Mechel, one of the leading Russian mining and steel groups, has announced that in the first quarter of the current year its crude steel output decreased by four percent to 1.04 million mt, due to planned repairs at one of Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant’s converters, while its pig iron output remained stable at one million mt, both quarter on quarter. Mechel's run-of-mine coal production in the first quarter declined by two percent compared to the fourth quarter to 5.66 million mt.
In the first quarter, Mechel’s coking coal concentrate sales amounted to 2.15 million mt of, up seven percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, due to contract sales to Asian steelmaking holdings. In the given quarter, most of the company’s coking coal concentrate exports went to South Korea, up 92 percent quarter on quarter, and to Japan, increasing by 57 percent from the previous quarter, with Japan being the leading consumer in terms of volumes. Mechel stated that the figures show that Japanese, South Korean and Indian demand for quality coking coal concentrate is increasing.