Russia Mechel to deliver 2 mln T coking coal to Asia
MOSCOW, June 25 (Reuters) - Russian steel and coal producer Mechel (MTLR.MM) said on Thursday it had signed contracts to deliver about 2 million tonnes of coking coal concentrate to unnamed buyers in China, Japan and South Korea this year.
The company will also ship 2.3 million tonnes of steam coal to these countries this year as it pursues its strategy of expanding in Asian markets.
Mechel, controlled by businessman Igor Zyuzin, did not provide any financial details associated with its coking coal contracts.
China in particular has become an increasingly important market for Russian coking coal producers as domestic steel output slumps.
"I would like to emphasize that entering into new large contracts with Chinese companies allows us to increase the load of our coal mining facilities that is of particular importance in the current challenging business environment," Mechel Senior Vice President Vladimir Polin said in a statement.
Mechel's first quarter coking coal production plummeted 76 percent year-on-year to 1.0 million tonnes as orders from domestic steel producers dried up. [ID:nLR446026]
During a conference call earlier this month company executives said key Russian steel producers MMK (MAGN.MM) and NLMK (NLMK.MM) were no longer purchasing its coking coal. [ID:nLR446026] (Reporting by Alfred Kueppers; editing by James Jukwey)
