Russian mining and steel group Mechel has announced that it has extended its cooperation agreement regarding coal supply with Baosteel Resources which is part of China Baowu Steel, China’s largest steelmaking group.
According to Mechel, the new agreement will be valid from July 2018 to June 2019. During this time, Mechel will supply Baosteel Resources’ facilities with up to 700,000 mt of premium-grade coking coal. According to the contract, a major part of this coal - up to 40,000 mt monthly - will be supplied by Mechel’s subsidiary Yakutugol Holding Company.
Oleg Korzhov, Mechel’s CEO, stated that Russian coking coal’s share in Chinese imports is about seven percent and Mechel is a chief Russian supplier of high-quality coking coal to China. In 2017, the company shipped two million mt of coking coal to its Chinese clients, according to Mr. Korzhov.