Edgar Filing: Mechel OAO

20-F

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 20-F

¨	REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

x	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013

¨	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

¨	SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission file number 001-32328

MECHEL OAO

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

RUSSIAN FEDERATION

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

Krasnoarmeyskaya Street 1, Moscow 125993, Russian Federation

(Address of principal executive offices)

Vladislav Zlenko, tel.: +7-495-221-8888, e-mail: vladislav.zlenko@mechel.com

(Name, Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:


Title of Each Class		Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
COMMON AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES, EACH COMMON ADS REPRESENTING ONE COMMON SHARE		NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
COMMON SHARES, PAR VALUE 10 RUSSIAN RUBLES PER SHARE		NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE⁽¹⁾
PREFERRED AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES, EACH PREFERRED ADS REPRESENTING ONE-HALF OF A PREFERRED SHARE		NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
PREFERRED SHARES, PAR VALUE 10 RUSSIAN RUBLES PER SHARE		NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE⁽²⁾

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

(Title of Class)

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

None

(Title of Class)

Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.

416,270,745 common shares, of which 91,151,675 shares are in the form of common ADSs as of March 31, 2014

138,756,915 preferred shares (including 55,502,766 shares held by Skyblock Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mechel), of which 23,539,262 shares are in the form of preferred ADSs as of March 31, 2014

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes x No ¨

If this report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Yes ¨ No x

Note — Checking the box above will not relieve any registrant required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 from their obligations under those Sections.

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check One):


Large accelerated filer x		Accelerated filer ¨		Non-accelerated filer ¨

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:


U.S. GAAP x		International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ¨		Other ¨

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow:

Item 17 ¨ Item 18 ¨

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No x

(1)	Listed, not for trading or quotation purposes, but only in connection with the registration of common ADSs pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(2)	Listed, not for trading or quotation purposes, but only in connection with the registration of preferred ADSs pursuant to the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

TABLE OF CONTENTS


CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS		4
Item 1.	Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers	5
Item 2.	Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable	5
Item 3.	Key Information	5
Item 4.	Information on the Company	60
Item 4A.	Unresolved Staff Comments	149
Item 5.	Operating and Financial Review and Prospects	149
Item 6.	Directors, Senior Management and Employees	234
Item 7.	Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions	249
Item 8.	Financial Information	253
Item 9.	The Offer and Listing	259
Item 10.	Additional Information	261
Item 11.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk	301
Item 12.	Description of Securities Other than Equity Securities	305
Item 13.	Defaults, Dividend Arrearages and Delinquencies	308
Item 14.	Material Modifications to the Rights of Security Holders and Use of Proceeds	308
Item 15.	Controls and Procedures	308
Item 16A.	Audit Committee Financial Expert	310
Item 16B.	Code of Ethics	310
Item 16C.	Principal Accountant Fees and Services	310
Item 16D.	Exemptions from the Listing Standards for Audit Committees	311
Item 16E.	Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers	311
Item 16F.	Change in Registrant’s Certifying Accountant	311
Item 16G.	Corporate Governance	311
Item 16H.	Mine Safety Disclosure	312
Item 17.	Financial Statements	313
Item 18.	Financial Statements	313
Item 19.	Exhibits	314
SIGNATURES		317

Unless the context otherwise requires, references to “Mechel” refer to Mechel OAO, and references to “our group,” “we,” “us” or “our” refer to Mechel OAO together with its subsidiaries.

Our business consists of four segments: mining, steel, ferroalloys and power. References in this document to segment revenues are to revenues of the segment excluding intersegment sales, unless otherwise noted. References in this document to our sales or our total sales are to third-party sales and do not include intra-group sales, unless otherwise noted.

For the purposes of calculating certain market share data, we have included businesses that are currently part of our group that may not have been part of our group during the period for which such market share data is presented.

References to “U.S. dollars,” “$” or “cents” are to the currency of the United States, references to “rubles” or “RUR” are to the currency of the Russian Federation and references to “euro” or “€” are to the currency of the member states of the European Union that participate in the European Monetary Union.

The term “tonne” as used herein means a metric tonne. A metric tonne is equal to 1,000 kilograms or 2,204.62 pounds. The term “short ton” is also used in this document. A short ton is equal to 907 kilograms or 2,000 pounds.

Certain amounts that appear in this document have been subject to rounding adjustments; accordingly, figures shown as totals in certain tables or in the text may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that precede them.

“CIS” means the Commonwealth of Independent States, its member states being Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

The following table sets forth by segment the official names and location of our key subsidiaries and their names as used in this document:


Name as Used in This Document	Official Name	Location
*Mining Segment*
Mechel Mining	Mechel Mining OAO	Russia, Moscow
Southern Kuzbass Coal Company	Southern Kuzbass Coal Company OAO	Russia, Kemerovo region
Tomusinsky Open Pit	Tomusinsky Open Pit Mine OAO	Russia, Kemerovo region
Yakutugol	Yakutugol Holding Company OAO	Russia, Sakha Republic
Elgaugol	Elgaugol OOO	Russia, Sakha Republic
Bluestone or Bluestone companies	Bluestone Industries Inc., Dynamic Energy Inc., JCJ Coal Group LLC and other subsidiaries carrying out the Bluestone business	United States, West Virginia
Korshunov Mining Plant	Korshunov Mining Plant OAO	Russia, Irkutsk region
Moscow Coke and Gas Plant	Moscow Coke and Gas Plant OAO	Russia, Moscow region
Mechel Coke	Mechel Coke OOO	Russia, Chelyabinsk region
Port Posiet	Port Posiet OAO	Russia, Primorsk Krai
Port Temryuk	Port Mechel Temryuk OOO	Russia, Krasnodar Krai

*Steel Segment*
Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant	Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant OAO	Russia, Chelyabinsk region
Izhstal	Izhstal OAO	Russia, Republic of Udmurtia
Urals Stampings Plant	Urals Stampings Plant OAO	Russia, Chelyabinsk region
Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant	Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant OAO	Russia, Republic of Bashkortostan
Vyartsilya Metal Products Plant	Vyartsilya Metal Products Plant ZAO	Russia, Republic of Karelia
Mechel Nemunas	Mechel Nemunas UAB	Lithuania
Port Kambarka	Port Kambarka OAO	Russia, Republic of Udmurtia

*Ferroalloys Segment*
Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant	Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant OOO	Russia, Irkutsk region


Name as Used in This Document	Official Name	Location
*Power Segment*
Southern Kuzbass Power Plant	Southern Kuzbass Power Plant OAO	Russia, Kemerovo region
Kuzbass Power Sales Company	Kuzbass Power Sales Company OAO	Russia, Kemerovo region
Mechel Energo	Mechel Energo OOO	Russia, Moscow

*Marketing and Distribution*
Mechel Carbon	Mechel Carbon AG	Switzerland, Baar
Mechel Carbon Singapore	Mechel Carbon Singapore Pte. Ltd	Singapore
Mechel Trading	Mechel Trading AG	Switzerland, Baar
Mechel Service Global	Mechel Service Global B.V.	Netherlands
Mechel Service	Mechel Service OOO	Russia, Moscow

*Other*
Mecheltrans	Mecheltrans OOO	Russia, Moscow

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Matters discussed in this document may constitute forward-looking statements, as defined in the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are other than statements of historical facts. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “will,” “may,” “should” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements appear in a number of places including, without limitation, “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors,” “Item 4. Information on the Company” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects,” and include statements regarding:

•

strategies, outlook and growth prospects;

•

the ability to maintain sufficient cash and other liquid resources to meet our operating and debt service requirements and our ability to comply with the covenants in our financing agreements;

•

the impact of competition;

•

costs of our acquisitions and ability to realize expected synergies and other benefits;

•

capital expenditures;

•

growth in demand for our products;

•

economic outlook and industry trends;

•

transactions with related parties;

•

regulatory compliance;

•

developments in our markets;

•

future plans and potential for future growth;

•

the impact of regulatory initiatives; and

•

the strength of our competitors.

The forward-looking statements in this document are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including without limitation, management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available from third parties. Although we believe that these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond our control and we may not achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or projections. See “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors” for a discussion of important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements.

Except to the extent required by law, neither we, nor any of our agents, employees or advisers intend or have any duty or obligation to supplement, amend, update or revise any of the forward-looking statements contained or incorporated by reference in this document.

PART I

Item 1. Identity of Directors, Senior Management and Advisers

Not applicable.

Item 2. Offer Statistics and Expected Timetable

Not applicable.

Item 3. Key Information

Selected Financial Data

The financial data set forth below as of December 31, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009, and for the years then ended, have been derived from our consolidated financial statements. Our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar and we prepare our consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”).

Our results of operations for the periods presented are significantly affected by acquisitions. Results of operations of these acquired businesses are included in our consolidated financial statements for the periods after their respective dates of acquisition. The financial data below are retrospectively adjusted for the effect from discontinued operations. See note 1(a) to the consolidated financial statements. The financial data below should be read in conjunction with, and is qualified in its entirety by reference to, our consolidated financial statements and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects.”


	Year Ended December 31,
	2013			2012			2011			2010			2009
	(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
Consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income data:
Revenue, net		8,576,431			10,630,932			12,287,327			9,520,679			5,518,572
Cost of goods sold		(5,962,744	)		(7,323,467	)		(8,010,254	)		(5,998,335	)		(3,761,381	)

Gross profit		2,613,687			3,307,465			4,277,073			3,522,344			1,757,191
Selling, distribution and operating expenses		(3,142,788	)		(3,730,194	)		(2,398,832	)		(2,020,198	)		(1,512,937	)

Operating (loss) income		(529,101	)		(422,729	)		1,878,241			1,502,146			244,254
Other income and (expense), net		(981,653	)		(443,472	)		(680,556	)		(524,125	)		(85,616	)
(Loss) income from continuing operations, before income tax		(1,510,754	)		(866,201	)		1,197,685			978,021			158,638
Income tax expense		(53,642	)		(192,845	)		(366,212	)		(217,525	)		(20,893	)
Net (loss) income from continuing operations		(1,564,396	)		(1,059,046	)		831,473			760,496			137,745
Loss from discontinued operations, net of income tax		(1,358,571	)		(605,839	)		(28,026	)		(68,521	)		(61,414	)
Net (loss) income		(2,922,967	)		(1,664,885	)		803,447			691,974			76,331
Less: Net (income) loss attributable to non-controlling interests		(5,047	)		317			(75,562	)		(34,761	)		(2,590	)

Net (loss) income attributable to shareholders of Mechel OAO		(2,928,014	)		(1,664,568	)		727,885			657,213			73,741

Less: Dividends on preferred shares		(127	)		(79,056	)		(78,281	)		(8,780	)		(134,498	)
Net (loss) income attributable to common shareholders of Mechel OAO		(2,928,141	)		(1,743,624	)		649,604			648,433			(60,757	)


	Year Ended December 31,
	2013			2012			2011			2010			2009
	(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
Net (loss) income		(2,922,967	)		(1,664,885	)		803,447			691,974			76,331
Currency translation adjustment		(96,848	)		70,893			(170,794	)		(26,218	)		(325,353	)
Transfer of currency translation adjustment due to disposal of companies		340,014			—			—			—			—
Change in pension benefit obligation		8,244			(17,778	)		(7,160	)		(9,466	)		(10,155	)
Adjustment of available-for-sale securities		2,171			(300	)		(2,245	)		4,838			(5,178	)

Comprehensive (loss) income		(2,669,386	)		(1,612,070	)		623,248			661,128			(264,355	)

Less comprehensive loss (income) attributable to non-controlling interests		20,704			(22,851	)		(50,527	)		(32,498	)		6,759

Comprehensive (loss) income attributable to shareholders of Mechel OAO		(2,648,682	)		(1,634,921	)		572,721			628,630			(257,596	)

(Loss) earnings per share from continuing operations		(3.77	)		(2.79	)		1.63			1.72			(0.15	)
Loss per share effect from discontinued operations		(3.26	)		(1.40	)		(0.07	)		(0.16	)		0.00
Net (loss) income per share		(7.03	)		(4.19	)		1.56			1.56			(0.15	)

Cash dividends per common share		—			0.24			0.31			0.03			0.18

Cash dividends per preferred share		0.00			0.95			0.94			0.11			1.62

Weighted average number shares outstanding		416,270,745			416,270,745			416,270,745			416,270,745			416,270,745
Mining segment statements of operations and comprehensive income data⁽¹⁾:
Revenue, net		3,309,300			4,011,622			5,186,412			3,741,365			1,826,268
Cost of goods sold		(1,841,770	)		(2,128,272	)		(2,365,376	)		(1,764,466	)		(989,534	)

Gross profit		1,467,530			1,883,350			2,821,036			1,976,899			836,734
Selling, distribution and operating expenses		(1,342,455	)		(1,238,467	)		(1,175,434	)		(895,879	)		(622,412	)

Operating income		125,075			644,883			1,645,602			1,081,020			214,322

Steel segment statements of operations and comprehensive income data⁽¹⁾:
Revenue, net		5,198,882			6,685,279			7,433,695			5,944,753			3,503,395
Cost of goods sold		(4,378,584	)		(5,644,055	)		(6,305,372	)		(4,761,155	)		(2,940,507	)

Gross profit		820,298			1,041,224			1,128,323			1,183,598			562,888
Selling, distribution and operating expenses		(1,458,398	)		(2,161,110	)		(923,171	)		(816,582	)		(671,516	)

Operating (loss) income		(638,100	)		(1,119,886	)		205,152			367,016			(108,628	)

Ferroalloys segment statements of operations and comprehensive income data⁽¹⁾:
Revenue, net		117,455			106,825			136,567			133,082			89,848
Cost of goods sold		(94,430	)		(77,457	)		(86,372	)		(70,979	)		(59,468	)

Gross profit		23,025			29,368			50,195			62,103			30,380
Selling, distribution and operating expenses		(23,507	)		(55,986	)		(19,987	)		(27,613	)		(29,443	)

Operating (loss) income		(482	)		(26,618	)		30,208			34,490			937


	Year Ended December 31,
	2013			2012			2011			2010			2009
	(In thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share data)
Power segment statements of operations and comprehensive income data⁽¹⁾:
Revenue, net		1,190,205			1,185,776			1,168,434			992,458			830,929
Cost of goods sold		(884,423	)		(879,833	)		(860,598	)		(699,632	)		(563,969	)

Gross profit		305,782			305,943			307,836			292,826			266,960
Selling, distribution and operating expenses		(318,426	)		(274,631	)		(280,240	)		(252,282	)		(189,566	)

Operating (loss) income		(12,644	)		31,312			27,596			40,544			77,394

Consolidated balance sheet data (at period end):
Total assets		13,834,510			17,695,303			19,309,799			15,778,164			13,251,425
Equity attributable to shareholders of Mechel OAO		517,475			3,177,381			4,990,764			4,642,825			4,049,720
Equity attributable to non-controlling interests		294,345			362,276			374,562			308,186			280,968
Long-term debt, net of current portion		7,950,372			7,921,655			6,692,884			5,240,620			4,074,458
Consolidated cash flows data:
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities		323,532			1,313,631			882,892			(147,704	)		561,669
Net cash used in investing activities		(179,589	)		(839,137	)		(2,618,232	)		(1,120,406	)		(709,931	)
Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities		(162,071	)		(792,006	)		2,079,034			1,210,126			375,434
Non-U.S. GAAP measures⁽²⁾:
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA		730,323			1,470,725			2,351,649			1,920,295			644,996
Mining Segment Adjusted EBITDA		481,627			999,470			1,976,262			1,362,893			451,606
Steel Segment Adjusted EBITDA		210,167			377,713			332,187			483,380			20,103
Ferroalloys Segment Adjusted EBITDA		8,408			4,777			39,713			40,739			22,643
Power Segment Adjusted EBITDA		33,070			41,189			35,505			54,211			90,415

(1)	Segment revenues and cost of goods sold include intersegment sales.

(2)

Adjusted EBITDA represents net income before depreciation, depletion and amortization, foreign exchange gain/(loss), gain/(loss) from remeasurement of contingent liabilities at fair value, interest expense, interest income, net result on the disposal of non-current assets, impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill and provision for the balances due from related parties, net (loss) income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes, net (loss) income on the disposal of all or part of the interest in any subsidiary, amount attributable to non-controlling interests and income taxes.

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net income is as follows for the periods indicated:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2013			2012			2011			2010			2009
	(In thousands of U.S. dollars)
Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation:
Net (loss) income attributable to shareholders of Mechel OAO		(2,928,014	)		(1,664,568	)		727,885			657,213			73,741
Add:
Depreciation, depletion and amortization		476,960			475,464			471,158			413,551			365,055
Foreign exchange loss (gain)		164,691			(108,830	)		141,957			(7,255	)		129,328
Loss (gain) from remeasurement of contingent liabilities at fair value		2,053			1,906			1,760			1,630			(494,237	)
Interest expense		742,042			652,665			551,302			541,250			481,166
Interest income		(7,339	)		(70,456	)		(16,780	)		(17,163	)		(21,054	)
Net result on the disposal of non-current assets, impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill and provision for the balances due from related parties		774,224			1,305,092			4,567			10,262			26,099
Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes		1,358,571			605,839			28,026			68,521			61,414
Net result on the disposal of subsidiaries		88,445			81,085			—			—			—
Amount attributable to non-controlling interests		5,047			(317	)		75,562			34,761			2,590
Income taxes		53,642			192,845			366,212			217,525			20,893

Consolidated Adjusted EBITDA		730,323			1,470,725			2,351,649			1,920,295			644,996

Mining Segment Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation:
Net (loss) income attributable to shareholders of Mechel OAO		(364,238	)		356,575			1,012,599			640,573			555,349
Add:
Depreciation, depletion and amortization		326,192			317,615			329,327			281,336			225,193
Foreign exchange loss (gain)		109,269			(65,868	)		60,753			(14,747	)		(68,258	)
Loss (gain) from remeasurement of contingent liabilities at fair value		2,053			1,906			1,760			1,630			(494,238	)
Interest expense		384,069			282,177			312,110			333,485			254,255
Interest income		(52,109	)		(98,474	)		(129,368	)		(116,615	)		(47,080	)
Net result on the disposal of non-current assets, impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill and provision for the balances due from related parties		26,434			5,637			8,604			8,236			7,105
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes		—			—			(1,609	)		—			(185	)
Net result on the disposal of subsidiaries		—			—			—			—			—
Amount attributable to non-controlling interests		19,142			45,976			80,050			43,130			13,086
Income taxes		30,815			153,926			302,036			185,865			6,379

Mining Segment Adjusted EBITDA		481,627			999,470			1,976,262			1,362,893			451,606


	Year Ended December 31,
	2013			2012			2011			2010			2009
	(In thousands of U.S. dollars)
Steel Segment Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation:
Net (loss) income attributable to shareholders of Mechel OAO		(1,294,151	)		(1,697,333	)		(235,252	)		155,831			(361,915	)
Add:
Depreciation, depletion and amortization		135,226			140,973			125,968			111,134			116,913
Foreign exchange (gain) loss		49,472			(46,362	)		81,635			11,113			80,512
Loss (gain) from remeasurement of contingent liabilities at fair value		—			—			—			—			—
Interest expense		358,634			380,737			320,348			228,558			223,981
Interest income		(13,121	)		(21,889	)		(11,813	)		(29,247	)		(30,885	)
Net result on the disposal of non-current assets, impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill and provision for the balances due from related parties		705,558			1,276,285			266			2,803			3,037
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes		185,286			258,740			9,607			(5,221	)		(2,204	)
Net result on the disposal of subsidiaries		91,166			81,085			—			—			—
Amount attributable to non-controlling interests		(17,006	)		(25,350	)		(9,708	)		(12,483	)		(13,754	)
Income taxes		9,103			30,827			51,136			20,892			4,418

Steel Segment Adjusted EBITDA		210,167			377,713			332,187			483,380			20,103

Ferroalloys Segment Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation:
Net (loss) income attributable to shareholders of Mechel OAO		(1,170,883	)		(212,531	)		64,434			(69,256	)		(181,702	)
Add:
Depreciation, depletion and amortization		6,032			6,214			4,000			6,625			6,879
Foreign exchange loss (gain)		6,041			3,398			(262	)		(3,593	)		117,147
Loss (gain) from remeasurement of contingent liabilities at fair value		—			—			—			—			—
Interest expense		15,286			15,366			27,976			93,834			32,457
Interest income		(504	)		(44	)		(2,109	)		(5,340	)		(412	)
Net result on the disposal of non-current assets, impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill and provision for the balances due from related parties		908			24,623			600			124			16,163
Income (loss) from discontinued operations, net of income taxes		1,149,193			186,062			(60,721	)		12,224			26,323
Net result on the disposal of subsidiaries		13			—			—			—			—
Amount attributable to non-controlling interests		(496	)		(23,828	)		(690	)		(630	)		452
Income taxes		2,818			5,517			6,485			6,751			5,336

Ferroalloys Segment Adjusted EBITDA		8,408			4,777			39,713			40,739			22,643


	Year Ended December 31,
	2013			2012			2011			2010			2009
	(In thousands of U.S. dollars)
Power Segment Adjusted EBITDA reconciliation:
Net (loss) income attributable to shareholders of Mechel OAO		(95,795	)		(158,856	)		(81,877	)		(49,009	)		1,769
Add:
Depreciation, depletion and amortization		9,510			10,662			11,863			14,456			16,070
Foreign exchange loss (gain)		(91	)		1			(169	)		(28	)		(73	)
Loss (gain) from remeasurement of contingent liabilities at fair value		—			—			—			—			—
Interest expense		42,511			24,372			17,584			19,550			27,854
Interest income		(64	)		(37	)		(207	)		(138	)		(57	)
Net result on the disposal of non-current assets, impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill and provision for the balances due from related parties		41,324			(1,452	)		(4,903	)		(900	)		(206	)
Income from discontinued operations, net of income taxes		24,092			161,038			80,749			61,518			37,491
Net result on the disposal of subsidiaries		(2,732	)		—			—			—			—
Amount attributable to non-controlling interests		3,407			2,885			5,910			4,745			2,807
Income taxes		10,908			2,576			6,555			4,017			4,760

Power Segment Adjusted EBITDA		33,070			41,189			35,505			54,211			90,415

Adjusted EBITDA is a measure of our operating performance that is not required by, or presented in accordance with, U.S. GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is not a measure of our operating performance under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income, operating income or any other performance measures derived in accordance with U.S. GAAP or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities or as a measure of our liquidity. In particular, Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as a measure of discretionary cash available to us to invest in the growth of our business.

Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our operating results as reported under U.S. GAAP. Some of these limitations are as follows:

•

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of financing income and costs, which are significant and could further increase if we incur more debt, on our operating performance.

•

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of income taxes on our operating performance.

•

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of depreciation, depletion and amortization on our operating performance. The assets of our businesses which are being depreciated, depleted and/or amortized (including, for example, our mineral reserves) will have to be replaced in the future and such depreciation, depletion and amortization expense may approximate the cost to replace these assets in the future. By excluding such expense from Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect our future cash requirements for such replacements.

•

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of foreign exchange gains and losses and gains and losses from remeasurement of contingent liabilities at fair value, which may recur.

•

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of gain/(loss) from remeasurement of contingent liabilities at fair value on our operating performance, which may recur.

•

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of net result on the disposal of non-current assets on our operating performance, which may recur.

•

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill and provision for the balances due from related parties, which may recur.

•

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of net (loss) income from discontinued operations.

•

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of net (loss) income on the disposal of all or part of the interest in any subsidiary.

•

Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the impact of amounts attributable to non-controlling interests on our operating performance.

•

Other companies in our industry may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently or may use it for different purposes than we do, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.

We compensate for these limitations by relying primarily on our U.S. GAAP operating results and using Adjusted EBITDA only supplementally. See our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss) and consolidated statements of cash flows included elsewhere in this document.

Exchange Rates

The following tables show, for the periods indicated, certain information regarding the official exchange rate between the ruble and the U.S. dollar, based on data published by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (the “CBR”).

These rates may differ from the actual rates used in preparation of our financial statements and other financial information provided herein.


	Rubles per U.S. Dollar
Year Ended December 31,	High		Low		Average⁽¹⁾		Period End
2013		33.47		29.93		31.85		32.73
2012		34.04		28.95		31.09		30.37
2011		32.68		27.26		29.39		32.20
2010		31.78		28.93		30.37		30.48
2009		36.43		28.67		31.72		30.24

(1)	The average of the exchange rates on the last business day of each full month during the relevant period.


	Rubles per U.S. Dollar
	High		Low
April 2014		36.08		35.02
March 2014		36.65		35.45
February 2014		36.05		34.60
January 2014		35.24		32.66
December 2013		33.26		32.63
November 2013		33.19		32.08
October 2013		32.48		31.66

The exchange rate between the ruble and the U.S. dollar on May 15, 2014 was 34.71 rubles per one U.S. dollar.

No representation is made that the ruble or U.S. dollar amounts in this document could have been or can be converted into U.S. dollars or rubles, as the case may be, at any particular rate or at all.

Recent Developments

Receipt of waivers under existing loan agreements

Primarily as a result of the decline in market prices for our products throughout 2013, as of December 31, 2013, we were not in compliance with a number of financial covenants in various loan agreements. In April-May 2014, we received consents from the banks related to certain financial covenant breaches under our loan agreements. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — Restrictive Covenants” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — Description of Certain Indebtedness.”

In accordance with our projections, we have both the intent and ability to meet the financial covenants during and for the period ending December 31, 2014, and net operating cash flows generated by our group in 2014 are expected to be sufficient to finance capital investments and pay interest on debt in 2014. We are negotiating with some of our creditors to refinance and amend the terms and conditions of the existing debt to extend maturities beyond December 31, 2014. Based on negotiations conducted to date, we believe that our group will successfully refinance or restructure its short-term debt. As a result, no reclassification of long-term debt to short-term liabilities due to covenant violations as of December 31, 2013 was made.

However, no assurances can be made in relation to the above, and our operations and profitability depend on market prices and demand for our products which may continue to deteriorate due to general market conditions or other factors including international sanctions against Russia and Russian individuals or businesses. See “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors” which describe certain risks to our business, including risks relating to our financial condition and financial reporting, risks relating to our business and industry, risks relating to our shares and the trading market, risks relating to the Russian Federation (including economic risks, political and social risks and legal risks and uncertainties) and risks relating to our business in the United States. In particular, see “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Financial Condition and Financial Reporting — We face a pressure on our liquidity, negatively influencing our working capital, which resulted from the lasting global economic slowdown,” “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Financial Condition and Financial Reporting — We have not been in compliance with the financial covenants in certain of our credit facilities,” “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Financial Condition and Financial Reporting — We have a substantial amount of outstanding indebtedness with restrictive financial covenants,” “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry — We operate in cyclical industries, and any local or global downturn, whether or not primarily affecting the mining and/or steel industries, may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects” and “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors — Risks Relating to the Russian Federation — Emerging markets such as Russia are subject to greater risks than more developed markets, and financial turmoil in developed or other emerging markets or international sanctions against Russia or Russian individuals or businesses could have a material adverse effect on our business and could cause the value of our shares and ADSs to fluctuate widely.”

New borrowings and debt restructuring

During the first months of 2014, we have obtained new credit facilities, refinanced, restructured or reached commercial agreements on new credit terms with our creditors.

In April 2014, we have reached agreement with VTB Bank to refinance debt in the amount of 59.79 billion rubles ($1.8 billion as of December 31, 2013), providing for an extension of the repayment grace period until April 2015 with a maturity due in four years. Of this, in May 2014, we have already signed amendments to loan agreements amounting to 46.5 billion rubles ($1.5 billion as of December 31, 2013). VTB Bank will also provide a loan to redeem bonds in the amount of up to 3.8 billion rubles ($116.1 million as of December 31, 2013).

In March 2014, our subsidiary Elgaugol signed two loan agreements for an aggregate amount of $2.5 billion with State Corporation “Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)” (“Vnesheconombank”) for the project financing of the development of the Elga coal deposit. The loans have a tenor of 13.5 years, with a repayment grace period of 3.5 years. The financing is provided without recourse to Mechel or any group company except for Elgaugol and is therefore excluded from our financial covenants calculations under most loan agreements. The management believes that before utilization of the credit lines, this financing will be excluded from the financial covenants calculations under all relevant loan agreements.

Risk Factors

An investment in our shares and ADSs involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following information about these risks, together with the information contained in this document, before you decide to buy our shares or ADSs. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects could be materially adversely affected. In that case, the value of our shares or ADSs could also decline and you could lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating to Our Financial Condition and Financial Reporting

We face a pressure on our liquidity, negatively influencing our working capital, which resulted from the lasting global economic slowdown.

As a result of the economic downturn and a sharp decline in demand and prices for our products starting from August 2008 and continuing into the first half of 2009, as well as due to a substantial increase in our total indebtedness in 2007 and early 2008 which was incurred mostly for the acquisition of Yakutugol in 2007 and Oriel Resources in 2008, we experienced a liquidity shortage in late 2008 and early 2009. Since we had significant debt that we did not have the ability to repay without refinancing or restructuring, and our ability to do so was dependent upon cooperation from our lenders, there was substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern as of June 1, 2009. From late 2008 through 2009, we obtained significant loans from Russian state-owned banks, restructured and refinanced our credit facilities used to finance the acquisitions of Oriel Resources and Yakutugol and issued Russian ruble bonds. Our indebtedness increased during 2010 and 2011 due to financing of the substantial investment program of our subsidiaries (including the construction of the universal rail and structural rolling mill at Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant, the construction of the Elga rail line and development of the Elga coal deposit) and financing of the increased level of inventories, primarily, due to expansion of Mechel Service Global’s business.

Starting with the second half of 2012 and gradually accentuating during 2013 and into 2014, a second phase of the economic and financial meltdown unfolded. This has resulted in a further decline in demand and prices for our products and we have experienced a new tightening of our liquidity in 2013. To alleviate the pressure on our liquidity, continuing since 2010 we have successfully refinanced and restructured a number of major loans mainly with Russian state-owned banks and issued Russian ruble bonds. Additionally, in December 2013, we have refinanced our $1.0 billion pre-export facilities with a syndicate of 27 international and Russian banks. Our principal objective in negotiating the debt refinancing and restructuring and resetting the financial covenants was to ensure a stable financial environment to allow the continuation of our financial strategy: lengthening the maturity profile of our debt portfolio and grace repayment periods across our most important credit facilities, allowing us to successfully pass the prolonged commodity price depression.

The weakness in the demand and prices for our products throughout 2013, continued to negatively impact all our business segments. For the year ended December 31, 2013, we had operating loss of $529.1 million as compared to $422.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. Net cash provided by operating activities was $323.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2013 as compared to $1,313.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. As of December 31, 2013, our total indebtedness was $9,005.1 million, a decrease of $352.8 million from December 31, 2012. Short-term portion of our total indebtedness was $1,484.9 million as of December 31, 2013 as compared to $1,436.2 million as of December 31, 2012. Working capital deficit amounted to $740.8 million as of December 31, 2013 as compared to working capital surplus amounted to $1,767.8 million as of December 31, 2012. Cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2013 were $268.5 million as compared to $293.6 million as of December 31, 2012. As of December 31, 2013, we had breached certain financial covenants in various loan agreements but we have received appropriate consents from the banks.

In the absence of a significant and sustainable increase in the price levels and demand for our products for the reminder of the year 2014, our plans for 2014 and beyond are conservatively based on continuing our restructuring and refinancing efforts of our loans with our creditors, decreasing the level of inventories, primarily through reducing our purchasing, production and delivery expenses, running down loss-making or non-core operations and selectively dispose of certain assets. On this basis we expect operating cash flows to provide sufficient funds in 2014 to be available for debt servicing and capital expenditure. However, no assurances can be made in relation to the above, and our operations and profitability depend on market prices and demand for our products which may continue to deteriorate due to general market conditions or other factors including international sanctions against Russia and Russian individuals or businesses. See “— Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry — We operate in cyclical industries, and any local or global downturn, whether or not primarily affecting the mining and/or steel industries, may have an adverse effect on our business, financial

condition, results of operations and prospects” and “— Risks Relating to the Russian Federation — Emerging markets such as Russia are subject to greater risks than more developed markets, and financial turmoil in developed or other emerging markets or international sanctions against Russia or Russian individuals or businesses could have a material adverse effect on our business and could cause the value of our shares and ADSs to fluctuate widely.”

Our ability to incur additional debt is limited by our restrictive covenants. We have engaged in the refinancing of our debt portfolio with longer term debt, reducing the capital expenditure program and disposing of non-core or loss-making assets. See “— We have a substantial amount of outstanding indebtedness with restrictive financial covenants” and “— We will require a significant amount of cash to fund our capital investment program.” These measures, if successful, should reduce the risk of facing a liquidity shortage in the medium term as well as allow us to reduce our indebtedness over time.

In March 2014, Moody’s Investors Service revisited and downgraded our rating to Caa1 with negative outlook because of continuing low coking coal prices, China’s lower demand for commodities and Mechel’s refinancing risk. So far we have successfully renegotiated the financial covenants under our loan agreements and refinanced or reached agreement with creditors to refinace a significant part of our 2014 debt maturities. Such change of our rating may reduce our opportunities to raise necessary debt financing (including by accessing the debt capital markets), as well as potentially negatively impact the terms of such financing.

Any deterioration in our operating performance, including due to any worsening of prevailing economic conditions, fall in commodity prices (whether due to the cyclical nature of the industry or otherwise) and/or financial, business or other factors, many of which are beyond our control, may adversely and materially affect our cash flow, liquidity and working capital position and may result in an increase in our working capital deficit and in us being unable to meet our obligations as they fall due. If such a situation were to occur, we may be required to further refinance our existing debt and/or to seek additional capital. There is no guarantee that we would be successful in refinancing our debt or in raising additional capital, or that we would be able to do so on a timely basis or on terms which are acceptable to us. Even if we were successful, the terms of such refinancing or new capital may be detrimental to holders of ADSs and shares including due to a dilution of their interest. Any such deterioration, affect or failure could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and the trading price of ADSs and shares.

If significant economic slowdown were to continue, we could face a liquidity shortage and breach our restrictive covenants, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We have not been in compliance with the financial covenants in certain of our credit facilities.

Most of the loan agreements under which we or our subsidiaries are borrowers contain various representations, undertakings, covenants and events of default. Furthermore, according to the terms of such agreements, certain of our actions aimed at developing our business and pursuing our strategic objectives, such as acquisitions, disposal of assets, corporate restructurings, investments into certain of our subsidiaries and others, require prior notice to or consent from the respective lenders.

In recent years, we have been in breach of covenants in various loan agreements, but we have received waivers, consents and covenant amendments from the relevant lenders for such breaches. As of December 31, 2013, we were not in compliance with certain covenants in some of our credit facilities entered into with several lenders, including certain financial ratios, such as the EBITDA to Net Interest Expense ratio. In April-May 2014, the lenders have provided their consent to cure such breach. In addition, during the year, we obtained consent from our lenders to amend certain of our financial covenants for the period from December 2013 to December 2017, including obtaining a covenant testing holiday of the net borrowings to EBITDA ratio for the relevant period ending on December 31, 2013 and June 30, 2014. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Debt Financings in 2013.” We have restrictions on our ability to

pay dividends, incur additional indebtedness and make capital expenditures, as well as expand through further acquisitions and use proceeds from certain disposals. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Restrictive Covenants” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — Description of Certain Indebtedness.”

Some of our credit facilities contain cross-default provisions that may be triggered by a default under one of our other loan and credit facilities. A cross-default provision contemplates that a default on one loan with the principal amount above certain threshold would result in a default on other loans. Although we believe that we have sought and received waivers for the breaches from our lenders under the relevant credit facilities, due to the presence of cross-default provisions in almost all of our credit facilities, the refusal of any one lender to grant or extend a waiver in the future could result in substantially all of our indebtedness being accelerated even if our other lenders have waived covenant defaults under the respective credit facilities. If our indebtedness is accelerated in full or in part, it could be very difficult in the current financing environment for us to refinance our debt or obtain additional financing, and we could lose our assets, including fixed assets and shares in our subsidiaries, if our lenders foreclose on their liens, which would adversely affect our ability to conduct our business and result in a significant decline in the value of our shares.

Our ability to continue to comply with our financial and other loan covenants in the future and to continue to service and refinance our indebtedness will depend on our results of operations and our ability to generate cash in the future and attract new financing and refinance the existing indebtedness, which will depend on lenders’ credit decisions. This, in turn, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative and other factors that are beyond our control. We cannot assure you that any potential breach of financial and other covenants in our loan agreements, including defects in security, will not result in new demands from our lenders for acceleration of our loan repayment obligations or related litigation, including as a result of cross-defaults. If we fail to comply with our financial and other covenants contained in any of our loan agreements, including compliance with financial ratios and other covenants, or fail to obtain prior consent of lenders for certain actions, or fail to obtain extensions or waivers in respect of any breaches of our loan agreements or amend our loan agreements, such failure would constitute an event of default under the relevant loan agreement. Any event of default under our loan agreement could result in acceleration of repayment of principal and interest under the relevant loan agreement and any other loan agreement under which a default on such instrument would trigger a cross-default, reduced opportunities for future borrowing, debt service obligations in excess of our ability to pay, liability for damages or inability to further develop our business and pursue our strategic objectives, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We have a substantial amount of outstanding indebtedness with restrictive financial covenants.

We have a substantial amount of outstanding indebtedness, primarily consisting of debt we incurred in connection with the financing of our acquisitions of Yakutugol and Oriel Resources in 2007 and 2008, as well as debt we incurred to finance our investment program in recent years including the development of the Elga coal deposit and our working capital needs which have been significant in recent years due to the depressed demand and pricing for our main products. Most of this debt has restrictive financial covenants. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — Restrictive Covenants” and “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — Description of Certain Indebtedness.” As of December 31, 2013, our consolidated total debt, including capital lease obligations, was $9,424.8 million, with a short-term portion of $1,607.7 million. Our interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2013 was $742.0 million, net of the amount capitalized.

In order to secure bank financings, we have pledged shares in certain key subsidiaries, including 50%+2 shares of Yakutugol, 50%+2 shares of Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, 40% of Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant, 88.25% of total shares of Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant, 55%+1 share of Korshunov Mining Plant, 50%+2 shares of Mechel Mining, 50%+1 share of Urals Stampings Plant, 25%+1 share of total common shares of Izhstal, 25%–1 share of Port Posiet and 49% of Elgaugol as of December 31, 2013. As of the date hereof, we have pledged additional 12.5% shares of Mechel Mining and released 65% of total shares of Beloretsk

Metallurgical Plant and 25%–1 share of Port Posiet. Also, property, plant and equipment and certain other assets of our subsidiaries are pledged to lenders. As of December 31, 2013, the carrying value of property, plant and equipment, inventory, cash and accounts receivable pledged under our loan agreements amounted to $974.5 million. See note 13(i) to the consolidated financial statements.

Our ability to make payments on our indebtedness depends upon our operating performance, which is subject to general economic and market conditions, commodity prices, and financial, business and other factors, many of which we cannot control. If we do not generate sufficient cash flow from operations in order to meet our debt service obligations, we may have to undertake alternative financing plans to alleviate liquidity constraints, such as refinancing or restructuring our debt, reducing or delaying our capital expenditures or seeking additional capital.

The majority of our borrowings are from Russian banks, including state-controlled banks such as Gazprombank, Sberbank and VTB Bank, as well as from Russian ruble bonds which are mostly held by Russian institutions. In each of the recent few years, the Russian state banks have extended the maturity of our borrowings and have also waived financial covenant defaults and amended/reset financial covenants based on the impact of the market conditions on our results of operations. It is possible that these sources of financing may not be available in the future in the amounts we may require or may be expensive and/or contain overly onerous terms. More recently, the economic slowdown in Russia as well as the events in Ukraine and Crimea has introduced additional uncertainty in the overall outlook for the ability of Russian banks to provide sufficient liquidity to Russian companies. In the current environment, if Russian banks and financial institutions are no longer able to continue to refinance our indebtedness or finance our working capital needs, we may not be able to diversify our funding sources and may default on our debt which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. See “— Risks Relating to the Russian Federation — Emerging markets such as Russia are subject to greater risks than more developed markets, and financial turmoil in developed or other emerging markets or international sanctions against Russia or Russian individuals or businesses could have a material adverse effect on our business and could cause the value of our shares and ADSs to fluctuate widely” and “— Risks Relating to the Russian Federation — Economic risks — The Russian banking system is still developing, and another banking crisis or international sanctions could place severe liquidity constraints on our business.”

Subject to market conditions and improvement of our corporate ratings, we may access the international debt capital markets in order to diversify funding sources, further extend the maturity profile of our debt portfolio and reduce the refinancing risk with the peak repayments in 2015 and 2016. We cannot provide assurance that any refinancing or additional financing would be available on acceptable terms. This is reinforced by the existing uncertainty in the Russian and global economies, including concerns about sovereign debt in Europe and the United States. Any inability to satisfy our debt service obligations or to refinance debt on commercially reasonable terms could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Among other things, high levels of indebtedness, particularly the restrictive financial covenants in our credit facilities could potentially: (1) limit our ability to raise capital through debt financing; (2) limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in the markets in which we compete; (3) disadvantage our group relative to our competitors with superior financial resources; (4) lead to a loss of collateral pledged as security; (5) render us more vulnerable to general adverse economic and industry conditions; (6) require us to dedicate all or a substantial part of our cash flow to service our debt; and (7) limit or eliminate our ability to pay dividends.

We will require a significant amount of cash to fund our capital investment program.

Our business requires maintenance capital expenditures in order to maintain production levels adequate to meet the demand for our products, as well as other capital expenditures to implement our business strategy. We spent $375.8 million during 2013 on our capital expenditures (including $51.0 million in maintenance capital

expenditures). In planning for 2014, we followed our current investment policy focusing only on those items that are either close to completion or are of major importance for our operations. Our capital investment program currently contemplates capital spending of up to $1.0 billion in 2014 (including up to $114.2 million in maintenance capital expenditures). The majority of these planned capital expenditures relate to the development of the Elga coal deposit and which are required to be made pursuant to the terms of the subsoil license. The Elga capital expenditures will be financed from the project financing provided by Vnesheconombank in April 2014. We plan to spend up to $2.7 billion for the three-year period of 2014-2016 on capital investments (including up to $0.5 billion in maintenance capital expenditures). See “Item 4. Information on the Company — Capital Investment Program.”

Our ability to undertake and fund planned capital expenditures will depend on our ability to generate cash in the future and access debt and equity financing. This, to a certain extent, is subject to general economic and market conditions, financial, competitive, legislative, regulatory and other factors that are beyond our control. Attracting debt financing for our capital expenditures on commercially reasonable terms may be particularly challenging given our current high levels of indebtedness, restrictive covenants and pledges of shares and assets of our subsidiaries to our current lenders. Any deterioration in our operating performance, including due to any worsening of economic conditions, fall in commodity prices and/or financial, business or other factors, many of which are beyond our control, may adversely and materially affect our cash flow which may leave us unable to conduct our capital expenditure plans as necessary or required, which could adversely affect our operating facilities and ability to comply with applicable regulations.

Inflation could increase our costs and decrease operating margins.

In 2013, 2012 and 2011, the inflation rate in Russia was 6.5%, 6.6% and 6.1%, respectively, according to the Russian Federal State Statistics Service (“Rosstat”). Inflation increases our operating costs on monetary items, which are sensitive to rises in the general price level in Russia, including fuel and energy costs, cost of production services and salaries. However, the impact on the operating margins depends on market demand and prices for the main products. Despite the fact that inflation generally increases the costs of our products as well as the prices for our products, global demand could influence these prices downwards. Therefore, provided that the exchange rate of the ruble against the U.S. dollar remains unchanged, inflation could increase our costs and decrease operating margins.

A non-repayment of a loan by, or loss of accounts receivable from or prepayments to, certain related parties could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

From late 2009 to the end of 2013, we worked closely with certain Russian and foreign metallurgical plants and trading companies, which are disclosed as related parties in our U.S. GAAP financial statements (the “related metallurgical plants”). See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Transactions with related metallurgical plants” and “— Transactions with Metallurg-Trust.” We supplied raw materials to them and purchased their products pursuant to short-term supply and purchase contracts. By the end of 2013, the volume of transactions with the related metallurgical plants and Metallurg-Trust reduced significantly due to ceasing the partnership with these companies. Revenues from sales to these companies amounted to $230.0 million, $730.0 million and $820.0 million in the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Purchases from these companies amounted to $613.4 million, $874.6 million and $1,557.2 million in the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Revenues from re-sales of products purchased from these companies to third parties amounted to $570.5 million, $847.7 million and $1,293.5 million in the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Substantially all of the revenues from sales to, and revenues from re-sales of products purchased from, these companies were in the steel segment. In the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, these revenues represented 16.2%, 24.6% and 29.6%, respectively, of our group’s total steel segment revenues. As of December 31, 2013, trade accounts receivable and other accounts receivable from these companies totaled $256.5 million, with credit terms varying from 2 to 180 days. In addition, as of December 31, 2013, prepayments to these companies totaled $508.8 million. We closely monitor our balances with these companies, including our

trade accounts payable to them. As of December 31, 2013, we recorded allowances in the total amount of $734.9 million against the accounts receivable and prepayments from these companies. The allowance for doubtful accounts was recognized based on our estimates of future cash inflows from these balances.

