NLMK to meet coking coal requirement

Russian Novolipetsk Steel (NLMK) announced that the company has reached an agreement with a group of investors to acquire an 82 percent stake in Altai-Koks and 100 percent of Prokopievskugol Coal Company. Altai-Koks has an annual coke production capacity of is 3.8 million tons. In addition, Prokopievskugol produces about 5 million tons of coal per year. As a result of these acquisitions, NLMK will become fully self-sufficient in coking coal. Thus, the company will eliminate its dependence on third-party raw material supplies and be able to improve its cost-containment measures.