Metalloinvest secures VTB loan to repay steel debt

* Loan will refinance debt to Sberbank

* Payment to be made in full, in four monthly instalments

* Source says debt to Sberbank around 60 bln roubles

By Polina Devitt

MOSCOW, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Metalloinvest, the Russian miner controlled by billionaire Alisher Usmanov, has secured a loan from VTB (VTBR.MM) to help refinance its debt to another state-controlled lender, Sberbank (SBER03.MM), the company said.

Metalloinvest, Russia's largest iron ore miner and No. 5 steel maker, said on Tuesday the deal would allow it to repay its debt to Sberbank in full. The first payment would be made in August, the company said in a statement.

"An agreement has been reached with VTB on the refinancing of the entire debt owed by Metalloinvest to Sberbank," the company said. "The debt to Sberbank will be repaid in its four monthly instalments in accordance with previous agreements."

Metalloinvest did not say how much it owed Sberbank. A source close to negotiations between the company and the bank, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the sum was in the region of 60 billion roubles ($1.86 billion).

Metalloinvest is one of several heavyweights in Russia's steel industry, the world's fourth-largest, which took on large debts to expand production during the metals boom that preceded the financial crisis last year.

Russian steelmakers ran up total debts of more than $30 billion and face a huge challenge repaying banks after commodity prices collapsed. To see a FACTBOX, click on [ID:nLU975877].

Metalloinvest said in the statement it had no plans to increase its debt levels, as prices for its products had recovered.

Earlier on Tuesday, the company said in a separate statement that steel production in June had returned to pre-crisis levels last seen in August 2008. (Writing by Robin Paxton; Editing by Andrea Ricci)