In November 2011, the owners of the related metallurgical plants (“Estar Group”) entered into an agreement with us pursuant to which $944.5 million of debt, mostly consisting of accounts receivable owed to us by the Estar Group, was restructured into a loan agreement (the “Estar Loan Agreement”). The Estar Loan Agreement was secured by a pledge of shares in the major related metallurgical plants and/or their parent companies, as well as by suretyships from the related metallurgical plants and/or their parent companies. In September 2012, we extended the term of the loan for additional nine months until June 2013, reducing the amount of the loan to $876 million. During the year ended December 31, 2013, the loan was repaid only in the amount of $5.0 million. As the repayment was not effected in time we initiated legal proceedings against the borrower and sureties.

In September 2012, we acquired a 100% stake in Cognor Stahlhandel, a metallurgical trader, and, in November 2012, we acquired a 100% stake in Lomprom Rostov, a scrap collecting and processing company (subsequently renamed to Mechel Vtormet Rostov). Both entities formed part of pledged assets under the Estar Loan Agreement. Upon the acquisitions, the loan under the Estar Loan Agreement was partially repaid and reduced to $731 million. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions — Transactions with related metallurgical plants” and “— Transactions with Metallurg-Trust” and note 9 to the consolidated financial statements.

As of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, we evaluated the recoverability of the balances due from the related metallurgical plants and the Estar Group based on the fair value of the pledged assets which we determined to be negligible. This resulted in an $888.0 million and $896.4 million provision for amounts due from related parties under the Estar Loan Agreement as of December 31, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively. We have not taken possession of other assets (besides Cognor Stahlhandel and Lomprom Rostov) provided as collateral because these entities are burdened with a substantial amount of debt. Nevertheless, given the liquidity issues faced by these companies and the dependency of their businesses on the general condition of the steel sector as well as the reduction of the volume of transactions with the related metallurgical plants by the end of 2013 made by us, we may fail to collect accounts receivable from and suffer loss of prepayments to these companies, which could have an adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

Russian law restrictions on depositary receipt programs limit our access to equity capital and constrain our refinancing options.

Russian companies are limited in their ability to place shares in circulation outside of Russia, including in the form of depositary receipts such as our common American Depositary Shares (“common ADSs”) and our global depositary shares representing our common shares (“GDSs”), as well as our preferred American Depositary Shares representing our preferred shares (“preferred ADSs”, the common ADSs and the preferred ADSs together referred to as “ADSs”) due to Russian securities regulations. We have received permission from the Russian Federal Financial Markets Service (“FFMS”) for up to 40% of our common shares to be circulated abroad through depositary receipt programs, which was the maximum amount allowed at that time. Later we also received FFMS permission for a total of 41,627,074 preferred shares to be circulated through depositary receipt programs, representing 30% of the total number of issued preferred shares, which was the maximum amount allowed at that time. Over the last few years, this limit has been gradually reduced by the regulator. Current regulations provide that no more than 25%, 15% or 5% of the total number of outstanding shares of a certain class may be placed or circulated outside the Russian Federation depending on the company’s listing status on a Russian stock exchange (“A”, “B” or “V” and “I”). Our common and preferred shares have a listing status “A-1” on Closed Joint Stock Company MICEX Stock Exchange (“MICEX”). It is unclear whether the FFMS’s approvals of higher amounts prior to the establishment of these lower limits will be allowed to remain in place. Our common ADSs and GDSs together currently account for approximately 35% of our common shares, and

accordingly we believe we cannot raise additional equity financing through placement of common shares in the form of depositary receipts. If the current limits are enforced Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas (the “depositary”) may be forced to cancel some of our common ADSs and GDSs and deliver a corresponding number of the underlying common shares to holders of common ADSs or GDSs. The Russian government or its agencies may also impose other restrictions on international financings by Russian issuers.

Changes in the exchange rate of the ruble against the U.S. dollar may materially adversely affect our results of operations.

A majority of our sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, whereas the majority of our direct costs are incurred in rubles. Depreciation in real terms of the ruble against the U.S. dollar may result in a decrease in our costs relative to our revenues. Conversely, appreciation in real terms of the ruble against the U.S. dollar may materially adversely affect our results of operations if the prices we are able to charge for our products do not increase sufficiently to compensate for the increase in real terms in our ruble-denominated expenditures. In 2013, the ruble appreciated in real terms against the U.S. dollar by 2.7% as compared with 2012, according to the CBR.

Limitations on the conversion of rubles into foreign currencies in Russia could cause us to default on our obligations.

A significant part of our indebtedness and our major capital expenditures are denominated and payable in various foreign currencies, including the U.S. dollar and euro. Russian legislation currently permits the conversion of ruble revenues into foreign currency without limitation. However, if the Russian authorities impose limitations on the convertibility of the ruble or other restrictions on operations with rubles and foreign currencies in the event of an economic crisis or otherwise, there may be delays or other difficulties in converting rubles into foreign currency to make a payment or delays in or restrictions on the transfer of foreign currency. This, in turn, could limit our ability to meet our payment and debt obligations, which could result in the loss of suppliers, acceleration of debt obligations and cross-defaults and, consequently, have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our business could be materially adversely affected if creditors of certain of our subsidiaries accelerate their debt.

We have merged and intend to continue to merge certain subsidiaries for operational reasons from time to time. Under Russian law, such mergers are considered to be a reorganization and the merged subsidiaries are required to publish the information regarding this reorganization twice with a monthly interval. Russian law also provides that, for a period of 30 days after date of latest publication, the creditors of merging subsidiaries have a right to file a claim seeking acceleration of the reorganized subsidiaries’ indebtedness and demand reimbursement for applicable losses, however, the court may not accept such a claim against subsidiaries existing in the form of an open joint-stock company if it concludes that the creditor had adequate security. In the event that we undertake any such merger and all or part of our subsidiaries’ indebtedness is accelerated, we and such subsidiaries may not have the ability to raise the funds necessary for repayment, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may incur impairments to goodwill or other long-lived assets which could negatively affect our future profits.

At each reporting date, we review the carrying value of our long-lived assets, including property, plant and equipment, investments, goodwill, licenses to use mineral reserves (inclusive of capitalized costs related to asset retirement obligations and value beyond proven and probable reserves), and intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be fully recoverable.

Recoverability of long-lived assets, excluding goodwill, is assessed by a comparison of the carrying amount of the asset (or the group of assets, including the asset in question, that represents the lowest level of separately-identifiable cash flows) to the total estimated undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the asset or group of assets. If the estimated future net undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying amount of the asset or group of assets, the asset or group of assets is considered impaired and impairment charge is recognized equal to the amount required to reduce the carrying amount of the asset or group of assets to their fair value.

Fair value is determined by discounting the cash flows expected to be generated by the asset, when the quoted market prices are not available for the long-lived assets. Estimated future cash flows are based on our assumptions and are subject to risk and uncertainty that are considered in the discount rate applied in the goodwill impairment testing. For assets and groups of assets relating to and including the licenses to use mineral reserves, future cash flows include estimates of recoverable minerals that will be obtained from proven and probable reserves and estimated value beyond proven and probable mineral reserves, mineral prices (considering current and historical prices, price trends and other related factors), production levels, capital and reclamation costs, all based on the life of mine models prepared by our engineers. Our reporting units with goodwill allocated for the testing purposes represent single entities with one component of business in each case.

Goodwill is assessed for impairment by using the fair value based method. We determine fair value by utilizing discounted cash flows. Goodwill is tested for impairment in two steps. Under the first step we compare the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying value. If the fair value is less than the carrying value, goodwill is impaired. Under the second step the amount of goodwill impairment is measured by the amount that the reporting unit’s goodwill carrying value exceeds the implied fair value of goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill can only be determined by deducting the fair value of all tangible and intangible net assets (including unrecognized intangible assets) of the reporting unit from the fair value of the reporting unit (as determined in the first step). In this step, the fair value of the reporting unit is allocated to all of the reporting unit’s assets and liabilities (a hypothetical purchase price allocation). If goodwill and another asset (or asset group) of a reporting unit are tested for impairment at the same time, the other asset (or asset group) shall be tested for impairment before goodwill. If the asset group was impaired, the impairment loss would be recognized prior to goodwill being tested for impairment.

When performing impairment tests, we use assumptions that include estimates regarding the discount rates, growth rates and expected changes in selling prices, sales volumes and operating costs, as well as capital expenditures and working capital requirements during the forecasted period. We estimate discount rates using after-tax rates that reflect current market rates for investments of similar risk. The growth rates are based on our growth forecasts, which are largely in line with industry trends. Changes in selling prices and direct costs are based on historical experience and expectations of future changes in the market.

Based on the results of the impairment analysis of long-lived assets, including definite-lived intangibles and goodwill we performed during the year ended December 31, 2013, an impairment loss of $38.3 million was recognized. This amount includes impairment of goodwill recognized in power, steel and mining segments as shown in the tables below:


Company	Segment	Impairment Loss of Goodwill as for the Year Ended December 31, 2013
		(In millions of U.S. dollars)
Kuzbass Power Sales Company	Power		28.1
Ekos-plus	Mining		4.1
WNL Staal	Steel		2.3
Ramateks	Steel		2.2
Mechel Transport	Mining		1.6

Total			38.3

The amount of goodwill on our balance sheet as of December 31, 2013 that is subject to impairment analysis in the future is $687.8 million or 5% of our total assets. This amount includes goodwill of Yakutugol, Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant and Port Posiet of $408.9 million, $89.5 million and $23.1 million, respectively, the fair values of which were 17%, 29% and 17% over their carrying values, respectively, as of December 31, 2013. See note 23 to the consolidated financial statements.

We continue to monitor relevant circumstances, including consumer levels, general economic conditions and market prices for our products, and the potential impact that such circumstances might have on the valuation of our goodwill and long-lived assets. It is possible that changes in such circumstances, or in the numerous variables associated with our judgments, assumptions and estimates made in assessing the appropriate valuation of goodwill and recoverability other long-lived assets, could in the future require us to further reduce our goodwill and other long-lived assets and record related non-cash impairment charges. If we are required to record additional impairment charges, this could have a material adverse impact on our results of operations or financial position.

Given the competition for qualified accounting personnel in Russia, we may be unable to retain our key accounting staff, which could disrupt our ability to timely and accurately report U.S. GAAP financial information.

Our subsidiaries maintain their books and records in local currencies and prepare accounting reports in accordance with local accounting principles and practices. In particular, each of our Russian subsidiaries maintains its books in rubles and prepares separate unconsolidated financial statements in accordance with Russian accounting standards. For every reporting period, we translate, adjust and combine these Russian statutory financial statements to prepare consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. This is a time-consuming task requiring us to have accounting personnel experienced in internationally accepted accounting standards. We believe there is a shortage in Russia of experienced accounting personnel with knowledge of internationally accepted accounting standards. Moreover, there is an increasing demand for such personnel as more Russian companies are beginning to prepare financial statements on the basis of internationally accepted accounting standards. Such competition makes it difficult for us to hire and retain such personnel, and our key accounting staff may leave us.

Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry

We operate in cyclical industries, and any local or global downturn, whether or not primarily affecting the mining and/or steel industries, may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our mining segment sells coal (metallurgical and steam), iron ore and coke. These commodities are traded in markets throughout the world and are influenced by various factors beyond our control, such as global economic cycles and economic growth rates. Prices of these products have varied significantly in the past and continue to be lower than their peaks in recent years due to soft demand.

Our steel segment sells steel products, including semi-finished products, long products of wide range of steel grades, carbon and stainless flat products, wire products, forgings and stampings and others. The steel industry is highly cyclical in nature because the industries in which steel customers operate are subject to changes in general economic conditions. The demand for steel products thus generally correlates to macroeconomic fluctuations in the economies in which steel producers sell products, as well as in the global economy. The prices of steel products are influenced by many factors, including demand, worldwide production capacity, capacity-utilization rates, raw materials costs, exchange rates, trade barriers and improvements in steel-making processes. Steel prices have experienced, and in the future may experience, significant fluctuations as a result of these and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.

Our ferroalloys segment sells ferrosilicon. This ferroalloy product is primarily used in the manufacture of steel. Thus, market demand for ferrosilicon is very closely linked with the market for steel and generally follows the cycles of the steel industry.

Our power segment generates and supplies electricity. Power demand in Russia depends on its consumption by the industrial sector. In Russia, the steel and mining industries are major consumers of power and the recent declines in production by steel and mining companies has impacted demand for power. Therefore, the market demand for the power produced by our power segment is affected by many of the same factors and cycles that affect our mining and metals businesses. Due to government price regulation and the current shortage of power generation capacity in Russia, reduced demand for power has not impacted power prices. However, as Russian regulated power prices are set in rubles, if power prices are not increased steadily they may decline on a real dollar basis when ruble devaluation and inflation are taken into account.

As a result of the 2008-2009 global economic crisis and the subsequent 2010-2011 global economic slowdown, the demand and prices for our products sharply declined. The continuing stagnation of the economy of the European region, the 2012-2013 economic slowdowns in the Asian region, as well as the existing uncertainty as to global economic recovery in the near future and international sanctions against Russia and Russian individuals or businesses may have adverse consequences for our customers and our business as a whole. See “Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors — Risks Relating to the Russian Federation — Emerging markets such as Russia are subject to greater risks than more developed markets, and financial turmoil in developed or other emerging markets or international sanctions against Russia or Russian individuals or businesses could have a material adverse effect on our business and could cause the value of our shares and ADSs to fluctuate widely.”

Prices for our products, including coal, iron ore, metals, ferrosilicon and power, as well as the prices of coal, iron ore, ferroalloys, power and natural gas and other commodities and materials we purchase from third parties for the production of our products, fluctuate substantially over relatively short periods of time and expose us to commodity price risk. We do not use options, derivatives or swaps to manage commodity price risk. We use our vertically integrated business model and intersegment sales, as well as short-term and long-term purchase and sales contracts with third party suppliers and customers, to manage such risk. In addition, the length and pricing terms of our sales contracts on certain types of products are affected and regulated by orders issued by Russian antimonopoly authorities. In particular, pursuant to a directive issued to us by the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (“FAS”) in August 2008, we entered into long-term contracts for supply of certain grades of our coking coal with a formula of price calculation and with fixed volumes for the entire period of the contract. See “—Antimonopoly regulation could lead to sanctions with respect to the subsidiaries we have acquired or established or our prices, sales volumes and business practices.” Terms of sales of other types of our products may also be affected by regulations of the authorities. We cannot assure you that our strategies and contracting practices will be successful in managing our pricing risk or that they will not result in liabilities. If our strategies to manage commodity price risk and the impact of business cycles and fluctuations in demand are not successful, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The steel and mining industries are highly competitive, and we may not be able to compete successfully.

We face competition from Russian and international steel and mining companies. Consolidation in the steel and mining sectors globally has led to the creation of several large producers, some of which have greater financial resources and more modern facilities than our group. We also face price-based competition from producers in emerging market countries, including, in particular, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Turkey. Increased competition could result in more competitive pricing and reduce our operating margins.

Our competitiveness is based in part on our operations in Russia having a lower cost of production than competitors in higher-cost locations. We have been facing a consistent upward trend in the past several years in production costs, particularly with respect to wages and transportation. For example, our rail transportation costs increased consistently during the last three years with rail tariff increases of 8.0% in 2011, 6.0% in 2012 and 7.0% in 2013. See “— A decrease in railway infrastructure capacity and an increase in railway tariffs expose us to uncertainties regarding transportation costs of raw materials and steel products,” “— Increasing costs of electricity, natural gas and labor could materially adversely affect our operating margins” and “— Inflation could increase our costs and decrease operating margins.” If these production costs continue to increase in the

jurisdictions in which we operate, our competitive advantage will be diminished, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Terrorist attacks and threats, escalation of military activity, as well as massive cyber attacks or incidents, and government regulation in response to such attacks or acts of war may negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Terrorist attacks and threats, escalation of military activity, as well as massive cyber attacks or incidents, and an increase in government regulation in response to such attacks or acts of war may negatively affect our business. There could be delays or losses in transportation and deliveries of our products to our customers, increased government regulation and decreased sales due to disruptions in the businesses of our customers. It is possible that any such occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Changes in our estimates of reserves or failure to implement mine development plans could result in lower than expected revenues, higher than expected costs or decreased operating margins.

We base our reserve information on engineering, economic and geological data assembled and analyzed by our staff, which includes various engineers and geologists, and which is reviewed by independent mining engineers only periodically, approximately once in three years. The reserve estimates as to both quantity and quality are periodically updated to reflect production from the reserves and new drilling, engineering or other data received. There are numerous uncertainties inherent in estimating quantities and qualities of and costs to mine recoverable reserves, including many factors beyond our control. Estimates of economically recoverable reserves and net cash flows necessarily depend upon a number of variable factors and assumptions, such as geological and mining conditions which may not be fully identified by available exploration data or which may differ from our experience in current operations, projected rates of production in the future, historical production from the area compared with production from other similar producing areas, the assumed effects of regulation and taxes by governmental agencies and assumptions concerning prices, operating costs, mining technology improvements, severance and excise tax, development costs and reclamation costs, all of which may vary considerably from actual results. In addition, it may take many years from the initial phase of drilling before production is possible. During that time, the economic feasibility of exploiting a discovery may change as a result of changes in the market price of the relevant commodity. Mine development plans may have to be revised due to geological and mining conditions and other factors described above, as well as due to shortages in capital funding. Our planned development projects also may not result in significant additional reserves and we may not have continuing success developing new mines or expanding existing mines beyond our existing reserves. In addition, we have not yet applied for all of the permits required, or constructed the mines necessary, to use all of our U.S. reserves. We may be unable to obtain such permits. Some of these permits are becoming increasingly difficult and expensive to obtain and the authorization process continues to lengthen.

The financial performance of our mining segment depends substantially on our ability to mine coal reserves that have the geological characteristics that enable them to be mined at competitive costs and to meet the quality needed by our customers. Actual tonnage recovered from identified reserve areas or properties and revenues and expenditures with respect to our reserves may vary materially from estimates. Replacement reserves may not be available when required or, if available, may not be capable of being mined at costs comparable to those characteristic of the depleting mines. Our ability to obtain other reserves through acquisitions in the future could be limited by restrictions under our existing or future debt agreements, competition from other mining companies for attractive properties, the lack of suitable acquisition candidates or the inability to acquire mining properties on commercially reasonable terms. Furthermore, we may not be able to mine all of our reserves as profitably as we do at our current operations due to increases in wages, power and fuel prices and other factors.

Therefore, changes in our estimates of reserves or failure to implement mine development plans could result in lower than expected revenues, higher than expected costs or decreased operating margins.

The calculation of reserves and the development of the Elga coal deposit are subject to certain risks due to the license obligations and capital costs involved in developing the required infrastructure.

The risks associated with the development of the Elga coal deposit have the potential to impact the project’s legal or economic viability, including the calculation of reserves. Key risks that have been identified include the following: (1) the subsoil license for the Elga coal deposit could be suspended or terminated if construction deadlines and operational milestones are not met or we could be required to extend the license under less favorable terms; (2) the project requires significant capital expenditures to develop the required production and washing facilities and infrastructure, and increases in planned capital and operating costs could make the project uneconomical because of the project’s sensitivity to these costs; (3) the economic viability of the project is dependent upon the full use of the rail line; (4) the project is very sensitive to market prices for coal because of the high initial capital costs; and (5) the insufficient capacity of ports in the Russian Far East where the Elga deposit is located may limit the distribution of coal mined at the Elga deposit. In addition, capital expenditures for the rail line were not considered in the calculation of reserves estimates as we do not plan to use the rail line solely for delivery of coal from the Elga deposit. While we have already invested approximately $1.9 billion in the development of the Elga coal deposit, its further development requires an additional approximately $1.9 billion over 2014-2016. In March 2014, our subsidiary Elgaugol signed two loan agreements with Vnesheconombank for a $2.5 billion project financing to develop the Elga coal deposit. In case of Elgaugol’s failure to comply with the construction deadlines, operational milestones and other terms of the loan agreements, Vnesheconombank may suspend or terminate the financing. The realization of any of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Successful implementation of our strategy to expand our special steel long products sales and coal sales depends on our ability to increase our export sales of these products.

Our strategy to expand our special steel long products sales is dependent on our ability to increase our exports of these products to other countries. We face a number of obstacles to this strategy, including oversupply and low demand, trade barriers and sales and distribution challenges, as well as restrictions imposed by antimonopoly legislation and regulatory orders. See “Item 8. Financial Information — Litigation — Antimonopoly.”

Likewise, our strategy to increase our sales of coal, particularly high-grade coking coal, is substantially dependent on our ability to increase our exports of these products through ports in the Russian Far East to other countries, particularly Japan, China, South Korea and other Pacific Rim countries.

Currently, key ports in the Russian Far East have limited cargo-handling capacity, lack adequate port facilities and have old and worn-out equipment. In particular, the limited capacity of the railways connecting to these ports is a critical impediment to the further development of port infrastructure and the entire transportation system in the Russian Far East. Existing railway sections must be reconstructed, the logistics structure improved and the actions of the cargo owners, the ports’ management and Russian Railways, an open joint-stock company wholly owned by the Russian government, must be better coordinated. Increasing the capacity of the ports in the Russian Far East is one of the key issues identified in the Transportation Strategy of the Russian Federation. In addition, major track repairs by Russian Railways in the summer months result in restriction on cargo volumes and delays.

In particular, the current annual capacity of the Baikal-Amur Mainline to which our Elga deposit is connected by our private rail line, is in the range of 12 to 15 million tonnes, which will need to expand substantially to meet our needs when Elga Open Pit reaches its full planned annual production capacity of 20.0 million tonnes of saleable coal in 2024. Russian Railways plans to double the capacity of the Baikal-Amur Mainline by 2020 as well as increase capacity of the Komsomolsk-on-Amur-to-Sovetskaya Gavan segment, which connects the Baikal-Amur Mainline to Port Vanino, to 32.6 million tonnes by 2016. However, this increase may not be sufficient as third party users of rail lines may also substantially increase their cargo volumes on the Baikal-Amur and Trans-Siberian Mainlines and further in the direction from Komsomolsk-on-Amur to

Sovetskaya Gavan transportation hub. We cannot guarantee that these development projects by Russian Railways will proceed according to current plans. In addition, there is acute competition among Russian coal exporters for existing port capacity. In light of this shortage, Russian coal producers have endeavored to acquire ports or separate terminals to ensure the export of their products.

