The Russian
mining and steel producing company
Mechel has announced that it has signed a loan agreement to finance the construction of the second line at the Sibirginskaya mine, owned by its subsidiary Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, which will double the production capacity of the mine.
Accordingly,
Russia's Transcreditbank has granted Southern Kuzbass Coal Company a loan of Ruble 6.189 billion (approx. $210.4 million). The funds must be disbursed by December 31, 2012, and will be repaid in equal monthly installments, beginning in February 2014, through December 2015.
The loan will finance equipment acquisition, construction of the surface complex's buildings and excavation for the Sibirginskaya mine's second line, which will bring its capacity to up to 2.4 million mt of coal per year.
The increase of production volumes at the Sibirginskaya mine will be achieved gradually, with the second line scheduled to be launched in October 2014.
Sibirginskaya's first line is operating with a designed capacity of 1.2 million mt a year, with the plant's ultimate reserves set at over 90 million mt.