MOSCOW, September 20 /PRNewswire/ --

Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals
companies, announces it has acquired 100% of the Temryuk-Sotra seaport
shares.

The acquisition is in line with Mechel's further diversification of its
coal and steel product traffic flows in developing its own transport
infrastructure.

The Temryuk-Sotra seaport is located at the Taman shore of the See of
Azov and is primarily utilized for small tonnage river-sea type vessels in
the Southern Russia.

The company will specialize mainly in coal transshipment. The competitive
advantages of the port of Temryuk are determined by its geographical
location, proximity to sea communications, year-round navigation, and
available railroad and highway accesses. Currently, with the existing depths,
the port enables the use of river-sea vessels up to 5,000K tonnage, whose
parameters correspond to the capabilities of the Black Sea, Mediterranean,
and the mainland waterways in West Europe.

Mechel Management OOO Chief Executive Officer Vladimir Polin commented on
the transaction, "In line with Mechel's strategy to develop its global
transportation scheme and expand geography of its logistic routes, we
acquired the Temryuk-Sotra seaport in addition to the commercial ports of
Posiet and Kambarka already owned by Mechel. This acquisition will provide us
with even more capabilities to regulate logistics of our deliveries,
including our export shipments, minimize dependence on transport market
conditions, and deliver products from producer/seller to end consumers
avoiding brokers, thus reducing our transportation costs, increasing flows of
traffic, and expanding our sale markets."

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.