Our ability to increase coking coal export volumes is also limited by requirements to first satisfy Russian domestic coal demand, pursuant to a FAS directive issued to us in August 2008. See “— Antimonopoly regulation could lead to sanctions with respect to the subsidiaries we have acquired or established or our prices, sales volumes and business practices.” A failure to successfully manage the obstacles and tasks involved in the implementation of our export sales expansion strategy could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

In the event the title to any company we acquired is successfully challenged, we risk losing our ownership interest in that company or its assets.

Almost all of our Russian assets consist of companies formed during the course of Russian privatizations in the 1990s and early 2000s. In particular, Southern Kuzbass Coal Company and the other mining companies which were subsequently merged into Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, as well as Korshunov Mining Plant and Moscow Coke and Gas Plant, were privatized in the early 1990s. Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant was also privatized in the early 1990s. Elgaugol OAO was privatized in 1998 and Yakutugol was privatized in 2002. In general, we acquired shares in these companies from third parties after their respective privatizations, except for a 25%+1 share stake in Yakutugol, which was acquired pursuant to a state auction in 2005. We acquired the remaining stake in Yakutugol and a 68.86% stake in Elgaugol OAO in 2007 from two state-owned companies in a tender process.

The Russian statute of limitations for challenging privatization transactions is three years. However, because Russian privatization legislation is vague, internally inconsistent and in conflict with other legislation, including conflicts between federal and local privatization legislation, and the statute of limitations for challenging certain actions related to privatization may be argued to begin to run only upon the discovery of a violation, many privatizations are vulnerable to challenge. In the event that any title to, or our ownership stakes in, any of the privatized companies acquired by us is subject to challenge as having been improperly privatized and we are unable to defeat this claim, we risk losing our ownership interest in the company or its assets, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

In addition, under Russian law transactions in shares may be invalidated on many grounds, including a sale of shares by a person without the right to dispose of such shares, breach of interested party and/or major transaction rules and/or the terms of transaction approvals issued by governmental authorities, or failure to register the share transfer in the securities register. As a result, defects in earlier transactions with shares of our subsidiaries (where such shares were acquired from third parties) may cause our title to such shares to be subject to challenge.

Our business could be adversely affected if we fail to obtain or extend necessary subsoil licenses and mining and other permits or fail to comply with the terms of our subsoil licenses and mining and other permits.

Our business depends on the continuing validity of our subsoil licenses and the issuance of new and extended subsoil licenses and our compliance with the terms thereof. In particular, in estimating our reserves, we have assumed that we will be able to renew our Russian subsoil licenses as and when necessary in the ordinary course of business so that we will be able to exploit the resources under such licenses for the operational life of the relevant subsoil plot. See “Item 4. Information on the Company — Regulatory Matters — Subsoil Licensing in Russia — Extension of licenses” and “— Mining Segment — Mineral reserves (coal, iron ore and limestone).” However, license extension is subject to the licensee being in compliance with the terms of the license. Our experience with license extensions and publicly available information about current market practice and available

court practice suggest that regulatory authorities tend to focus on such terms of the license as production levels, operational milestones and license payments, which are considered to be material terms of the license. Nevertheless, there is no assurance that this approach will be consistently applied by the regulatory authorities and the courts and that there will be no changes to this approach in the future. Regulatory authorities exercise considerable discretion in the timing of license issuance, extension of licenses and monitoring licensees’ compliance with license terms. Subsoil licenses and related agreements typically contain certain environmental, safety and production commitments. See “Item 4. Information on the Company — Regulatory Matters — Subsoil Licensing in Russia — Maintenance and termination of licenses.” If regulatory authorities determine that we have violated the material terms of our licenses, it could lead to rejection in license extension or suspension or termination of our subsoil licenses, and to administrative and civil liability. The termination or suspension of certain of our subsoil licenses constitutes an event of default under certain of our credit facilities and loans, and is likely to result in a cross-default in other of our credit facilities and loans. In addition, requirements imposed by relevant authorities may be costly to implement and result in delays in production. Our subsoil licenses expire on dates falling in 2014 through 2037. See the tables setting forth expiry dates of our Russian subsoil licenses in “Item 4. Information on the Company — Mining Segment” and reserves information. Accordingly, these factors may seriously impair our ability to operate our business and realize our reserves which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We are currently in compliance with the material terms of our Russian subsoil licenses, except for the following. We failed to commence commercial coal production at the Raspadsk license area (part of Olzherassky Open Pit) in 2009 as required by the license due to unfavorable mine economics, but expect to commence such production in the second quarter of 2015 provided coal prices recover sufficiently. In addition, we commenced the development of the coal deposits at the Yerunakovsk-1, Yerunakovsk-2 and Yerunakovsk-3 license areas, but failed to commence commercial production at these license areas in 2011 as required by the licenses due to unfavorable mine economics. Moreover, we cannot fully develop the deposit at the Yerunakovsk-3 license area due to the presence of a third-party sludge pond in this area. The Yerunakovsk-2 and Yerunakovsk-3 license areas are not counted for the purposes of our coal reserves.

Our Bluestone operations in the United States are subject to risks relating to mining and other permits required under U.S. federal and state laws. See “— Risks Relating to Our Business in the United States — We must obtain, maintain and comply with numerous U.S. governmental permits and approvals for our operations in the United States, which can be costly and time consuming, and our failure to obtain, renew or comply with necessary permits and approvals could negatively impact our business.” The federal agencies responsible for issuing the necessary permits required to conduct mining operations in the United States have increased their scrutiny of permit applications. This is discussed in greater detail below. This has resulted in the permitting process taking longer and becoming more costly in recent years. In addition, citations for violations of those permits have become more frequent and remediation costs associated with correcting such violations have increased substantially.

Increasing costs of electricity, natural gas and labor could materially adversely affect our operating margins.

In 2013, our Russian operations purchased approximately 5.5 billion kilowatt-hours (“kWh”) of electricity at a total cost of $425.9 million, implying an average cost of 7.8 cents per kWh. In 2012, our Russian operations purchased approximately 6.0 billion kWh of electricity at a total cost of $433.3 million, implying an average cost of 7.3 cents per kWh. The restructuring of the Russian power sector that began in 2001 is substantially complete and all government regulation of electricity prices in the wholesale power market, except for the sales to household consumers and similar type of consumers, expired in 2011. According to the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, the average increase in market prices on the retail electricity market was 8.5-8.7% in 2013, and is expected to be in the range of 7.0-7.3% in 2014. Further price increases for electricity may also occur in the future as the power generating companies created in the restructuring are financed by and controlled to a greater extent by the private sector.

Our Russian operations also purchase significant amounts of natural gas, primarily for the production of electricity at our own co-generation facilities, from Novatek OAO (“Novatek”), Russia’s largest independent producer of natural gas, and Gazprom OAO (“Gazprom”), the government-controlled dominant gas producer and the owner of the unified gas supply system of Russia. Domestic natural gas prices are regulated by the Russian government. In 2013, we purchased 1,999.2 million cubic meters of gas at a total cost of $208.4 million. In 2012, we purchased 2,214.3 million cubic meters of gas at a total cost of $206.5 million. Russian domestic natural gas prices are significantly below Western European levels, which provides us with a cost advantage over our competitors, an advantage which is expected to diminish as Russian domestic gas prices approach Western European levels. Starting from the second half of 2013, the Russian Federal Tariff Service (the “FTS”) set wholesale prices of gas produced by Gazprom for domestic consumers on the territory of the Russian Federation, except for households, in the range of $58.9 to $142.4 per thousand cubic meters, depending on the region of the Russian Federation where the gas is purchased.

Following raw materials used in the production process and energy related costs, our labor costs are the next most significant operational cost. Labor costs in Russia have historically been significantly lower than those in the more developed market economies of North America and Western Europe for similarly skilled employees. However, the average wage in Russia has been rising in recent years. According to Rosstat, after adjusting for inflation, the average wage in the Russian Federation has risen at the annual rate of 2.8%, 8.4% and 5.2% in 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively. Moreover, labor costs in Russia are indexed to and adjusted for inflation. We believe our advantage with respect to our competitors with foreign operations that have historically had to pay higher average wages than those paid in Russia may be reduced.

Higher costs of electricity, natural gas and labor could negatively impact our operating margins, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

A decrease in railway infrastructure capacity and an increase in railway tariffs expose us to uncertainties regarding transportation costs of raw materials and steel products.

Railway transportation is our principal means of transporting raw materials and steel products to our facilities and to customers in Russia and abroad. The Russian rail system is controlled by Russian Railways, which is a state-sanctioned monopoly responsible for the management of all Russian railroads. The Russian government sets domestic rail freight prices and the terms of transportation, such as, including, terms related to the type of rolling stock to be used for transportation of certain types of cargo; estimated minimum tonnage for the purposes of determining the applicable tariff and others. These rail freight prices are subject to annual adjustment based on, among other factors, inflation and the funding requirements of Russian Railways’ capital investment program, which is in turn affected by the acute need to upgrade track infrastructure and passenger- and cargo-handling facilities.

The most significant railcar owners are JSC Freight One, JSC Federal Freight, OJSC Novaya Perevozochnaya Kompaniya, NefteTransService ZAO, Globaltrans and Rail Garant. Our cargoes are currently transported in the railcars owned by our subsidiary Mecheltrans or third party railcar owners, mainly to transport coal products and iron ore concentrate. At present, only these third party railcar owners and Russian Railways possess a sufficiently extensive railcar fleet to service our present and future requirements. Mecheltrans works with third party railcar owners to arrange for transportation and forwarding of cargoes with their railcars. In 2013, our freight volume transported by JSC Federal Freight, OJSC Novaya Perevozochnaya Kompaniya, NefteTransService ZAO, Globaltrans and Rail Garant amounted to 17.9 million tonnes, for which we paid $164.4 million. In 2012, our freight volume transported by JSC Freight One, OJSC Novaya Perevozochnaya Kompaniya, NefteTransService ZAO and JSC Federal Freight amounted to 9.6 million tonnes, for which we paid $130.6 million.

In 2013, railway tariffs were indexed once, which resulted in a 7.0% tariff increase. Starting from January 1, 2014, railway tariffs have not been indexed. However, despite the preservation of tariff levels which should have

a positive impact on our business, a disruption may occur in the transportation of our raw materials and products due to the oversupply of rolling stock which further aggravates the insufficient capacity of the railway infrastructure. Congestion of the railway infrastructure due to the oversupply of rolling stock may also result in increases in cargo delivery terms. In addition, an increase in prices of rolling stock operators’ services may occur in the future due to lower turnover of railcars. All of the above factors may negatively impact our operating margin and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We face certain trade restrictions in the export of ferrosilicon to the European Union.

In February 2008, an antidumping duty in the amount of 17.8% was imposed on exports to the European Union of ferrosilicon produced by our subsidiary Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant for a period of five years. In February 2013, the European Commission initiated an expiry review of the antidumping measures applicable to imports of ferrosilicon. In April 2014, the antidumping duty was extended for another five years. The U.S. Department of Commerce has recently initiated an antidumping procedure against imports of ferrosilicon from Russia, including ferrosilicon produced by Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant. We cannot predict the outcome of this procedure and whether the antidumping duty will be imposed. We may face additional antidumping duties and other trade restrictions in the European Union, the United States and other markets in the future. See “Item 4. Information on the Company — Ferroalloys Segment — Trade restrictions.”

We benefit from Russia’s tariffs and duties on imported steel, many of which have been reduced upon Russia’s WTO membership and may be eliminated in the future.

Russia has in place import tariffs with respect to certain imported steel products. These tariffs generally amount to 5-15% of the value of the imports. Almost all of our sales of steel products in Russia were protected by these import tariffs in 2013. The Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation entered into a Customs Union and implemented a Common Customs Tariff, which came into force on January 1, 2010, reducing import duties on stainless rolled products from 15% to 10%. Creation of this Customs Union, as well as other actions and decisions of Russian authorities in respect of tariffs and duties, can lead to further reduction of import duties.

On November 20, 2013, the Eurasian Economic Commission initiated an antidumping investigation against imports of steel bars originating in Ukraine. We will benefit from protection of Customs Union’s market from low-priced import of steel bars in case of antidumping duties are imposed.

Upon Russia’s entry into the World Trade Organization (“WTO”), the import tariffs and duties of Russia were reduced or eliminated, depending on type of steel products. In particular, according to the WTO accession terms Russian import duties on most types of steel products have been reduced to 5%, causing increased competition in the Russian steel market from foreign producers and exporters.

Our exports to the European Union are subject to REACH regulations.

Chemical substances contained in some of our products, as well as by-products and waste, which we export to or produce in the European Union are subject to regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 on registration, evaluation, authorization and restrictions of use of chemicals (“REACH”) that entered into force on June 1, 2007. Under REACH, we must provide a registration dossier for such substances to the European Chemical Agency (“ECHA”). In addition, we must provide the information about the registered substances usage and utilization to the competent authorities of the E.U. Member States and downstream users upon request. In accordance with REACH, prior to December 1, 2008, we pre-registered substantially all of the substances that we intended to export to or produce in the European Union. As a next step in accordance with the REACH implementation schedule, prior to December 1, 2010, we registered with the ECHA all of the substances that we export to or produce in the European Union in an amount over 1,000 tonnes per year, and which are subject to REACH registration. We are in compliance with current REACH requirements and we will have to maintain certain resources to ensure compliance with further developing REACH requirements.

REACH provides for a special authorization regime for substances of high concern, including those that are identified from scientific evidence as causing probable serious effects to humans or the environment on a case-by-case basis. To obtain authorization, a manufacturer of substances of high concern is generally required to demonstrate that the risk from the use of the substance is adequately controlled. All substances under the authorization regime are subject to restrictions with respect to manufacture, placing on the market or use. The European Commission may amend or withdraw the authorization, even one given for adequate control, if suitable substitutes have become available. Currently, none of our products contain substances which may be subject to the authorization regime. There is no assurance that our products will not be subject to further restrictions or bans if any substance of high concern is detected in our products in excess of statutory thresholds, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The European Commission has planned several revisions of the REACH Regulation taking place until 2019. Compliance with changes to the existing regulations may lead to increased costs, modifications in operating practices and/or further restrictions affecting our products. Any such changes and/or modifications could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We are subject to mining risks.

Our operations, like those of other mining companies, are subject to all of the hazards and risks normally associated with the exploration, development and production of natural resources, any of which could result in production shortfalls or damage to persons or property.

In particular, hazards associated with our open pit mining operations include, but are not limited to: (1) flooding of the open pit; (2) collapses of the open pit wall; (3) accidents associated with the operation of large open pit mining and rock transportation equipment; (4) accidents associated with the preparation and ignition of large-scale open pit blasting operations; (5) deterioration of production quality due to weather; and (6) hazards associated with the disposal of mineralized waste water, such as groundwater and waterway contamination.

Hazards associated with our underground mining operations include but are not limited to: (1) underground fires and explosions, including those caused by flammable gas; (2) cave-ins or ground falls; (3) emissions of gases and toxic chemicals; (4) flooding; (5) sinkhole formation and ground subsidence; and (6) other accidents and conditions resulting from drilling, blasting and removing and processing material from an underground mine, including due to human error.

We are at risk of experiencing any and all of these hazards. The occurrence of such hazards could delay production, increase production costs, result in injury to persons or death, and damage to property, as well as liability for us. For example, on May 30, 2008, there was a cave-in at V.I. Lenina Underground (which led to suspension of operation for 17 calendar days) and on July 29, 2008 there was a methane flash (which led to suspension of operation for 67 calendar days). Both accidents involved multiple casualties, and the first accident resulted in five fatalities. In 2010 through 2012, there were a number of occasions of self-heating and spontaneous ignition of coal as well as an increase of coal dust levels each of which resulted in the temporary suspension of mining operations at the longwalls of Sibirginskaya Underground, V.I. Lenina Underground and Olzherasskaya-Novaya Underground. There were no casualties involved in any of these occasions. In 2013, there were also a number of occasions which caused the temporary suspension of mining operations, but had no significant effect on our business. We have been and are still implementing measures to cure the reasons of these occasions and we are cooperating with the competent governmental authorities, in particular, the Russian Federal Service for Ecological, Technological and Nuclear Supervision (“Rostekhnadzor”).

The risk of occurrence of these hazards is also exacerbated by the significant level of wear of the equipment of our mining enterprises. We are conducting a program of phased replacement and refurbishment of obsolete equipment in order to meet safety requirements at our most hazardous facilities. See “Item 8. Financial Information — Litigation — Environmental and safety.”

Abnormal weather conditions and natural hazards could negatively impact our business.

Our production facilities are located in different climate and weather conditions, and abnormal weather changes and natural hazards could affect their operations. Interruptions in electricity supply and transport communication could lead to delays in deliveries of raw materials to our production facilities and finished products to consumers, as well as a suspension of production. In addition, the existence of abnormally low temperatures for a long period of time may limit the work of the crane equipment and mining-and-transport equipment. For example, in 2012 operations at our open pit mines in Russia were suspended for a period of 2 to 7 days due to abnormally low temperatures. In 2013, such suspensions ranged from 2 to 16 days. Negative impact of such abnormal or extreme climate and weather conditions may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

More stringent environmental laws and regulations or more stringent enforcement or findings that we have violated environmental laws and regulations could result in higher compliance costs and significant fines and penalties, cleanup costs and compensatory damages, or require significant capital investment, or even result in the suspension of our operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation and prospects.

Our operations and properties are subject to environmental laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate. For instance, our operations generate large amounts of pollutants and waste, some of which are hazardous, such as benzapiren, sulfur oxide, sulfuric acid, nitrogen ammonium, sulfates, nitrites and phenicols. Some of our operations result in the creation of sludges, including sludges containing base elements such as chromium, copper, nickel, mercury and zinc. The creation, storage and disposal of such hazardous waste is subject to environmental regulations, including some requiring the cleanup of contamination and reclamation, such as requirements for cleaning up highly hazardous waste oil and iron slag. In addition, pollution risks and related cleanup costs are often impossible to assess unless environmental audits have been performed and the extent of liability under environmental and civil laws is clearly determinable. Furthermore, new and more stringent regulations have been introduced in a number of countries in response to the impacts of climate change. See “— Increased regulations associated with climate change and greenhouse gas emissions may give rise to increased costs and may adversely impact our business and markets.”

Generally, there is a greater awareness in Russia of damage caused to the environment by industry than existed during the Soviet era. At the same time, environmental legislation in Russia is generally weaker and less stringently enforced than in the European Union or the United States. However, recent Russian government initiatives indicate that Russia will introduce new water, air and soil quality standards and increase its monitoring and fines for non-compliance with environmental rules, and environmental concerns are increasingly being voiced at the local level. See note 25(b) to the consolidated financial statements.

Based on the current regulatory environment in Russia and elsewhere where we conduct our operations, as of December 31, 2013, we have not created any reserves for environmental liabilities and compliance costs, other than an accrual in the amount of $59.1 million for asset retirement obligations. Any change in this regulatory environment could result in actual costs and liabilities for which we have not provided. We estimated the total amount of capital investments to address environmental concerns at our various subsidiaries at $36.3 million as of December 31, 2013. These amounts are not accrued in the consolidated financial statements until actual capital investments are made.

In the course, or as a result, of an environmental investigation by Russian governmental authorities, courts can issue decisions requiring part or all of the production at a facility that has violated environmental standards to be halted for a period of up to 90 days. We have been cited in Russia for various violations of environmental regulations in the past and we have paid certain fines levied by regulatory authorities in connection with these infractions. In June 2013, the Russian Federal Service for the Supervision of Natural Resources (“Rosprirodnadzor”) claimed 398.6 million rubles from Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant as compensation for damages caused by discharging waste water into the river Belaya and Beloretsk storage reservoir. Beloretsk

Metallurgical Plant is currently contesting the claim in court. See “Item 8. Financial Information — Litigation — Environmental and safety.” Though our production facilities have not been ordered to suspend operations due to environmental violations during the respective periods since we acquired or established them, there are no assurances that environmental protection authorities will not seek such suspensions in the future. In the event that production at any of our facilities is partially or wholly suspended due to this type of sanction, our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially adversely affected.

The assets and operations of Bluestone based in West Virginia are subject to U.S. environmental and other regulatory risks. See “— Risks Relating to Other Countries Where We Operate.”

In addition, we are generally not indemnified against environmental liabilities or any required land reclamation expenses of our acquired businesses that arise from activities that occurred prior to our acquisition of such businesses. See “— We may fail to identify suitable targets, acquire them on acceptable terms, identify all potential liabilities associated with them or successfully integrate them into our group.”

Increased regulations associated with climate change and greenhouse gas emissions may give rise to increased costs and may adversely impact our business and markets.

Through our mining and power segments, we are a major producer of carbon-related products such as coal, coal concentrate and energy. Coal and coal-based energy are also significant inputs in many of the operations of our steel and ferroalloys segments. A major by-product of burning coal is carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is considered to be a greenhouse gas and generally a source of concern in connection with global warming and climate change.

The December 1997 Kyoto Protocol established a set of greenhouse gas emission targets for developed countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol. In order to give the countries a certain degree of flexibility in meeting their emission reduction targets, the Kyoto Protocol developed mechanisms allowing participating countries to earn and trade emissions credits by way of implementing projects aimed at meeting the Kyoto Protocol targets. The European Union has established greenhouse gas regulations and many other countries, including the United States, are in the process of doing so. The European Union Emissions Trading System (“EU ETS”), which came into effect on January 1, 2005, has had an impact on greenhouse gas and energy-intensive businesses based in the European Union. Our operations in Lithuania are currently subject to the EU ETS, as are our E.U. based customers.

In the United States, various federal, regional and state initiatives to regulate greenhouse gas emissions have been implemented or are under consideration, and, it appears likely that additional national, regional and state regulation of actual greenhouse gas emissions will be enacted in the future. For example, legislation is under consideration in the U.S. Congress that would create a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has taken the first steps towards implementing a comprehensive greenhouse gas policy that may adversely affect the business of our Bluestone companies.

