Mechel OAO, one of the leading Russian mining and metals companies, signed a long-term partnership agreement with BelAZ OAO during the session of the Supreme State Council of the Union State of Russia and Belarus held on the level of heads of state.
Igor Zyuzin, chairman, Mechel, and BelAZ General Director Pyotr Parkhomchik signed the long-term partnership agreement in the presence of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and Belarusian Prime Minister Mikhail Myasnikovich.
BelAZ will supply haul truck and spare part for Mechel’s mining operations. It will also establish cargo platforms and certify a Mechel subsidiary as one of BelAZ’s service centers in the Russian Federation. Mechel Group’s mining division, which is one of BelAZ’s chief customers in Russia, plans to acquire haultrucks mainly for use on the Elga coal deposit with estimated reserves of 2.2 billion metric tons of coking coal, which is located in southeastern Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Mining at this deposit, which is one of the world’s largest, commenced in August 2011.