MOSCOW, July 3 /PRNewswire/ --

Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals
companies, announces the appointment of Stanislav Ploschenko as its Acting
Chief Financial Officer effective immediately.  In this position Ploschenko
replaces Anton Vishanenko.

As Acting Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Ploschenko will be responsible for
Mechel's finance department, financial planning, US GAAP reporting,
implementation of internal controls, integration and unification of Mechel
subsidiaries' operations, financial policies, and operational management of
the financial division.

"Since joining the company, Stanislav has been a key member of the
finance team and has been deeply involved in setting and executing on our
financial strategy.  We look forward to his continued contributions to our
growth and progress as we work to improve reporting, to successfully
implement our strategy of financial development, and further strengthen our
market position," Mechel's Chief Executive Officer, Igor Zyuzin, commented.

Prior to his appointment as Acting CFO, Mr. Ploschenko served as Mechel's
Deputy CFO and Deputy Treasurer for Corporate Lending from June 2006 to June
2007.  He previously held a number of senior positions at Commerzbank AG and
Commerzbank ZAO.  Mr. Ploschenko holds an MSc in International Securities
Investment & Banking from the ISMA Centre at the University of Reading and a
B.A. in International Finance & Trade from the University of Portsmouth (UK).

Mechel is one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies. Mechel
unites producers of coal, iron ore, nickel, steel, rolled products, and 
hardware. Mechel products are marketed domestically and internationally.

Some of the information in this press release may contain projections or
other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future
financial performance of Mechel, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of
the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution
you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or
results may differ materially. We do not intend to update these statements.
We refer you to the documents Mechel files from time to time with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Form 20-F. These documents
contain and identify important factors, including those contained in the
section captioned "Risk Factors" and "Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements" in our Form 20-F, that could cause the actual
results to differ materially from those contained in our projections or
forward-looking statements, including, among others, the achievement of
anticipated levels of profitability, growth, cost and synergy of our recent
acquisitions, the impact of competitive pricing, the ability to obtain
necessary regulatory approvals and licenses, the impact of developments in
the Russian economic, political and legal environment, volatility in stock
markets or in the price of our shares or ADRs, financial risk management and
the impact of general business and global economic conditions.