The Russian Federation ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2005 and since October 2009 Russia has established a legal procedure for implementing trading mechanisms provided under the Kyoto Protocol. However, Russia, although subject to greenhouse gas emission limits for the period until December 31, 2012, has refused to sign up for the second period of limits and intends to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol, the EU ETS and current and future regulation of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States could restrict our operations and/or impose significant costs or obligations on us, including requiring additional capital expenditures, modifications in operating practices, and additional reporting obligations. These regulatory programs may also have a negative effect on our production levels, income and cash flows and on our suppliers and customers, which could result in higher costs and lower sales. Inconsistency of regulations particularly between developed and developing countries may also change the competitive position

of some of our assets. Finally, we note that even without further legislation or regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, increased awareness and any adverse publicity in the global marketplace about the greenhouse gasses emitted by companies in the steel manufacturing industry could harm our reputation and reduce customer demand for our products.

Failure to comply with existing laws and regulations could result in substantial additional compliance costs or various sanctions which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Our operations and properties are subject to regulation by various government entities and agencies in connection with obtaining and renewing various licenses, permits, approvals and authorizations, as well as with ongoing compliance with existing laws, regulations and standards. See “Item 4. Information on the Company — Regulatory Matters — Licensing of Operations in Russia.” Governmental authorities in countries where we operate exercise considerable discretion in matters of enforcement and interpretation of applicable laws, regulations and standards, the issuance and renewal of licenses, permits, approvals and authorizations, and in monitoring licensees’ compliance with the terms thereof which may result in unexpected audits, criminal prosecutions, civil actions and expropriation of property. Authorities have the right to, and frequently do, conduct periodic inspections of our operations and properties throughout the year.

Our failure to comply with existing laws and regulations or to obtain and comply with all approvals, authorizations and permits required for our operations or findings of governmental inspections may result in the imposition of fines or penalties or more severe sanctions including the suspension, amendment or termination of our licenses, permits, approvals and authorizations or in requirements that we cease certain of our business activities, or in criminal and administrative penalties applicable to our officers. Arbitrary government actions directed against other Russian companies (or the consequences of such actions) may generally impact on the Russian economy, including the securities market. Any such actions, decisions, requirements or sanctions could increase our costs and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may fail to identify suitable targets, acquire them on acceptable terms, identify all potential liabilities associated with them or successfully integrate them into our group.

We are a vertically integrated group with operations organized into mining, steel, ferroalloys and power segments, which allows us to benefit from economies of scale, realize synergies, better satisfy the needs of our Russian and international customers, reduce our reliance on third party brokers by distributing and selling our products directly to end users, and compete effectively against other mining and steel producers. Our strategy is to become one of the largest mining companies globally with a strong integration into steel. We intend to enhance the profitability of our business by applying our integration strategy to a larger asset base and, towards that end, on an ongoing basis we need to identify suitable targets that would fit into our operations, acquire them on terms acceptable to us and successfully integrate them into our group. We often compete with Russian and international companies for acquisitions, including for subsoil licenses.

The acquisition and integration of new companies pose significant risks to our existing operations, including:

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additional demands placed on our senior management, who are also responsible for managing our existing operations;

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increased overall operating complexity of our business, requiring greater personnel and other resources; and

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incurrence of debt to finance acquisitions and higher debt service costs related thereto.

In addition, new acquisitions may require significant initial cash investments for integration or upgrades. Furthermore, even if we are successful in integrating our existing and new businesses, expected synergies and cost savings may not materialize, resulting in lower than expected operating margins.

We have acquired and established businesses in countries that represent new operating environments for us and which are located at a great distance from our headquarters in Russia. These businesses conduct operations in accordance with local customs and laws. For example, through our acquisition of the Bluestone companies in May 2009, and our establishment of Mechel Bluestone Inc., a Delaware corporation that holds the Bluestone companies, we now have significant operations, assets and employees in the United States which are subject to U.S. federal and state laws and regulations.

In some instances we conduct limited due diligence investigations in connection with our acquisitions and the contractual documentation does not contain representations and warranties and indemnities to protect against unidentified liabilities and other losses. Moreover, these acquired businesses may not have financial reports prepared under internationally accepted accounting standards. Accordingly, these businesses may face risks that we have not yet identified and that are not described in this document and we may not realize the full benefit of our investment, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The concentration of our shares with our controlling shareholder will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and transactions with the controlling shareholder may present conflicts of interest, potentially resulting in the conclusion of transactions on less favorable terms than could be obtained in arm’s length transactions.

Our Chairman, Igor Zyuzin, directly and indirectly owns approximately 67.42% of our common shares. Except in certain cases as provided by the Federal Law “On Joint-Stock Companies,” dated December 26, 1995, as amended (the “Joint-Stock Companies Law”), resolutions at a general shareholders’ meeting are adopted by a majority of the voting stock at a meeting where shareholders holding more than half of the voting shares are present or represented. Accordingly, Mr. Zyuzin has the power to control the outcome of most matters to be decided by a majority of the voting stock present at a general shareholders’ meeting and can control the appointment of the majority of directors and the removal of all of the elected directors. In addition, our controlling shareholder is likely to be able to take actions which require a three-quarters supermajority of the voting stock present at such a general shareholders’ meeting, such as amendments to our charter, reorganization, significant sales of assets and other major transactions, if other shareholders do not participate in the meeting. Thus, our controlling shareholder can take actions that you may not view as beneficial or prevent actions that you may view as beneficial, and as a result, the value of the shares and ADSs could be materially adversely affected.

We have also engaged and will likely continue to engage in transactions with related parties, including our controlling shareholder, which may present conflicts of interest, potentially resulting in the conclusion of transactions on less favorable terms than could be obtained in arm’s length transactions. See “Item 7. Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions — Related Party Transactions.”

Our competitive position and future prospects depend on our senior management team.

Our ability to maintain our competitive position and to implement our business strategy is dependent on the services of our senior management team and, in particular, Mr. Zyuzin, our Chairman and controlling shareholder. Mr. Zyuzin has provided, and continues to provide, strategic direction to us.

Moreover, competition in Russia, and in the other countries where we operate, for senior management personnel with relevant expertise is intense due to the small number of qualified individuals. The loss or decline in the services of members of our senior management team or an inability to attract, retain and motivate qualified senior management personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Antimonopoly regulation could lead to sanctions with respect to the subsidiaries we have acquired or established or our prices, sales volumes and business practices.

Our business has grown substantially through the acquisition and founding of companies, many of which required the prior approval or subsequent notification of the FAS or its predecessor agencies. Relevant legislation restricts the acquisition or founding of companies by groups of companies or individuals acting in concert without such approval or notification. This legislation is vague in certain parts and subject to varying interpretations. If the FAS were to conclude that a company was acquired or created in contravention of applicable legislation and that competition has been or could be limited as a result, it could seek redress, including invalidating the transactions that led to or could lead to the limitation of competition, obliging the acquirer or founder to perform activities to restore competition, and seeking the dissolution of the new company created as a result of reorganization. Any of these actions could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

As of March 31, 2014, seven of our companies were included by the FAS in its register of entities with a market share exceeding 35% in the relevant market or with a dominant position in a certain market, including:

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Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant — as controlling more than 65% of the market for local telephony services in Beloretsk;

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Izhstal — as controlling more than 35% but less than 65% of the market for graded high-speed steel and its substitute and more than 65% of the market for small shaped graded high-speed steel;

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Vyartsilya Metal Products Plant — as controlling more than 65% of the market of railroad transportation of cargo for third parties and companies on the track section from Vyartsilya village to Vyartsilya station;

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Kuzbass Power Sales Company — as controlling more than 50% of the electricity trading market in the Kemerovo region;

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Mechel Energo — (i) as controlling more than 50% of the electricity trading market within the administrative boundaries of the Kemerovo region except for the area of operations of Metallenergofinance OOO and Oboronenergosbyt OAO and (ii) as controlling more than 50% of the market of steam and heat energy generation in Chelyabinsk within the territory of Mechel Energo’s heat grids;

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Yakutugol — as controlling more than 65% of the coal market of the Sakha Republic (an administrative region of Russia in Eastern Siberia, also known as Yakutia); and

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Moscow Coke and Gas Plant — as controlling more than 65% of the market for cargo transportation services on the company’s rail siding in the Lenin district of the Moscow region from the Obmennaya station to the Zavodskaya station.

When our companies are included in the register of entities with a market share exceeding 35% in the relevant market or with a dominant position in a certain market, this does not by itself result in restrictions on the activities of such entities. However, these entities may be subject to additional FAS oversight by reason of their having been deemed to have a dominant market position.

In 2008, the FAS issued a number of directives to our companies placing certain restrictions on our business practices. On May 13, 2008, the FAS issued a directive ordering Mechel and Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, as a group of companies holding a dominant position in the Russian coking coal market, to fulfill the following requirements:

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to avoid unjustified reduction of production volumes and product range at Southern Kuzbass Coal Company;

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to provide, to the extent possible, equal supply terms to all customers without discrimination against companies not forming part of this group of companies;

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not to restrict other companies from supplying coking coal to the same geographical area of operations; and

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to notify the FAS prior to any increase in domestic prices of coking coal, steam coal and coking coal concentrate, if such increase amounts to more than 10% of the relevant price used 180 days before the date such increase is planned to take place, with submission to the FAS of the financial and economic reasoning for the planned increase of prices.

In connection with the establishment of Mechel Mining, the subsidiary into which we consolidated certain of our mining assets, we received a directive from the FAS dated June 23, 2008, which contains requirements as to the activities of Mechel Mining and its subsidiaries Yakutugol and Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, as a group of companies holding a dominant position in the Russian coking coal market. The requirements are the same as those described above.

On October 10, 2008, the FAS issued two new directives addressed to Mechel Mining Management with respect to Yakutugol and Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, as a group of companies holding a dominant position in the Russian coking coal market, ordering Mechel Mining Management to fulfill the following requirements:

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not to reduce or terminate production of coking coal concentrate without prior approval of the FAS, unless there is no demand for such products;

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to perform all contracts related to coking coal concentrate production or other products (works or services) in relation to which these companies are or may be included in the register of entities with a market share exceeding 35% in the relevant market; and

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to provide equal supply terms to all customers without discriminating against companies outside of Mechel Mining Management group and to avoid terms of supply which would compensate Mechel Mining Management group for unjustified expenses or yield Mechel Mining Management group any profit that is significantly higher than it could be in a competitive market.

In connection with the consolidation of our ferroalloy assets under our subsidiary Oriel Resources, in October 2008, the FAS issued a directive addressed to Oriel Resources. The requirements under this directive are substantially similar to those described above in connection with the directives dated October 10, 2008, except that it relates to our production and sales of ferrosilicon.

In August 2008, as a result of an antimonopoly investigation into the business of our subsidiaries Mechel Trading House, Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, Yakutugol and Mechel Trading, the FAS found them to have abused their dominant position in the Russian market for certain grades of coking coal concentrate. The FAS issued a directive requiring these subsidiaries and their successors to, among others, refrain from taking any action in the Russian market for certain grades of coking coal concentrate which would or may preclude, limit or eliminate competition and/or violate third parties’ interests, including fixing and maintaining a monopolistically high or low price, refusing or avoiding to enter into an agreement with certain buyers without good economic or technological reasons where the production or supply of the relevant grades of coking coal concentrate is possible and creating discriminatory conditions for buyers. Furthermore, the FAS initiated administrative proceedings against Mechel Trading House, Southern Kuzbass Coal Company and Yakutugol which resulted in fines being imposed on these companies in the total amount of 797.7 million rubles, which equals nearly 5% of these subsidiaries’ total sales of coking coal concentrate (including intra-group sales) for 2007. See “Item 8. Financial Information — Litigation — Antimonopoly.”

In the event of a breach of the terms of business conduct set forth by the FAS, the FAS may seek to impose fines for violations of antimonopoly and administrative legislation. Such fines may include an administrative fine of an amount from 300 thousand to one million rubles or, if such violation has led or may lead to the prevention, limitation or elimination of competition, an administrative fine of up to 15% of the proceeds of sale of all goods, works and services on the market where such violation was committed, but not more than 2% of gross proceeds

of sale of all goods, works and services. Russian legislation also provides for criminal liability for violations of antimonopoly legislation in certain cases. Furthermore, for systematic violations, a court may order, pursuant to a suit filed by the FAS, a compulsory split-up or spin-off of the violating company, and no affiliation can be preserved between the new entities established as result of such a mandatory reorganization. The imposition of any such liability on us or our subsidiaries could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Negative publicity associated with any antimonopoly, administrative, criminal or other investigation or prosecution carried out with respect to our business practices, regardless of the outcome, could damage our reputation and result in a significant drop in the price of our shares and ADSs and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We may be forced to dispose of our electricity assets as a result of change in Russian law.

Under Russian law, companies and individuals, as well as affiliated entities operating within one wholesale market pricing zone, are prohibited from combining activities relating to electricity distribution and/or dispatching with electricity generation and/or sale, in particular, through simultaneously owning assets which are directly used for electricity distribution and/or dispatching and assets which are directly used for electricity generation and/or sale. Amendments to the law adopted in December 2011 introduced a new enforcement mechanism with respect to affiliated companies which do not comply with the law. The amendments allow the relevant governmental authorities to force the sale of first, electricity generation and/or sale assets and second, electricity distribution assets of such affiliated entities. See “Item. 4 Information on the Company — Regulatory Matters — Regulation of Russian Electricity Market.”

Some entities in our group, including Southern Kuzbass Power Plant, Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant, Moscow Coke and Gas Plant, Kuzbass Power Sales Company, Mechel Energo, Korshunov Mining Plant, Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant, Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant, Izhstal and Urals Stampings Plant, own assets both for electricity generation and/or sale and for electricity distribution.

We believe that the prohibition described above only applies if assets are both owned and directly used by an entity or affiliated entities.

During 2008 and 2009, we leased our electricity distribution assets to an unaffiliated third party, Electronetwork ZAO, which currently uses them to distribute electricity to us and other customers. Our entities are not involved in electricity distribution activity. We believe that by leasing our electricity distribution assets to an unaffiliated third party and not using them for electricity distribution, we are not in violation of the law.

Given that the regulation is new, there is no official guidance or court practice clarifying this matter and our interpretation of the law may not be upheld by Russian courts. We will closely follow further development of administrative and court practice in this area. We will vigorously defend our position, if it is challenged by the authorities, however there is a risk that the court may come to a view that we are in breach of the law and may order us to dispose of our electricity assets. Disposal of these assets may have a material adverse effect on our business and operations.

In the event that the minority shareholders of our subsidiaries were to successfully challenge past interested party transactions or do not approve interested party transactions in the future, we could be limited in our operational flexibility.

We own less than 100% of the equity interests in some of our subsidiaries. In addition, certain of our wholly-owned subsidiaries have previously had other shareholders. We and our subsidiaries have carried out, and continue to carry out, transactions among our companies and affiliates, as well as transactions with other parties which may be considered to be “interested party transactions” under Russian law, requiring approval by

disinterested directors, disinterested independent directors or disinterested shareholders depending on the nature and value of the transaction and the parties involved. The provisions of Russian law defining which transactions must be approved as interested party transactions are subject to different interpretations, and these transactions may not always have been properly approved, including by former shareholders. We cannot make any assurances that our and our subsidiaries’ applications of these rules will not be subject to challenge by shareholders. Any such challenges, if successful, could result in the invalidation of transactions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

In addition, Russian law requires a three-quarters majority of the voting stock present at a general shareholders’ meeting to approve certain matters, including, for example, charter amendments, reorganizations, major transactions involving assets in excess of 50% of the assets of the company, acquisition by the company of outstanding shares and certain share issuances. In some cases, minority shareholders may not approve interested party transactions requiring their approval or other matters requiring approval of minority shareholders or supermajority approval. In the event that these minority shareholders were to successfully challenge past interested party transactions, or do not approve interested party transactions or other matters in the future, we could be limited in our operational flexibility and our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects could be materially adversely affected.

Minority shareholder lawsuits, if resolved against our group companies, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Russian corporate law allows minority shareholders holding as little as a single share in a company to have standing to bring claims against the company challenging decisions of its governing bodies. These features of Russian corporate law are often abused by minority shareholders, who can bring claims in local courts seeking injunctions and other relief for which, in some cases, we may not receive notice. Any such actions by minority shareholders, if resolved against our group companies, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. See “Item 8. Financial Information — Litigation — Russian securities litigation.”

A substantial majority of our employees are represented by trade unions, and our operations depend on good labor relations.

As of December 31, 2013, approximately 60% of all our employees were represented by trade unions. Although we have not experienced any business interruption at any of our companies as a result of labor disputes from the dates of their respective acquisition by us and we consider our relations with our employees to be good, under Russian law unions have the legal right to strike and other Russian companies with large union representation periodically face interruptions due to strikes, lockouts or delays in renegotiations of collective bargaining agreements. Our businesses could also be affected by similar events if our relationships with our labor force and trade unions worsen in the future. We have signed the industry agreements for coal and ore mining and smelting industries and have renegotiated most of related collective bargaining agreements. If we are unable to prolong collective bargaining agreements on similar conditions or our employees are dissatisfied with the terms of the collective bargaining agreements and undertake any industrial action, it could have material adverse effects on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Approximately a quarter of the Bluestone companies’ workforce is represented by the United Mine Workers of America (“UMWA”) labor union and is covered by the Bituminous Coal Wage Agreement of 2011 which expires at the end of 2016. Though we believe the Bluestone companies have a good relationship with the UMWA, there are no assurances that these relations will not deteriorate in the future. Our U.S. employees have the right at any time under the U.S. National Labor Relations Act to form or affiliate with a union and the current presidential administration in the United States has indicated that it will support legislation that may make it easier for employees to unionize. Any further unionization of employees could adversely affect the stability of our U.S. production and negatively impact the financial performance of our U.S. operations. In addition, due to

the increased risk of strikes and other work-related stoppages that may be associated with union operations in the coal industry, our competitors who operate without union labor may have a competitive advantage in areas where they compete with our unionized operations.

Bluestone companies have liabilities with respect to post-retirement benefits for our U.S. employees, which could be more burdensome if certain factors beyond our control are changed or corrected.

The Bluestone companies we acquired have long-term liabilities with respect to pension obligations and post-retirement welfare benefit plans. The Bluestone companies contribute to multi-employer defined benefit pension plans sponsored by the UMWA. In the event of our partial or complete withdrawal from any multi-employer plan which is underfunded, we would be liable for a proportionate share of such plan’s unfunded vested benefits. In the event that any other contributing employer withdraws from any plan which is underfunded, and such employer (or any member in its controlled group) cannot satisfy its obligations under the plan at the time of withdrawal, then we, along with the other remaining contributing employers, would be liable for our proportionate share of such plan’s unfunded vested benefits. At June 30, 2013, the UMWA Pension Plan reported unfunded vested benefits to be $5.4 billion. Furthermore, in September 2011, the UMWA Funds reported to the United States Department of the Treasury, as required under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, that the UMWA pension plan is in “Seriously Endangered Status” for the plan year beginning July 1, 2011 due to funded percentage below 80%. When a pension plan is certified to be in seriously endangered status, federal law requires the plan to adopt a funding improvement plan aimed at restoring the financial health of the plan. The funding improvement plan may include increased contributions to the plan and/or modifications to certain future benefit accruals. Now, it is up to the Bituminous Coal Operators Association (“BCOA”) and the UMWA to negotiate such an improvement plan. As the signatory companies will be bound to whatever the BCOA and the UMWA negotiate as to an improvement plan, Bluestone’s signatory companies may see a required higher level of contributions in the future.

The Bluestone companies’ post-retirement medical obligations have been estimated based on actuarial assumptions, including actuarial estimates, assumed discount rates, estimates of life expectancy, and changes in healthcare costs. If our assumptions relating to these benefits change in the future or are incorrect, we may be required to record additional expenses. In addition, future regulatory and accounting changes relating to these benefits could result in increased obligations or additional costs, which could also have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We do not carry the types of insurance coverage customary in more economically developed countries for a business of our size and nature, and a significant adverse event could result in substantial property loss and inability to rebuild in a timely manner or at all.

The insurance industry is still developing in Russia, and many forms of insurance protection common in more economically developed countries are not available in Russia on comparable terms, including coverage for business interruption. At present, most of our Russian production facilities are not insured, and we have no coverage for business interruption or for third-party liability, other than insurance required under Russian law, collective agreements, loan agreements or other undertakings. Some of our international production facilities are not covered by comprehensive insurance typical for such operations in Western countries. We cannot assure you that the insurance we have in place is adequate for the potential losses and the liability we may suffer.

Since most of our production facilities lack insurance covering their property, if a significant event were to affect one of our facilities, we could experience substantial financial and property losses, as well as significant disruptions in our production activity, for which we would not be compensated by business interruption insurance.

Since we do not maintain separate funds or otherwise set aside reserves for these types of events, in case of any such loss or third-party claim for damages we may be unable to seek any recovery for lost or damaged property or compensate losses due to disruption of production activity. Any such uninsured loss or event may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

If transactions, corporate decisions or other actions of members of our group and their predecessors-in-interest were to be challenged on the basis of non-compliance with applicable legal requirements, the remedies in the event of any successful challenge could include the invalidation of such transactions, corporate decisions or other actions or the imposition of other liabilities on such group members.

Businesses of our group, or their predecessors-in-interest at different times, have taken a variety of actions relating to the incorporation of entities, share issuances, share disposals and acquisitions, mandatory buy-out offers, acquisition and valuation of property, including land plots, interested party transactions, major transactions, decisions to transfer licenses, meetings of governing bodies, other corporate matters and antimonopoly issues that, if successfully challenged on the basis of non-compliance with applicable legal requirements by competent state authorities, counterparties in such transactions or shareholders of the relevant members of our group or their predecessors-in-interest, could result in the invalidation of such actions, transactions and corporate decisions, restrictions on voting rights or the imposition of other liabilities. As applicable laws of the jurisdictions where our group companies are located are subject to varying interpretations, we may not be able to defend successfully any challenge brought against such actions, decisions or transactions, and the invalidation of any such actions, transactions and corporate decisions or imposition of any restriction or liability could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We have used certain information in this document that has been sourced from third parties.

We have sourced certain information contained in this document from independent third parties, including private companies, government agencies and other publicly available sources. We believe these sources of information are reliable and that the information fairly and reasonably characterizes the industry in countries where we operate. However, although we take responsibility for compiling and extracting the data, we have not independently verified this information. In addition, the official data published by Russian federal, regional and local governments may be substantially less complete or researched than those of Western countries. Official statistics may also be produced on different bases than those used in Western countries.

Risks Relating to Our Shares and the Trading Market

The price of our shares and ADSs could be volatile and could drop unexpectedly, making it difficult for investors to resell our shares or ADSs at or above the price paid.

