OREANDA-NEWS. Mechel OAO (NYSE: MTL), one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, announces signing a contract with Austria's Binder company for engineering services on designing the technological coal drying line for Elga Coal Complex's first stage.

According to the contract, Binder assumes obligations as to designing the coal drying line which will be enclosed in the production cycle at the washing plant with the annual capacity of 9 million tonnes of coking coal. This plant is part of Elga Coal Complex's first stage, and its construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2015.

Project works are due to be completed by the end of 2014, when the decision on whether to extend cooperation with Binder to include supplies of project equipment for the washing plant will be made. The equipment's cost is estimated to total some 50 million euros.

The contract will be paid for from funds granted by the state corporation Vnesheconombank as 2.5-billion-dollar project financing for development of Elga Coal Complex's first stage. The first stage includes completion of the railway's construction and building a coal mining and processing complex whose capacity will reach 11.7 million tonnes of run-of-mine coal by 2017.

“Elga is a key project for all of Russia's coal industry. Its development will enable Mechel to consolidate its position in the Far East and its reputation as a major coal exporter to Asia Pacific. Implementing state-of-the-art technologies from Binder, one of top global producers of drying equipment, will enable us to ensure high quality of products supplied by the Elga deposit. As such, we highly appreciate cooperation with Binder and hope it can be extended to long term,” Mechel Mining Management Company OOO's Chief Executive Officer Pavel Shtark noted.