed shortly, following which the assembled and well-adjusted machines will be delivered by crawlers to the point of the road construction and put into operation. The new machines are planned to be used in creating the road bed, preparing camp sites, constructing production sites, and subsequently in developing the deposit.

Currently completed infrastructure at the Elga deposit includes 172 kilometers of the access motor road, 73 kilometers of the main railroad bed, and the development road from the 175th to the 217th kilometer. Repair of the railroad from 0 kilometer to the 60th kilometer is underway. There are 2,176 people and 112 mechanized complexes involved in the railroad construction.