The price at which our shares and ADSs trade is influenced by a large number of factors, some of which are specific to us and our operations and some of which are related to the mining, steel and ferroalloys industries and equity markets in general. As a result of these factors, investors may not be able to resell their shares or ADSs at or above the price paid for them. In particular, the following factors, in addition to other risk factors described in this section, may have a material impact on the market price of our shares and ADSs:

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investor perception of us as a company;

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actual or anticipated fluctuations in our revenues or operating results;

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announcement of intended acquisitions, disposals or financings, or speculation about such acquisitions, disposals or financings;

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changes in our dividend policy, which could result from changes in our cash flow and capital position;

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sales of blocks of our common shares, common ADSs, preferred shares or preferred ADSs by significant shareholders, including the Justice persons;

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price and timing of any refinancing of our indebtedness;

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potential litigation involving us;

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changes in financial estimates and recommendations by securities research analysts;

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fluctuations in Russian and international capital markets, including those due to events in other emerging markets;

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the performance of other companies operating in similar industries;

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regulatory developments in the markets where we operate, especially Russia, the European Union and the United States;

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international political and economic conditions, including the effects of fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, interest rates and oil prices and other events such as terrorist attacks, military operations, changes in governments and relations between countries, international sanctions, natural disasters and the uncertainty related to these developments;

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news or analyst reports related to markets or industries in which we operate; and

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general investor perception of investing in Russia.

Our ability to pay dividends depends primarily upon receipt of sufficient funds from our subsidiaries.

Because we are a holding company, our ability to pay dividends depends primarily upon receipt of sufficient funds from our subsidiaries. Under Russian law, dividends may be declared and paid only out of net profits calculated under Russian accounting standards and as long as certain conditions have been met, including if the value of the net assets, calculated under Russian accounting standards, is not less (and would not become less as a result of the proposed dividend payment) than the sum of the charter capital, the reserve fund and the difference between the liquidation value and the par value of the issued and outstanding preferred shares. See “Item 10. Additional Information — Charter and Certain Requirements of Russian Legislation — Description of Capital Stock — Dividends.” Currently, some of our subsidiaries do not meet this criteria and cannot approve payment of, or pay dividends. See “— Risks Relating to the Russian Federation — One or more of our subsidiaries could be forced into liquidation on the basis of formal non-compliance with certain requirements of Russian law, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.”

Furthermore, the payment of dividends by our subsidiaries and/or our ability to repatriate such dividends may, in certain instances, be subject to taxes, statutory restrictions, retained earnings criteria, and covenants in our subsidiaries’ financing arrangements and are contingent upon the earnings and cash flow of those subsidiaries. See note 18 to the consolidated financial statements.

Upon introduction of a new system of recording the depositary’s rights to the shares underlying depositary receipts, the depositary is required to disclose information on ADS and GDS owners in order to exercise voting rights and receive dividends with respect to the shares underlying ADSs and GDSs.

Effective from January 1, 2013, a new system of recording the depositary’s rights to the shares underlying depositary receipts was introduced by the Federal Law No. 415-FZ of December 7, 2011, as amended on December 29, 2012 (“Federal Law No. 415-FZ”). Pursuant to the new system, the underlying shares are no longer recorded at the depositary’s ‘owner’s account’ opened with a Russian custodian holding a ‘depo account of nominee holder’ with the issuer’s shareholder register. Instead, the underlying shares are now recorded at a ‘depo account of depositary programs’ opened with a Russian custodian which in its turn has a depo account of nominee holder opened with the central depositary. On November 6, 2012, the FFMS granted CJSC National Settlement Depositary (“NSD”) the status of Russian central depositary. Starting from November 6, 2013, the depo accounts of depositary programs should be opened for depositaries, and shares represented by depositary receipts should be recorded in depo accounts of depositary programs.

In addition to the new recording system, the Federal Law No. 415-FZ also sets forth new obligations for a depositary to disclose information on ‘depositary receipt owners’ in order to exercise voting rights and to receive dividends with respect to the shares represented by depositary receipts. The FFMS by its Order No. 13-7/pz-n dated February 5, 2013 sets forth the requirements for the provision of information about the depositary receipt

owners. Such information is provided to the issuer in the form of a list of persons who exercise the rights under the depositary receipts. The list is provided to the issuer by the foreign depositary which opens the depo account of depositary programs. The list is provided for the preparation and holding of a shareholders’ meeting. Furthermore, any obligations of the depositary to disclose information on depositary receipt owners in order to receive dividends were abolished effective January 1, 2014 pursuant to the Federal Law No. 282-FZ of December 29, 2012 (“Federal Law No. 282-FZ”). Under the Federal Law No. 282-FZ, the payment of dividends on the shares represented by depositary receipts is made to the foreign depositary which opens the depo account of depositary programs.

Currently, it is not clear whether the term ‘depositary receipt owner’ means a holder registered on the records of the depositary, a securities intermediary or a beneficial owner of a depositary receipt. As a result, the scope of the above reporting obligations, which may affect the rights of our ADS and GDS holders, also remains uncertain. We cannot assure you that the Federal Law No. 415-FZ and the other regulations by the CBR, to whom the powers of the FFMS were delegated, will be compatible with how depositary receipt programs have been customarily operated in the past or with foreign confidentiality regulations, or that the new requirements will not impose additional burdens upon the depositary, ADS and GDS holders or their respective securities intermediaries such that they would consider investments in our ADSs less attractive.

In addition, the Federal Law No. 282-FZ requires the foreign depositary to take all the reasonable steps to provide information on depositary receipt owners to the issuer, state arbitrazh courts, the CBR and governmental investigative authorities upon their request, and depositary receipt owners may not refuse to provide such information to the depositary upon its request. The CBR is entitled to demand the depositary to cure any breach of such disclosure requirements, and if the depositary fails to cure, the CBR may suspend or limit any operations with depo accounts of depositary receipt program for up to six months with respect to the number of securities that does not exceed the number of securities the obligation to provide information for which has not been fulfilled. It is unclear how the CBR will use these new regulatory powers. Any suspension of or limitation on our ADS or GDS programs could have a material adverse effect on the value of the ADSs.

The depositary may be required to take certain actions due to Russian law requirements which could adversely impact the liquidity and the value of the shares and ADSs.

If at any time the depositary believes that the shares deposited with it against issuance of ADSs represent (or, upon accepting any additional shares for deposit, would represent) a percentage of shares which exceeds any threshold or limit established by any applicable law, directive, regulation or permit, or satisfies any condition for making any filing, application, notification or registration or obtaining any approval, license or permit under any applicable law, directive or regulation, or taking any other action, the depositary may (1) close its books to deposits of additional shares in order to prevent such thresholds or limits being exceeded or conditions being satisfied or (2) take such steps as are, in its opinion, necessary or desirable to remedy the consequences of such thresholds or limits being exceeded or conditions being satisfied and to comply with any such law, directive or regulation, including, causing pro rata cancellation of ADSs and withdrawal of underlying shares from the depositary receipt program to the extent necessary or desirable to so comply. Any such circumstances may affect the liquidity and the value of the shares and ADSs.

Voting rights with respect to the shares represented by our ADSs are limited by the terms of the relevant deposit agreement for the ADSs and relevant requirements of Russian law.

ADS holders have no direct voting rights with respect to the shares represented by the ADSs. They can only exercise voting rights with respect to the shares represented by ADSs in accordance with the provisions of the deposit agreements relating to the ADSs and relevant requirements of Russian law. Therefore, there are practical limitations upon the ability of ADS holders to exercise their voting rights due to the additional procedural steps which are involved. For example, the Joint-Stock Companies Law and our charter require us to notify shareholders not less than 30 days prior to the date of any meeting of shareholders and at least 70 days prior to

the date of an extraordinary meeting to elect our Board of Directors, inter alia, via (i) publication of a notice in the Russian official newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta and disclosure on our website at www.mechel.ru or (ii) disclosure on our website at www.mechel.ru. Our common shareholders, as well as our preferred shareholders in cases when they have voting rights, are able to exercise their voting rights by either attending the meeting in person or voting by power of attorney.

For ADS holders, in accordance with the deposit agreements, we will provide the notice to the depositary. The depositary has in turn undertaken, as soon as practicable thereafter, to mail to ADS holders notice of such any meeting of shareholders, copies of voting materials (if and as received by the depositary from us) and a statement as to the manner in which instructions may be given by ADS holders. To exercise their voting rights, ADS holders must then timely instruct the depositary how to vote their shares. As a result of this extra procedural step involving the depositary, the process for exercising voting rights may take longer for ADS holders than for holders of shares. ADSs for which the depositary does not receive timely voting instructions will not be voted at any meeting.

In addition, although securities regulations expressly permit the depositary to split the votes with respect to the shares underlying the ADSs in accordance with instructions from ADS holders, there is little court or regulatory guidance on the application of such regulations, and the depositary may choose to refrain from voting at all unless it receives instructions from all ADS holders to vote the shares in the same manner. Holders of ADSs may thus have significant difficulty in exercising voting rights with respect to the shares underlying the ADSs. There can be no assurance that holders and beneficial owners of ADSs will: (1) receive notice of shareholder meetings to enable the timely return of voting instructions to the depositary; (2) receive notice to enable the timely cancellation of ADSs in respect of shareholder actions; or (3) be given the benefit of dissenting or minority shareholders’ rights in respect of an event or action in which the holder or beneficial owner has voted against, abstained from voting or not given voting instructions.

ADS holders may be unable to repatriate their earnings.

Dividends that we may pay in the future on the shares represented by the ADSs will be declared and paid to the depositary in rubles. Such dividends will be converted into U.S. dollars by the depositary and distributed to holders of ADSs, net of the fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the depositary, together with taxes withheld and any other governmental charges. The ability to convert rubles into U.S. dollars is subject to the currency markets. Although there is an active market for the conversion of rubles into U.S. dollars, including the interbank currency exchange and over-the-counter and currency futures markets, the functioning of this market in the future is not guaranteed.

ADS holders may not be able to benefit from the United States-Russia income tax treaty.

Under Russian tax legislation, dividends paid to a non-resident holder of shares of a Russian company generally will be subject to a 15% withholding tax. This tax rate may potentially be reduced to 10% or 5% for U.S. holders of the shares that are legal entities and organizations and to 10% for U.S. holders of the shares that are individuals under the Convention between the United States of America and the Russian Federation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital (the “United States-Russia income tax treaty”), provided a number of conditions are satisfied. In connection with the enactment of amendments to Russian tax legislation, effective from January 1, 2014, the reduced tax rate of 5% established in accordance with certain provisions of the United States-Russia income tax treaty does not apply on dividend payments under ADSs. The general rate of 10% which is established by the treaty and does not account for benefits applies, subject to the submission of certain information to the tax agent. If such information has not been submitted to the tax agent in the prescribed manner and in a certain period of time, a tax rate of 30% is applied. Thus, the tax agent may be obliged to withhold tax at higher non-treaty rates when paying out dividends, and U.S. ADS holders may be unable to benefit from the United States-Russia income tax treaty. ADS holders may apply for a refund of a portion of the tax withheld under an applicable tax treaty, however, this

process may be time-consuming and no assurance can be given that the Russian tax authorities will grant a refund. See “Item 10. Additional Information — Taxation — Russian Income and Withholding Tax Considerations” for additional information.

Capital gains from the sale of ADSs may be subject to Russian income tax.

Under Russian tax legislation, gains realized by foreign organizations from the disposition of Russian shares and securities, as well as financial instruments derived from such shares, with the exception of shares that are traded on an organized securities market, may be subject to Russian profit tax or withholding income tax if immovable property located in Russia constitutes more than 50% of our assets. Gains arising from the sale on foreign exchanges (foreign market operators) of securities or derivatives circulated on such exchanges are not considered Russian source income.

However, no procedural mechanism currently exists to withhold and remit this tax with respect to sales made to persons other than Russian companies and foreign companies with a registered permanent establishment in Russia. Gains arising from the disposition on foreign stock exchanges of the foregoing types of securities listed on these exchanges are not subject to taxation in Russia.

Gains arising from the disposition of the foregoing types of securities and derivatives outside of Russia by U.S. holders who are individuals not resident in Russia for tax purposes will not be considered Russian source income and will not be taxable in Russia. Gains arising from disposition of the foregoing types of securities and derivatives in Russia by U.S. holders who are individuals not resident in Russia for tax purposes may be subject to a withholding tax in Russia based on an annual tax return, which they may be required to submit with the Russian tax authorities.

Holders of ADSs may have limited recourse against us and our directors and executive officers because most of our operations are conducted outside the United States and most of our directors and all of our executive officers reside outside the United States.

Our presence outside the United States may limit ADS holders’ legal recourse against us. Mechel is incorporated under the laws of the Russian Federation. Most of our directors and executive officers reside outside the United States, principally in Russia. A substantial portion of our assets and the assets of most of our directors and executive officers are located outside the United States. As a result, holders of our ADSs may be limited in their ability to effect service of process within the United States upon us or our directors and executive officers or to enforce in a U.S. court a judgment obtained against us or our directors and executive officers in jurisdictions outside the United States, including actions under the civil liability provisions of U.S. securities laws. In addition, it may be difficult for holders of ADSs to enforce, in original actions brought in courts in jurisdictions outside the United States, liabilities predicated upon U.S. securities laws.

There is no treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation providing for reciprocal recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments in civil and commercial matters. These limitations may deprive investors of effective legal recourse for claims related to investments in the ADSs. The deposit agreements provide for actions brought by any party thereto against us to be settled by arbitration in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association, provided that any action under the U.S. federal securities laws or the rules or regulations promulgated thereunder may, but need not, be submitted to arbitration. The Russian Federation is a party to the United Nations (New York) Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, but it may be difficult to enforce arbitral awards in the Russian Federation due to a number of factors, including the inexperience of Russian courts in international commercial transactions, official and unofficial political resistance to enforcement of awards against Russian companies in favor of foreign investors and Russian courts’ inability to enforce such orders.

We and the Justice persons may offer additional preferred shares and preferred ADSs in the future, and these and other sales may adversely affect the market price of the preferred shares and preferred ADSs.

As of the date of this document, of the 138,756,915 issued preferred shares, 55,502,766 preferred shares are held by our wholly-owned subsidiary Skyblock Limited, the remaining preferred shares may be held by James C. Justice II, James C. Justice III, James C. Justice Companies Inc. and Jillean L. Justice (collectively, the “Justice persons”) or are held by the public. The Justice persons acquired their preferred shares in connection with the sale of their Bluestone coking coal business located in Beckley, West Virginia to us in May 2009. The Justice persons disposed or may dispose of all or part of the remaining preferred shares they held through one or more offerings or broker trades. It is also possible that we may decide to offer additional preferred shares and preferred ADSs in the future, including the 55,502,766 preferred shares held by our wholly-owned subsidiary Skyblock Limited. Additional offerings or sales of preferred shares and preferred ADSs by us or the Justice persons, or the public perception that such offerings or sales may occur, could have an adverse effect on the market price of our preferred shares and preferred ADSs.

Risks Relating to the Russian Federation

Emerging markets such as Russia are subject to greater risks than more developed markets, and financial turmoil in developed or other emerging markets or international sanctions against Russia or Russian individuals or businesses could have a material adverse effect on our business and could cause the value of our shares and ADSs to fluctuate widely.

Investors in emerging markets such as the Russian Federation should be aware that these markets are subject to greater risk than more developed markets, including in some cases significant legal, economic and political risks. Investors should also note that the value of securities of Russian companies is subject to rapid and wide fluctuations due to various factors. For example, the military conflict in August 2008 between Russia and Georgia involving South Ossetia and Abkhazia and the current situation in Ukraine and Crimea resulted in significant price declines in securities of Russian companies and capital outflows from Russia. The escalation of the present situation or the emergence of new tensions between Russia and other countries may lead to further reductions in the price of Russian securities. Accordingly, investors should exercise particular care in evaluating the risks involved and must decide for themselves whether, in light of those risks, their investment is appropriate. Generally, investment in emerging markets is only suitable for sophisticated investors who fully appreciate the significance of the risks involved.

Recently both the United States and the European Union have ordered sanctions against certain prominent Russian and Ukrainian officials and businessmen and Russian private banks in response to the situation in Ukraine and Crimea and Russia’s signing an agreement with the Republic of Crimea on accession of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to the Russian Federation and on forming two new constituent entities within the Russian Federation. While the current sanctions do not target our group or our industry, these sanctions could have the indirect effect of damaging the Russian economy, further accelerating capital flight from Russia, further exacerbating the negative investor sentiment towards Russia and making it harder for Russian companies to access international financial markets for debt and equity financing, all of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, results of operations and prospects and the value of our shares and ADSs. In particular, we rely in part on financing from international banks, and, as of December 31, 2013, approximately 19.7% of our total borrowings were provided by international banks or their Russian subsidiaries. Moreover, if the next level of sanctions ordered by the United States, the European Union or other governmental or international bodies directly target the Russian economy such as Russian exports or Russian companies’ access to international financial and banking markets, then such sanctions could have an even more serious material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our shares and ADSs. The Ukrainian economy is also facing significant risks during this period of uncertainty. In the year ended December 31, 2013, revenues from exports to Ukraine were $52.8 million, or 0.6% of our total revenues, which could decrease in the current year. Overall, the situation in Ukraine and Crimea remains fluid and we cannot predict how the situation will unfold. In particular, an escalation of sanctions may occur or demands for autonomy from other regions may arise and we cannot predict how Russia

and other countries will react to these events or to the actions of the others and how any of these developments may impact the Russian economy and Russian companies and the steel and mining industry in Russia and generally. We may also face sanctions which could affect our Bluestone assets situated in the territory of the United States. We cannot assure that such developments will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The value of our shares and ADSs is expected to be highly volatile during the current situation.

Economic risks

Economic instability in Russia could adversely affect our business and the value of our shares and ADSs.

The Russian economy has been subject to abrupt downturns in the past. In particular, on August 17, 1998, in the face of a rapidly deteriorating economic situation, the Russian government defaulted on its ruble-denominated securities, the CBR stopped its support of the ruble and a temporary moratorium was imposed on certain foreign currency payments. These actions resulted in an immediate and severe devaluation of the ruble and a sharp increase in the rate of inflation; a substantial decline in the prices of Russian debt and equity securities; and an inability of Russian issuers to raise funds in the international capital markets. These problems were aggravated by a major banking crisis in the Russian banking sector after the events of August 17, 1998, as evidenced by the termination of the banking licenses of a number of major Russian banks. This further impaired the ability of the banking sector to act as a consistent source of liquidity to Russian companies and resulted in the losses of bank deposits in some cases.

From 2000 to 2008, the Russian economy experienced positive trends, such as annual increases in the gross domestic product, a relatively stable Russian ruble, strong domestic demand, rising real wages and reduced rates of inflation. However, these trends were interrupted by the global financial crisis in late 2008, which led to a substantial decrease in the gross domestic product’s growth rate, ruble depreciation and a decline in domestic demand. The Russian government has taken certain anti-crisis measures using the “stabilization fund” and hard currency reserves in order to soften the impact of the economic crisis on the Russian economy and support the value of the ruble. As a result, following a decline in 2009, the Russian gross domestic product grew by 4.5% in 2010, by 4.3% in 2011, by 3.4% in 2012 and by 1.3% in 2013, according to Rosstat. More recently, the economic slowdown in emerging market economies, including Russia, as well as political and other disturbances in emerging markets have introduced additional uncertainty in the overall outlook for growth of the global economy, and growth in the Russian economy has slowed down including due to capital flight and negative investor sentiment arising from the disturbances in eastern Ukraine. Further economic instability in Russia could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our shares and ADSs.

The Russian banking system is still developing, and another banking crisis or international sanctions could place severe liquidity constraints on our business.

A substantial portion of our loans are from Russian banks, including state-owned banks such as Sberbank, VTB Bank and Gazprombank, who in recent years have extended the maturity of our loans, waived breaches of financial covenants and reset our financial covenants to give us more flexibility to operate our business. In addition, Vnesheconombank, another Russian state-owned bank, has provided a project financing for the development of the Elga deposit. Moreover, we rely on the Russian banking system to complete various day-to-day fund transfers and other actions required to conduct our business with customers, suppliers, lenders and other counterparties.

While the impact of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis on the Russian banking system was contained by the actions by the CBR at that time, the risk of further instability remains high due to the continuing weakness of the Russian economy and the potential for a recession in the near future. With few exceptions (notably the state owned banks), the Russian banking system suffers from weak depositor confidence, high concentration of exposure to certain borrowers and their affiliates, poor credit quality of borrowers and related party transactions. Risk management, corporate governance and transparency and disclosure remain below international best

practices. In the global financial crisis, Russian banks were faced with a number of problems simultaneously, such as withdrawal of deposits by customers, payment defaults by borrowers and deteriorating asset values and ruble depreciation. Russian banks faced and continue to face serious mismatches in their liabilities (consisting in large part of foreign debt) and assets (loans to Russian borrowers and investments in Russian assets and securities). The existing sentiment towards Russian banks could worsen in the near future due to the impact of international sanctions against certain prominent Russian officials and businessmen and Russian private banks in response to the situation in Ukraine and Crimea.

These weaknesses in the Russian banking sector make the sector more susceptible to market downturns or economic slowdowns including due to defaults by Russian borrowers that may occur during such market downturn or economic slowdown. A banking or liquidity crisis or the bankruptcy or insolvency of the banks which lend to us or in which we hold our funds or use for banking transactions could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.

The infrastructure in Russia needs significant improvement and investment, which could disrupt normal business activity.

The infrastructure in Russia largely dates back to the Soviet era and has not been adequately funded and maintained since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Particularly affected are the rail and road networks, power generation and transmission systems, communication systems and building stock. The deterioration of the infrastructure in Russia harms the national economy, disrupts the transportation of goods and supplies, adds costs to doing business and can interrupt business operations. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

The Russian economy and the value of our shares and ADSs could be materially adversely affected by fluctuations in the global economy.

The global economic crisis, social and political instability in some Middle East countries and recently in Ukraine, the European sovereign debt crisis and other negative developments in various countries have resulted in increased volatility in the capital markets in many countries, including Russia. As has happened in the past, present financial problems in emerging market economies or an increase in the perceived risks associated with investing in emerging market economies could dampen foreign investment in Russia and Russian businesses could face severe liquidity constraints, further materially adversely affecting the Russian economy. In addition, because Russia produces and exports large amounts of oil, the Russian economy is especially vulnerable to the price of oil on the world market and a decline in the price of oil or international sanctions against the Russian oil industry could slow or disrupt the Russian economy or undermine the value of the ruble against foreign currencies. Russia is also one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of metal products and its economy is vulnerable to fluctuations in world commodity prices and the imposition of international sanctions, tariffs and/or antidumping measures by any of its principal export markets.

