Mechel, one of the leading Russian mining and steel producing groups, has announced that its coal mining subsidiary Yakutugol has placed an order to acquire mining equipment for the Phase One pit development at the Elga coal deposit.
The equipment manufactured by Komatsu and provided by Mining Solutions, is due to to arrive in stages, with supplies scheduled to be completed in 2009. The order includes the supply of bulldozers, excavators, dump trucks, loaders, and a drilling rig, to be used in creating the road bed, preparing camp sites, constructing production sites, and in developing the Elga coal deposit. The first batch of equipment was delivered to Yakutugol during the current month of October.
Construction work carried out to date at the Elga deposit includes 172 kilometers of access motor road, 73 kilometers of the main railroad bed, and the development road from the 175th to the 217th kilometer. The repair of the first 60 km of the railroad is currently underway.