MECHEL ANNOUNCES TIKHVIN SMELTING PLANT GETTING THE CERTIFICATE OF ITS
COMPLIANCE WITH THE ISO 9001:2008 INTERNATIONAL STANDARD

Tikhvin, Russia – December 10, 2009 – Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading
Russian mining and metals companies, announces that as a result of audit
conducted by the company TUV SUD, Tikhvin Smelting Plant (TFZ JSC) obtained the
certificate of compliance with the quality management system standard ISO
9001:2008. TFZ JSC is consolidated inside the company Oriel Resources Ltd.,
which is Mechel OAO’s ferroalloy sub-holding.
Certificate of compliance with to the quality management system standard ISO
9001:2008 was obtained by TFZ JSC in the beginning of December, 2009. The
certification audit was conducted at the plant from 23rd till 26th of November.
During the audit TUV SUD specialists (one of the international leaders in
certification, tests and expertise) registered high quality of planning and
accounting at the plant, good level of technical documentation preparation as
well as permanent and thorough analysis of the plant’s production key figures.
Auditors also noted high level of competence and qualification of the plant’s
personnel.
Auditors particularly marked the work of the plant’s production and technical
teams who collected and studied huge volume of statistics which in its turn
helps to minimize operational costs and ensure serious approach to information
security.
Auditors’ attention was attracted by the advanced level of production process
management. The controlling system installed at the plant allows watching the
plant’s machines work and all the production stages online. Production plan
performance reports as well as reports on raw materials utilization and quality
of the output are issued at Tikhvin Smelting Plant daily.
Auditors emphasized well-developed production culture, cleanness and order
inside production buildings and well-kept territory outside.
Alexey Ivanushkin, Oriel Resources Ltd.’s CEO, commented on the event: “TFZ JSC
manufactures high quality high-carbon ferrochrome which is used mainly for
stainless steel production. Products of TFZ are in high demand on both the
domestic and international markets. This is the youngest ferroalloy plant in
Russia; here we have up-to-date powerful equipment and experienced specialists.
Having obtained the Certificate of compliance with the international quality
management system standard ISO 9001:2008 TFZ JSC strengthened its market
positions and proved high competitiveness of Mechel’s enterprises. It’s worth
mentioning that less than a week passed between the completion of the
certification audit and our receiving the Certificate (including audit results
consideration in the TUV SUD headquarters in Germany). As the auditors noted, it
was the fist time in their Russian practice, when a plant showed such a good
level of preparation and process organization.”

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Mechel OAO
Ilya Zhitomirsky
Phone: + 7 495 221 88 88
ilya.zhitomirsky@mechel.com
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Mechel is one of the leading Russian companies. Its business includes four
segments: mining, steel, ferroalloy and power. Mechel unites producers of coal,
iron ore concentrate, steel, rolled products, ferroalloys, hardware, heat and
electric power. Mechel products are marketed domestically and internationally.
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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.