As many of the factors that affect the Russian and global economies affect our business and the business of many of our domestic and international customers, our business could be materially adversely affected by a downturn in the Russian economy or the global economy. In addition to a reduction in demand for our products, we may experience increases in overdue accounts receivable from our customers, some of whom may face liquidity problems and potential bankruptcy. Our suppliers may raise their prices, eliminate or reduce trade financing or reduce their output. A decline in product demand, a decrease in collectibility of accounts receivable or substantial changes in the terms of our suppliers’ pricing policies or financing terms, or the potential bankruptcy of our customers or contract counterparties may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

In addition, a deterioration in macroeconomic conditions could require us to reassess the value of goodwill on certain of our assets, recorded as the difference between the fair value of the net assets of business acquired and its purchase price. This goodwill is subject to impairment tests on an ongoing basis. The weakening

macroeconomic conditions in the countries in which we operate and/or a significant difference between the performance of an acquired company and the business case assumed at the time of acquisition could require us to write down the value of the goodwill or portion of such value. See note 23 to the consolidated financial statements.

Political and social risks

Political and governmental instability could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our shares and ADSs.

Since 1991, Russia has sought to transform itself from a one-party state with a centrally-planned economy to a democracy with a market economy. As a result of the sweeping nature of the reforms, and the failure of some of them, the Russian political system remains vulnerable to popular dissatisfaction, including dissatisfaction with the results of privatizations in the 1990s, protests against the results of 2011 and 2012 parliamentary and presidential elections, corruption and the government in general, as well as to demands for autonomy from particular regional and ethnic groups.

Tensions in Russia’s relations with other countries and world bodies or conflicts between the government and powerful business groups or among such business groups could disrupt or reverse political, economic and regulatory reforms and also lead to restrictions on our business and a negative impact on Russia’s economy and investment climate. Any disruption or reversal of reform policies or economic downturn could lead to social, political or governmental instability or the occurrence of conflicts between various groups, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our shares and ADSs.

Corruption and negative publicity could negatively impact our business and the value of our shares and ADSs.

The local press and international press have reported high levels of corruption in Russia, including unlawful demands by government officials and the bribery of government officials for the purpose of initiating investigations by government agencies. Press reports have also described instances in which government officials engaged in selective investigations and prosecutions to further the commercial interests of certain government officials or certain companies or individuals. In addition, there are reports of the Russian media publishing disparaging articles in return for payment. If we, our managers or counterparties are accused of involvement in government corruption, the resulting negative publicity could disrupt our ability to conduct our business and impair our relationships with customers, suppliers and other parties, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and the value of our shares and ADSs.

Shortage of skilled Russian labor could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Currently the Russian labor market suffers from a general shortage of skilled and trained workers, and we compete with other Russian companies to hire and retain such workers. In Russia, the working age population has declined due to a relatively low birth rate at the end of the 1980s and through the early 1990s. As of January 1, 2014, Rosstat estimated Russia’s population at 143.7 million, a decline of 4.8 million from 1992. An increase in migration and a reduction in the natural decline of the population recently resulted in a slowdown in the population decrease followed even by some temporary population growth. However, the birth rate remains relatively low, which together with the aging and high mortality of the population are the main problems of Russia’s demographic development. Russia’s working age population is estimated to decline by 10-13 million by 2025. If the present trend continues without a migration inflow to Russia, the decreasing working population will become a barrier to economic growth around 2015, according to the National Human Development Report for the Russian Federation produced by the United Nations Development Program in 2008. A shortage of skilled Russian labor combined with restrictive immigration policies could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Legal risks and uncertainties

Deficiencies in the legal framework relating to subsoil licensing subject our licenses to the risk of governmental challenges and, if our licenses are suspended or terminated, we may be unable to realize our reserves, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Most of the existing subsoil licenses in Russia date from the Soviet era. During the period between the dissolution of the Soviet Union in August 1991 and the enactment of the first post-Soviet subsoil licensing law in the summer of 1992, the status of subsoil licenses and Soviet-era mining operations was unclear, as was the status of the regulatory authority governing such operations. The Russian government enacted the Procedure for Subsoil Use Licensing on July 15, 1992, which came into effect on August 20, 1992 (the “Licensing Regulation”). As was common with legislation of this time, the Licensing Regulation was passed without adequate consideration of transition provisions and contained numerous gaps. In an effort to address the problems in the Licensing Regulation, the Ministry of Natural Resources (the “MNR”) issued ministerial acts and instructions that attempted to clarify and, in some cases, modify the Licensing Regulation. Many of these acts contradicted the law and were beyond the scope of the MNR’s authority, but subsoil licensees had no option but to deal with the MNR in relation to subsoil issues and comply with its ministerial acts and instructions. Thus, it is possible that licenses applied for and/or issued in reliance on the MNR’s acts and instructions could be challenged by the prosecutor general’s office as being invalid. In particular, deficiencies of this nature subject subsoil licensees to selective and arbitrary governmental claims.

Legislation on subsoil rights still remains internally inconsistent and vague, and the regulators’ acts and instructions are often arguably inconsistent with legislation. Subsoil licensees thus continue to face the situation where both failing to comply with the regulator’s acts and instructions and choosing to comply with them places them at the risk of being subject to arbitrary governmental claims, whether by the regulator or the prosecutor general’s office. Our competitors may also seek to deny our rights to develop certain natural resource deposits by challenging our compliance with tender rules and procedures or compliance with license terms.

An existing provision of the law that a license may be suspended or terminated if the licensee does not comply with the “significant” or “material” terms of a license is an example of such a deficiency in the legislation. The MNR (including its successor agency since May 13, 2008, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology) has not issued any interpretive guidance on the meaning of these terms. Similarly, under Russia’s civil law system, court decisions interpreting these terms do not have any precedential value for future cases and, in any event, court decisions in this regard have been inconsistent. These deficiencies result in the regulatory authorities, prosecutors and courts having significant discretion over enforcement and interpretation of the law, which may be used to challenge our subsoil rights selectively and arbitrarily.

Moreover, during the tumultuous period of the transformation of the Russian planned economy into a free market economy in the 1990s, documentation relating to subsoil licenses was not properly maintained in accordance with administrative requirements and, in many cases, was lost or destroyed. Thus, in many cases, although it may be clearly evident that a particular enterprise has mined a licensed subsoil area for decades, the historical documentation relating to its subsoil licenses may be incomplete. If, through governmental or other challenges, our licenses are suspended or terminated we would be unable to realize our reserves, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Weaknesses relating to the Russian legal system and legislation create an uncertain investment climate.

Russia is still developing the legal framework required to support a market economy. The following weaknesses relating to the Russian legal system create an uncertain investment climate and result in risks with respect to our legal and business decisions:

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inconsistencies between and among the Constitution, federal laws, presidential decrees and governmental, ministerial and local orders, decisions, resolutions and other acts;

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conflicting local, regional and federal rules and regulations;

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rapid enactment of many laws and regulations resulting in their ambiguities and inconsistencies;

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the lack of fully developed corporate and securities laws;

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substantial gaps in the regulatory structure due to the delay or absence of implementing legislation;

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changes in the Russian court system, in particular, the merger of the Supreme Arbitrazh Court with the Russian Supreme Court;

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the relative inexperience of judges in interpreting legislation and contradictory judicial interpretations of the law;

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the lack of full independence of the judicial system from commercial, political and nationalistic influences;

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difficulty in enforcing court orders;

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a high degree of discretion or arbitrariness on the part of governmental authorities; and

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still-developing bankruptcy procedures that are subject to abuse.

All of these weaknesses could affect our ability to protect our rights under our licenses and under our contracts, or to defend ourselves against claims by others. We make no assurances that regulators, judicial authorities or third parties will not challenge our compliance with applicable laws, decrees and regulations.

One or more of our subsidiaries could be forced into liquidation on the basis of formal non-compliance with certain requirements of Russian law, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Certain provisions of Russian law may allow a court to order liquidation of a Russian legal entity on the basis of its formal non-compliance with certain requirements during formation, reorganization or during its operation. There have been cases in the past in which formal deficiencies in the establishment process of a Russian legal entity or non-compliance with provisions of Russian law have been used by Russian courts as a basis for liquidation of a legal entity. For example, under Russian corporate law, if a Russian company’s net assets calculated on the basis of Russian accounting standards at the end of its third or any subsequent financial year, fall below its share capital, the company must decrease its share capital to the level of its net assets value or initiate a voluntary liquidation. In addition, if a Russian company’s net assets calculated on the basis of Russian accounting standards at the end of its second or any subsequent financial year, fall below the minimum share capital required by law, the company must initiate voluntarily liquidation not later than six months after the end of such financial year. If the company fails to comply with either of the requirements stated above within the prescribed time limits, the company’s creditors may accelerate their claims and demand reimbursement of applicable damages, and governmental authorities may seek involuntary liquidation of the company. Certain Russian companies have negative net assets due to very low historical asset values reflected on their balance sheets prepared in accordance with Russian accounting standards; however, their solvency, i.e., their ability to pay debts as they become due, is not otherwise adversely affected by such negative net assets. Currently, we have the following subsidiaries with negative net assets: Mechel-Steel Management, Metals Recycling, VtorResource-Yuzhny, Thermal Grid Company of Southern Kuzbass, Metallurgshakhtspetsstroy, Yakutugol Trading House, Management Metallurgical Equipment Repair, Shakhtspetsstroy, Sky-Extra, Mechel Engineering, Mechel-Remservice, Maritime Cargo Shipping and Trans-Auto.

If involuntary liquidation were to occur, then we may be forced to reorganize the operations we currently conduct through the affected subsidiaries. Any such liquidation could lead to additional costs, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Selective government action could have a material adverse effect on the investment climate in Russia and on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our shares and ADSs.

Governmental authorities in Russia have a high degree of discretion. Press reports have cited instances of Russian companies and their major shareholders being subjected to government pressure through prosecutions of violations of regulations and legislation which are either politically motivated or triggered by competing business groups.

In mid-2008, Mechel came under public criticism by the Russian government. Repeated statements were made accusing Mechel of using tax avoidance schemes and other improprieties. Ultimately the allegations regarding tax avoidance were not confirmed by the tax authorities, but the antimonopoly investigation resulted in imposition of a fine and issuance of a FAS directive regarding our business practices. See “— Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry — Antimonopoly regulation could lead to sanctions with respect to the subsidiaries we have acquired or established or our prices, sales volumes and business practices” and “Item 8. Financial Information — Litigation — Antimonopoly.”

Selective government action, if directed at us or our controlling shareholder, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our shares and ADSs.

Due to still-developing law and practice related to minority shareholder protection in Russia, the ability of holders of our shares and ADSs to bring, or recover in, an action against us may be limited.

In general, minority shareholder protection under Russian law derives from supermajority shareholder approval requirements for certain corporate actions, as well as from the ability of a shareholder to demand that the company purchase the shares held by that shareholder if that shareholder voted against or did not participate in voting on certain types of actions. Companies are also required by Russian law to obtain the approval of disinterested shareholders for certain transactions with interested parties. See “Item 10. Additional Information — Description of Capital Stock — Rights attaching to common shares.” Disclosure and reporting requirements have also been enacted in Russia. Concepts similar to the fiduciary duties of directors and officers to their companies and shareholders are also expected to be further developed in Russian legislation; for example, amendments to the Russian Code of Administrative Offenses imposing administrative liability on members of a company’s board of directors or management board for violations committed in the maintenance of shareholder registers and the convening of general shareholders’ meetings. While these protections are similar to the types of protections available to minority shareholders in U.S. corporations, in practice, the enforcement of these and other protections has not been effective.

The supermajority shareholder approval requirement is met by a vote of 75% of all voting shares that are present at a general shareholders’ meeting. Thus, controlling shareholders owning less than 75% of the outstanding shares of a company may hold 75% or more of the voting power if enough minority shareholders are not present at the meeting. In situations where controlling shareholders effectively have 75% or more of the voting power at a general shareholders’ meeting, they are in a position to approve amendments to a company’s charter, reorganizations, significant sales of assets and other major transactions, which could be prejudicial to the interests of minority shareholders. See “— Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry — The concentration of our shares with our controlling shareholder will limit your ability to influence corporate matters and transactions with the controlling shareholder may present conflicts of interest, potentially resulting in the conclusion of transactions on less favorable terms than could be obtained in arm’s length transactions.”

Shareholder liability under Russian legislation could cause us to become liable for the obligations of our subsidiaries.

The Civil Code of the Russian Federation, as amended (the “Civil Code”), and the Joint-Stock Companies Law generally provide that shareholders in a Russian joint-stock company are not liable for the obligations of the

joint-stock company and bear only the risk of loss of their investment. This may not be the case, however, when one entity is capable of determining decisions made by another entity. The entity capable of determining such decisions is deemed an “effective parent.” The entity whose decisions are capable of being so determined is deemed an “effective subsidiary.” Under the Joint-Stock Companies Law, an effective parent bears joint and several responsibility for transactions concluded by the effective subsidiary in carrying out these decisions if:

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this decision-making capability is provided for in the charter of the effective subsidiary or in a contract between such entities; and

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the effective parent gives obligatory directions to the effective subsidiary based on the above-mentioned decision-making capability.

In addition, an effective parent is secondarily liable for an effective subsidiary’s debts if an effective subsidiary becomes insolvent or bankrupt due to the fault of an effective parent resulting from its action or inaction. This is the case no matter how the effective parent’s ability to determine decisions of the effective subsidiary arises. For example, this liability could arise through ownership of voting securities or by contract. Other shareholders of the effective subsidiary may claim compensation for the effective subsidiary’s losses from the effective parent which caused the effective subsidiary to take action or fail to take action knowing that such action or failure to take action would result in losses. Accordingly, we could be liable in some cases for the debts of our subsidiaries. This liability could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Shareholder rights provisions under Russian law could result in significant additional obligations on us.

Russian law provides that shareholders that vote against or do not participate in voting on certain matters have the right to request that the company redeem their shares at value determined in accordance with Russian law. The decisions of a general shareholders’ meeting that trigger this right include:

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decisions with respect to a reorganization;

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the approval by shareholders of a “major transaction,” which, in general terms, is a transaction involving property worth more than 50% of the gross book value of the company’s assets calculated according to Russian accounting standards, regardless of whether the transaction is actually consummated, except for transactions undertaken in the ordinary course of business;

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the amendment of the company’s charter or approval of a new version of the company’s charter that limits shareholder rights; and

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a filing of an application for delisting of the company’s shares or securities convertible into shares.

Our and our Russian subsidiaries’ obligation to purchase shares in these circumstances, which is limited to 10% of our or the subsidiary’s net assets, respectively, calculated in accordance with Russian accounting standards at the time the matter at issue is voted upon, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects due to the need to expend cash on such obligatory share purchases.

The lack of a central and rigorously regulated share registration system in Russia may result in improper record ownership of our shares and ADSs.

Ownership of Russian joint-stock company shares (or, if the shares are held through a nominee or custodian, then the holding of such nominee or custodian) is determined by entries in a share register and is evidenced by extracts from that register. Currently, there is no single central registration system in Russia. Share registers are maintained by the companies themselves or, if a company has more than 50 shareholders, by licensed registrars located throughout Russia. Regulations have been adopted regarding the licensing conditions for such registrars, as well as the procedures to be followed by both companies maintaining their own registers and licensed

registrars when performing the functions of registrar. In practice, however, these regulations have not been strictly enforced, and registrars generally have relatively low levels of capitalization and inadequate insurance coverage. Moreover, registrars are not necessarily subject to effective governmental supervision. Due to the lack of a central and rigorously regulated share registration system in Russia, transactions in respect of a company’s shares could be improperly or inaccurately recorded, and share registration could be lost through fraud, negligence or oversight by registrars incapable of compensating shareholders for their misconduct. This creates risks of loss not normally associated with investments in other securities markets. Furthermore, the depositary, under the terms of the deposit agreements governing record keeping and custody of our ADSs, is not liable for the unavailability of shares or for the failure to make any distribution of cash or property with respect thereto due to the unavailability of the shares. See “Item 10. Additional Information — Description of Capital Stock — Registration and transfer of shares.”

Characteristics of and changes in the Russian tax system could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our shares and ADSs.

Generally, Russian companies are subject to numerous taxes. These taxes include, among others:

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a profit tax;

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a value-added tax (“VAT”);

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a mineral extraction tax; and

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property and land taxes.

Laws related to these taxes have been in force for a short period relative to tax laws in more developed market economies and few precedents with regard to the interpretation of these laws have been established. Global tax reforms commenced in 1999 with the introduction of Part One of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, as amended (the “Russian Tax Code”), which sets general taxation guidelines. Since then, Russia has been in the process of replacing legislation regulating the application of major taxes such as the corporate profits tax, VAT and property tax with new chapters of the Russian Tax Code.

In practice, the Russian tax authorities generally interpret the tax laws in ways that rarely favor taxpayers, who often have to resort to court proceedings to defend their position against the tax authorities. Events within the Russian Federation suggest that the tax authorities may be taking a more assertive position in their interpretations of the legislation and assessments. Contradictory interpretations of tax regulations exist within government ministries and organizations at the federal, regional and local levels, creating uncertainties and inconsistent enforcement. Tax declarations and documentation such as customs declarations, are subject to review and investigation by relevant authorities, which may impose severe fines, penalties and interest charges. Generally, in a tax audit, taxpayers are subject to inspection with respect to the three calendar years which immediately preceded the year in which the audit is carried out. Previous audits do not completely exclude subsequent claims relating to the audited period because Russian tax law authorizes upper-level tax inspectorates to re-audit taxpayers which were audited by subordinate tax inspectorates. In addition, on July 14, 2005, the Russian Constitutional Court issued a decision that allows the statute of limitations for tax liabilities to be extended beyond the three-year term set forth in the tax laws if a court determines that a taxpayer has obstructed or hindered a tax audit. As a result of the fact that none of the relevant terms are defined, tax authorities may have broad discretion to argue that a taxpayer has “obstructed” or “hindered” a tax audit and ultimately seek back taxes and penalties beyond the three year term. In some instances, new tax regulations have been given retroactive effect.

In May 2009, the Russian President proposed legislative changes in his Budget Message regarding the Budget Policy for 2010-2012 to reform the anti-avoidance mechanism of double tax treaties. A law envisaging the introduction of the concept of an ‘actual recipient of income’ to the Russian Tax Code was drafted in late 2009. Although the bill neither uses the term ‘beneficial owner’ nor defines the term ‘actual recipient of income’

(which is used in Russian official versions of all double taxation treaties), the intent of the proposed amendments is to introduce a concept of beneficial ownership in the domestic tax legislation, and to combat the abuse of double taxation treaties where the beneficiaries of income reside in jurisdictions that do not have double taxation treaties with Russia. Furthermore, the Russian government proposed legislative changes to the anti-avoidance mechanism with respect to double tax treaties, as well as creating tax incentives to move organizations from offshore to Russia as set forth in “Main Directions of the Russian Federation Tax Policy for 2011-2013” dated May 2010 and in “Main Directions of the Russian Federation Tax Policy for 2012-2014” dated July 2011. In addition, by its “Main Directions of the Russian Federation Tax Policy for 2013-2015” dated May 2012 the Russian government proposed to introduce a term ‘actual recipient of income’ to the tax legislation. Furthermore, in “Main Directions of the Russian Federation Tax Policy for 2014-2016” it is planned to develop a standard intergovernmental agreement on tax information sharing with offshore and low-tax jurisdictions and further to conduct negotiations regarding the conclusion of relevant agreements with these jurisdictions in order to counteract tax minimization schemes. In June 2013, in the Budget message the Russian President pointed out to the Government of the Russian Federation on the necessity of implementation of measures to counteract tax evasion, including with the use of offshore jurisdictions. Currently, the bills providing for creation of the controlled foreign companies profit taxation mechanism and determination of tax residence of organizations are being drafted. In addition, the term ‘beneficial owner’ is introduced legislatively in the Federal Law “On Counteraction of the Legitimization (Laundering) of the Proceeds of Crime and the Financing of Terrorism” No. 115-FZ of August 7, 2001, as amended on December 28, 2013. We cannot predict how the above governmental proposals will be implemented in practice, and it is also unclear how, if introduced, it will be interpreted and applied by the tax authorities and/or courts and what impact it may have on taxpayers, including us.

Moreover, on November 16, 2011, the Russian President signed the Law on Amendment of Part One and Part Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation in Connection with the Formation of a Combined Taxpayer Group. The main provisions of the law came into force on January 1, 2012. The law provides for formation of a combined taxpayer group for the purposes of profit tax calculation and payment on the basis of the combined business performance of the members of such group. However, the law sets forth a number of requirements for the formation of a combined taxpayer group. Starting from 2013, 16 companies of our group have formed a combined taxpayer group, with Mechel being a responsible party. The formation of the combined taxpayer group allowed us to determine the taxable income with profit and loss offset of all the companies included in the combined taxpayer group and to pay profit tax from total aggregate income under the combined taxpayer group, starting from January 1, 2013. Starting from January 1, 2014, there have been some changes in the composition of the combined taxpayer group as a result the number of members has increased to 20 companies.

However, regardless of being a member of the combined taxpayer group or not, Mechel and our Russian subsidiaries pays Russian taxes on dividends they receive from other companies in our group. Intercompany dividends are subject to a withholding tax of 0% or 9% (depending on whether the recipient of dividends qualifies for Russian participation exemption rules) if being distributed to Russian companies, and 15% (or lower, subject to benefits provided by relevant double tax treaties) if being distributed to foreign companies. Dividends from foreign companies to Russian companies are subject to a tax of 9%. Taxes paid in foreign countries by Russian companies may be offset against payment of these taxes in the Russian Federation up to the maximum amount of the Russian tax liability. In order to apply the offset, the company is required to confirm the payment of taxes in the foreign country. The confirmations must be authorized by the tax authority of the foreign country if taxes were paid by the company itself, and the confirmation must be authorized by the tax agent if taxes were withheld by the tax agent under foreign tax law or an international tax agreement.

In addition, application of current Russian thin capitalization rules and the developing negative court practice on such disputes, including at the level of the Presidium of the Supreme Arbitrazh Court of the Russian Federation, may affect our ability to pay interest on loans in full. In particular, taking into account the requirements of Russian law and negative court practice on thin capitalization, it is practicable to withhold as a dividend tax a part of the interest on borrowings of our subsidiaries which are either received from Mechel or

received from independent banks and guaranteed by Mechel. In addition, part of interest on these borrowings may not be treated as expenses for tax purposes under certain conditions provided by thin capitalization rules.

