OREANDA-NEWS. November 2, 2011. Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces the launch of a biochemical cleaning facility to treat phenolic waste water from Mechel-Coke OOO’s coke and chemicals production process.

Andrei Dementyev, Deputy Industry and Natural Resources Minister, Viktor Semyonov, Director of the Basic Industry Department of the Industry & Natural Resources Ministry, Konstantin Tsibko, Russian Federation Council Member for Chelyabinsk Region, Chelyabinsk Region’s First Deputy Governor Sergei Komyakov and other regional administration officials attended the launch ceremony for the biochemical facility. Mechel Group was represented by Chairman of Mechel’s Board of Directors Igor Zyuzin, Mechel-Steel Management Company OOO’s Chief Executive Officer Andrei Deineko, Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant OAO’s Managing Director Rashid Nugumanov and Mechel-Coke OOO’s Managing Director Pavel Shtark.

The new biochemical facility’s launch is part of Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant’s long-term environment protection program*. It enables the company to deeply cleanse all of the waste water produced by Mechel-Coke, which is used for slaking coke, and decrease waste emissions by half.

The new facility was designed by Eastern Coal and Chemical Research Institute in Yekaterinburg and employs the method of neutralizing waste water by applying special complexes of phenol-destroying microorganisms, which break waste into water and carbon dioxide. This technology allows the company to thoroughly cleanse its emissions of phenols, thiocyanates and ammonium nitrogen and ensures higher neutralization efficiency.

Investment in constructing the biochemical facility totaled some 900 million rubles (27.5 million US dollars**).

“The launch of Mechel-Coke OOO’s biochemical waste water cleansing facility is part of the ecological program Mechel is implementing at Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant’s industrial area, which is subject to a sweeping modernization of its technical facilities. Every one of Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant’s investment projects provides funds for environmental protection measures and introducing new equipment that will decrease or neutralize industrial waste, which helps to dramatically reduce the impact on the environment,” Mechel-Steel Management Company OOO’s Chief Executive Officer Andrei Deineko noted.

*Mechel-Coke OOO is part of Mechel Group’s mining division, but operates on Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant’s industrial base.

** According to the Russian Central Bank exchange rate of 30.5732 RUR/USD  as of October 27, 2011.