The foregoing conditions create tax risks in Russia that are more significant than typically found in countries with more developed tax systems, imposing additional burdens and costs on our operations, including management resources. In addition to our tax burden, these risks and uncertainties complicate our tax planning and related business decisions, potentially exposing us to significant fines and penalties and enforcement measures despite our best efforts at compliance. See also “— Risks Relating to the Russian Federation — Legal risks and uncertainties — Selective government action could have a material adverse effect on the investment climate in Russia and on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and the value of our shares and ADSs.”

The lack of established practice with respect to Russian new transfer pricing rules exposes our business to the risk of significant additional liabilities.

Russian transfer pricing rules, effective since 1999, gave Russian tax authorities the right to control prices for transactions between affiliated entities and certain other types of transactions between unrelated parties, such as foreign trade transactions or transactions with significant price fluctuations, if the transaction price deviated by more than 20% from the market price.

In July 2011, Russian transfer pricing legislation was substantially amended. The new rules entered into force on January 1, 2012. The new rules require taxpayers to notify the tax authorities on controlled transactions that are performed from January 1, 2012. Controlled transactions mean any transactions between related parties both domestic and cross-border as well as certain transactions between unrelated parties. The tax legislation eliminated the existed 20% safe harbor for price deviations. The rules also introduce specific documentation requirements for proving market prices. The new rules have not been applied in practice yet, therefore we cannot predict now what effect the new transfer pricing rules will have on our business. If the tax authorities impose significant additional tax assessments as a result of changes in transfer pricing regulation and we are unable to successfully challenge them in court or make symmetrical adjustments provided by the new rules, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Expansion of limitations on foreign investment in strategic sectors could affect our ability to attract and/or retain foreign investments.

On April 29, 2008, the Federal Law “On the Procedure for Foreign Investment in Companies with Strategic Impact on the National Defense and Security of the Russian Federation” was adopted. See “Item 4. Information on the Company — Regulatory Matters — The Strategic Industries Law.”

As our subsidiary Southern Urals Nickel Plant holds the subsoil license on land plots with nickel and cobalt ore deposits which are included in the official list of subsoil plots of federal importance first published on March 5, 2009 in the Russian official newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta and as amended on August 13, 2010 (the “Strategic Subsoil List”), it qualifies as a Strategic Company and is subject to special regulation. Our subsidiaries Port Posiet, Port Kambarka and Port Temryuk are included in the register of natural monopolies, and therefore are also Strategic Companies.

According to the Strategic Industries Law, the activity of a business entity which is deemed to occupy a dominant position in the production and sale of metals and alloys with special features which are used in production of weapons and military equipment is also deemed to be strategic activity. Our subsidiary Urals Stampings Plant produces and sells carbon, alloyed and heat-resistant alloyed stampings. Such products are of a type generally used in the production of weapons and military equipment. Therefore, Urals Stampings Plant may also qualify as a Strategic Company. Furthermore, entities producing and distributing industrial explosives are

also deemed to be Strategic Companies. Thus, our subsidiaries Yakutugol, Vzryvprom and Korshunov Mining Plant also qualify as Strategic Companies, as they hold licenses to produce industrial explosives and licenses to distribute industrial explosives.

Therefore, any transfer, directly or indirectly, to a foreign investor or its group of entities (except for the transfer to a foreign investor controlled by the Russian Federation and/or Russian nationals provided such Russian nationals are Russian tax residents and do not have dual nationality) of a stake, or certain rights, in Port Posiet, Port Kambarka, Port Temryuk, Southern Urals Nickel Plant, Yakutugol, Vzryvprom, Korshunov Mining Plant and, possibly, Urals Stampings Plant, which, according to the Strategic Industries Law, is deemed to transfer control, as described in “Item 4. Information on the Company — Regulatory Matters — The Strategic Industries Law,” will be subject to prior approval from the state authorities. Likewise, a sale to a foreign investor or its group of entities of a stake in Mechel which provides control (as defined in the Strategic Industries Law) over Port Posiet, Port Kambarka, Port Temryuk, Southern Urals Nickel Plant, Yakutugol, Vzryvprom, Korshunov Mining Plant and, potentially, Urals Stampings Plant, will also be subject to prior approval in accordance with the Strategic Industries Law.

In addition, in case a foreign investor or its group of entities which is a holder of securities of Port Posiet, Port Kambarka, Port Temryuk, Southern Urals Nickel Plant, Yakutugol, Vzryvprom, Korshunov Mining Plant and, potentially, Urals Stampings Plant, becomes a holder of voting shares in amount which is considered to give them direct or indirect control over these companies in accordance with the Strategic Industries Law due to the allocation of voting shares as a result of certain corporate procedures provided by Russian law (e.g., as a result of a buy-back by the relevant company of its shares, conversion of preferred shares into common shares, or holders of preferred shares becoming entitled to vote at a general shareholders’ meeting in cases provided under Russian law), such shareholders will have to apply for approval within three months after they acquired such control.

In this connection, there is a risk that the requirement to receive prior or subsequent approvals and the risk of not being granted such approvals might affect our ability to attract foreign investments, create joint ventures with foreign partners with respect to our companies that qualify as Strategic Companies or effect restructuring of our group which might, in turn, materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Risks Relating to Our Business in the United States

New regulatory requirements for obtaining certain permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act may result in delays, additional costs or the inability to proceed with certain U.S. mining operations.

For some of our proposed U.S. mining operations, we will need to obtain certain permits issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) under the Clean Water Act § 404 (“404 Permits”). Such permits are required in order to undertake construction of valley fills, coal refuse disposal areas, and other activities associated with those operations that would have the effect of filling (covering) ephemeral, intermittent or perennial streams. Since approximately 2003, the Corps’ issuance of 404 Permits for coal-related fill projects (especially large-scale surface mines) has been the subject of continual litigation and other challenges by environmental groups, resulting in several court opinions that had the effect of substantially restricting issuance of such permits and curtailing coal production.

On June 11, 2009, the EPA, Corps, and other U.S. agencies with control over this permitting program issued a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) that identified several steps that will be taken as to pending and future 404 Permit applications, in order to implement an “Enhanced Coordinated Review Process” for the purpose of significantly reducing the harmful environmental consequences of Appalachian surface coal mining operations. The EPA followed up on the MOU by releasing its Financial Guidance on Improving EPA Review of Appalachian Surface Coal Mining Operations under the Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and the Environmental Executive Justice Order on July 21, 2011. The EPA’s final guidance replaced interim

guidance released on April 1, 2010. Since release of the MOU and the other guidance documents, few 404 Permits have been issued, and each of those permits that were issued included modifications to the proposed mining plan and additional environmental monitoring provisions that require adaptive management and revisions to mine plans should certain indicia of harm to the aquatic system be observed. Companies with 404 Permit applications that have been pending for a year or longer are currently required to engage in meetings with Corps and EPA staff before those applications are submitted for further processing, and the timeline for issuance of such permits is uncertain. It is also widely expected that some of those permit applications will be denied, or that the EPA will exercise its Clean Water Act veto authority over some 404 Permits that are issued by the Corps. For example, in January 2011, the EPA for the first time exercised its veto power by rescinding a federal Clean Water Act permit held by another coal mining company for a surface mine in Appalachia.

In addition, partly in response to regulatory turmoil created by the EPA’s involvement in the U.S. Clean Water Act 404 and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permitting programs, in August 2010, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) issued its “Permitting Guidance for Surface Coal Mining Operations to Protect West Virginia’s Narrative Water Quality Standards” (“WVDEP Narrative WQS Implementation Guidance”). The basic narrative water quality standard that this Guidance seeks to implement requires that no significant adverse impact to the chemical, physical, hydrologic, or biological components of aquatic ecosystems shall be allowed. The WVDEP Narrative WQS Implementation Guidance sets forth detailed, lengthy procedures for determining whether a proposed NPDES discharge has a “reasonable potential” to cause a violation of this narrative standard, and if so, the permit conditions that should be imposed to assure that no such violations occur. The interpretation and application of this guidance in the future may, in turn, be affected by the EPA’s activities mentioned above.

Although we have no immediate need for new 404 Permits to continue our current U.S. mining operations in the short term, some of our future mine plans (including the continuation of existing mines) will require the issuance of such permits to proceed. Whether the regulatory environment will be such that 404 Permits for those projects may be expected to be issued in a timely manner, in the form required for such plans to be implemented, is difficult to predict. Our inability to obtain such permits or any unexpected delay or additional costs incurred in connection with securing such permits could have a material adverse effect on the financial performance of our U.S. coal mining operations.

The cost and availability of reliable transportation could negatively impact our U.S. coal mining operations.

The availability and cost of reliable transportation for our U.S. coal is a critical factor in a customer’s purchasing decision. Increases in transportation costs could make coal a less competitive source of energy or could make our coal production less competitive than coal produced from other sources.

Our U.S. mines depend on a single railroad carrier, Norfolk Southern. We also have the ability to export coal through the port of New Orleans on the Gulf of Mexico by trucking coal to a river terminal followed by barging via the Mississippi River.

Disruptions to railway transport caused by weather-related problems, flooding, drought, accidents, mechanical difficulties, strikes, lockouts, bottlenecks, and other events could temporarily impair our ability to supply coal to our customers. For example, the snowfall in the winter of 2009-2010, which was the heaviest in the last decade, caused delays in our supplies of coal to customers. Furthermore, improvement works carried on at the Norfolk and Southern Hartland Corridor Tunnel caused delays in railcar deliveries to our mines for up to four days. In addition, after Norfolk Southern made certain cuts in equipment and personnel during the economic slowdown in 2009, it is currently facing difficulties in building up its transportation capacity to meet the increasing demand for railcars.

Similar risks exist in the logistical chain to New Orleans. The 2011 record-breaking flooding of the Mississippi River and its tributaries caused weeks of delay resulting in force majeure conditions. Although we

did not miss any shipments, our customers have had to reschedule vessels affecting delivery timelines and inventory levels. In addition, we face labor and fuel cost issues which can adversely affect the truck-haul element of this logistical chain. Transportation providers may face increased regulation or other difficulties in the future that may impair our ability to supply coal to our customers at a competitive cost. If there are disruptions of the transportation services and we are unable to make alternative arrangements to ship our coal, the financial performance of our U.S. coal mining operations could be materially adversely affected.

Defects in title or loss of any leasehold interests in our U.S. properties could limit our ability to conduct mining operations or result in significant cost increases.

We conduct a significant part of our mining operations in the United States on properties that we lease. A title defect or the loss of any lease could adversely affect our ability to mine the associated reserves. In addition, from time to time the rights of third parties for competing uses of adjacent, overlying, or underlying lands such as for oil and gas activity, coalbed methane, production, pipelines, roads, easements and public facilities may affect our ability to operate as planned if our title is not superior or alternative arrangements cannot be negotiated. Title to much of our leased properties and fee mineral rights is not usually verified until we make a commitment to develop a property, which may not occur until after we have obtained necessary permits and completed exploration of the property. Our right to mine some of our reserves may be adversely affected if defects in title or boundaries exist or competing interests cannot be resolved. In order to obtain leases or other rights to conduct our mining operations on property where these defects exist, we may incur unexpected costs or be compelled to leave un-mined the affected reserves, resulting in a material adverse effect on the financial performance of our U.S. coal mining operations.

A shortage of skilled labor in the mining industry could negatively impact the profitability of our U.S. coal mining operations.

Efficient coal mining using modern techniques and equipment requires skilled workers. Ideally, we seek to hire individuals with sufficient level of experience to ensure a minimum level of operational efficiency. In recent years, the U.S. coal mining industry has faced a shortage of skilled workers, thus increasing costs and decreasing productivity. In particular, we are facing difficulties in recruiting skilled workers at our underground operations. Furthermore, the competition from neighboring mining companies for attracting skilled workers is significant. In the event the shortage of experienced labor continues or worsens, it could have an adverse impact on our labor productivity and costs and our ability to expand production in the event there is an increase in the demand for our coal.

The Bluestone companies are subject to extensive U.S. laws, government regulations and other requirements relating to the protection of the environment, health and safety and other matters and face a highly litigious environment.

Like other mining businesses in the United States, our Bluestone companies are subject to a wide range of rules and regulations, including those governing water discharges, air emissions, the management, treatment, storage, disposal and transportation of hazardous materials and waste, protection of plants, wildlife and other natural resources, worker health and safety, reclamation and restoration of properties after mining activities cease, surface subsidence from underground mining, blasting operations, noise, the effects of mining on surface water and groundwater quality and availability, and reporting and recordkeeping. Violations of these requirements can result in fines, penalties, required facility upgrades or operational changes, suspension or revocation of permits and, in severe cases, temporary or permanent shut-down of our mines. We incur substantial costs in order to comply with governmental regulations that apply to our operations in the United States.

We could also become subject to investigation or cleanup obligations, or related third-party personal injury or property damage claims, in connection with on-site or off-site contamination issues or other non-compliance with U.S. regulatory requirements. In particular, under the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA” or commonly known as the “Superfund law”) and analogous state laws, current and former property owners and operators, as well as hazardous waste generators, arrangers and transporters, can be held liable for investigation and cleanup costs at properties where there has been a “release” or “threatened release” of hazardous substances. Such laws can also require so-called “potentially responsible parties” to fund the restoration of damaged natural resources or agree to restrictions on future uses of impacted properties.

Liability under such laws can be strict, joint, several and retroactive. Accordingly, we could theoretically incur material liability (whether as a result of government enforcement, private contribution claims or private personal injury or property damage claims) for known or unknown liabilities at (or caused by migrations from or hazardous waste shipped from) any of our current or former facilities or properties, including those owned or operated by our predecessors or third parties or at third party disposal sites. In addition, lawsuits by employees, customers, suppliers and other private parties may be costly to defend and could lead to judgments for damages.

Currently, eleven of the 46 NPDES permits for our Bluestone operations are pending renewal with the EPA. These permits have been administratively extended for a period of six months and currently Bluestone is not prevented from mining coal. However, should these permits remain unrenewed after the six-month period expires in 2014, there is a significant risk that such permits will be withdrawn and production at some of the Bluestone operations may be suspended for an indefinite period of time.

Changes in U.S. regulations and the passage of new legislation in the United States could materially adversely affect the Bluestone companies’ operations, increase our costs or limit our ability to produce and sell coal in the United States.

New legislation, regulations and rules adopted or implemented in the future (or changes in interpretations of existing laws and regulations) may materially adversely affect our U.S. operations. Some U.S. commentators expect that the current U.S. administration could implement policies or sponsor legislation that will make the production and/or consumption of coal in the United States more expensive and create additional regulatory burdens, and it remains unclear whether this will affect the business and prospects of the Bluestone companies. In particular, future regulation of greenhouse gases in the United States could occur pursuant to future treaty obligations, statutory or regulatory changes under the U.S. Clean Air Act, federal or state adoption of a greenhouse gas regulatory scheme, or otherwise. In May 2010, the EPA finalized its Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule establishing criteria that define when permits under the New Source Review Prevention of Significant Deterioration and Title V operating permit programs are required for new and existing industrial facilities. This final rule “tailors” the requirements of the Clean Air Act permitting programs to phase in various greenhouse gas related requirements over time. The EPA has also announced plans to establish greenhouse gas standards under the Clean Air Act for fossil fuel fired power plants. In addition, we are required to report to the EPA our annual greenhouse gas emissions from certain of our operations. Many states and regions have undertaken greenhouse gas initiatives, including cap-and-trade programs.

These and other potential U.S. federal, state and regional climate change rules will likely require additional controls on coal-fueled power plants, industrial boilers and manufacturing operations, and may even cause some users of coal to switch from coal to a lower carbon fuel. There can be no assurance at this time that a carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program, a carbon tax or other regulatory regime, if implemented, will not affect the future market for coal in the regions where we operate and reduce the demand for coal.

Furthermore, surface and underground mining are subject to increasing regulation, including pursuant to the federal MINER Act, blast survey and monitoring restrictions, and requirements by the Corps and the U.S. Department of Interior’s Office of Surface Mining, which may require us to incur additional costs. Recent underground mining accidents in the United States, culminating in a mine explosion in West Virginia that killed 29 miners in April 2010, have resulted in calls by government officials for the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration to intensify its oversight and enforcement of mine safety, and to impose increasingly punitive

measures against mining companies that violate mine safety laws, including, where necessary, closure of hazardous mines. For example, federal and West Virginia authorities have generally been conducting enhanced inspections of coal mines for various safety concerns. Increased oversight, enforcement and regulation of mine safety could cause us to incur increased compliance costs, some of which could be material.

We must obtain, maintain and comply with numerous U.S. governmental permits and approvals for our operations in the United States, which can be costly and time consuming, and our failure to obtain, renew or comply with necessary permits and approvals could negatively impact our business.

Numerous governmental permits and approvals are required for our U.S. coal mining operations and obtaining these permits can take a substantial amount of time. For example, it typically takes up to 18 months to obtain all required permits for new underground operations and up to four years for new surface mine operations. Many of our permits are subject to renewal from time to time, and renewed permits may contain more restrictive conditions than existing permits. In addition, violations of our permits may occur from time to time, permits we need may not be issued or, if issued, may not be issued in a timely fashion.

We may be subject to significant mine reclamation and closure obligations with respect to our U.S. coal mining operations.

The U.S. Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (“SMCRA”) and counterpart state rules establish operational, reclamation and closure standards for all aspects of surface mining in the United States, as well as many aspects of underground mining. Our estimated reclamation and mine closure obligations could change significantly if actual amounts (which are dependent on a number of variables, including estimated future retirement costs, estimated proven reserves and assumptions involving profit margins, inflation rates and interest rates) differ significantly from our assumptions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Extensive environmental regulation in the United States, including the Clean Air Act and similar state and local laws, affect our U.S. customers and could reduce the demand for coal as a fuel source and cause our sales to decline.

The U.S. Clean Air Act and similar state and local laws extensively regulate the amount of sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, mercury and other compounds that are emitted into the air from power plants and other sources. Stricter regulation of such emissions could increase the cost of using coal in the United States, reducing demand and make it a less attractive fuel alternative for future planning.

For example, in order to meet the Clean Air Act limits on sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants, coal users may need to install scrubbers, use sulfur dioxide emission allowances (some of which they may purchase), blend high sulfur coal with low sulfur coal or switch to other fuels. Furthermore, some of the EPA’s initiatives to reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxide and mercury emissions have been the subject of litigation in recent years, and there is continued uncertainty over lawsuits by environmental groups and other public resistance during the initial permitting process for new coal-fired power plants, which has had a chilling effect on the construction of such plants. This increasing focus on power plant emissions could adversely impact the demand for coal.

To the extent compliance with these laws and regulations and any new or proposed requirements affect our customers in the United States, an important market for the Bluestone companies, this could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Mining in the Northern and Central Appalachian region of the United States is more complex and involves more regulatory constraints than in other U.S. geographic areas.

The geological characteristics of Northern and Central Appalachian coal reserves, such as depth of overburden and coal seam thickness, make them complex and costly to mine. As such mines become depleted,

replacement reserves may not be available when required or, if available, may not be capable of being mined at costs comparable to those characteristic of the depleting mines. In addition, as compared to mines in other areas such as in the western United States, permitting, licensing and other environmental and regulatory requirements are more costly and time consuming to satisfy. These factors could materially adversely affect the mining operations and cost structures of, and customers’ ability to use coal produced by, operators in Northern and Central Appalachia, including our Bluestone companies.

Item 4. Information on the Company

Overview

We are a vertically integrated group with revenues of $8.6 billion in 2013, $10.6 billion in 2012 and $12.3 billion in 2011, with operations organized into four industrial segments: mining, steel, ferroalloys and power, each of which has a management company that performs the functions of respective executive management bodies of the companies within the segment, as described below.

Our group includes a number of logistical and marketing companies that help us to deliver and market our products. We have freight seaports in Russia on the Sea of Japan (Port Posiet) and on the Sea of Azov (Port Temryuk) and a freight river port on the Kama River, a tributary of the Volga River in central Russia (Port Kambarka). We have a fleet of freight railcars, locomotives and long-haul trucks, and in December 2011 we finished laying track for the rail line to our Elga coal deposit in the Sakha Republic, providing it with rail access.

We have a network of overseas subsidiaries, branches, warehouses, service centers and agents to market our products internationally, and we have a Russian domestic steel retail and service subsidiary with regional offices in 52 cities throughout Russia.

Mechel OAO is an open joint-stock company incorporated under the laws of the Russian Federation. From the date of our incorporation on March 19, 2003 until July 19, 2005, our corporate name was Mechel Steel Group OAO. We conduct our business through a number of subsidiaries. We are registered with the Federal Tax Service of the Russian Federation under main state registration number (OGRN) 1037703012896. Our principal executive offices are located at Krasnoarmeyskaya Street, 1, Moscow 125993, Russian Federation. Our telephone number is +7 495 221 8888. Our Internet addresses are www.mechel.com and www.mechel.ru. Information posted on our website is not a part of this document. We have appointed C T Corporation System, located at 111 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10011, as our authorized agent upon which process may be served for any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to our shares, ADSs or the deposit agreements.

Mining Segment

Our mining segment produces metallurgical and steam coal, as well as iron ore, coke and limestone.

The segment primarily consists of our coal, iron ore and coke production facilities in Russia and the United States. It also includes limestone operations and certain transportation and logistics facilities and engineering operations.

Our subsidiary Southern Kuzbass Coal Company and its subsidiaries operate coal mines located in the Kuznetsky basin, near Mezhdurechensk in Western Siberia. These mines include four open pit mines and three underground mines. Another our subsidiary, Yakutugol, operates coal mines located in the Sakha Republic in Eastern Siberia, consisting of two open pit mines and one underground mine. Yakutugol also holds subsoil licenses for three iron ore deposits, located in close proximity to its coal mining operations. In August 2013, we established Elgaugol which holds the subsoil license for the Elga coal deposit, located in the Sakha Republic in Eastern Siberia. Our Bluestone operations include three mining complexes in West Virginia, United States, consisting of open pit and underground mines. Our mining segment also provides coal washing services to our coal mining subsidiaries.

Korshunov Mining Plant operates two open pit iron ore mines and a washing plant located near Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky, a town in the Irkutsk region in Eastern Siberia.

The mining segment also produces significant amounts of coke, both for use by our subsidiaries in the steel segment and for sales to third parties. We have the flexibility to supply our own steel mills with our mining products or to sell such mining products to third parties, depending on price differentials between local suppliers and foreign and domestic customers.

In April 2008, we established Mechel Mining, a wholly-owned subsidiary, in which we consolidated coal, iron ore and coke assets of our mining segment (Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, Korshunov Mining Plant, Yakutugol, Bluestone, Moscow Coke and Gas Plant and Mechel Coke and certain other companies).

Mechel Mining Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mechel Mining, acts as the sole executive body of our subsidiaries in the mining segment.

Steel Segment

Our steel segment produces and sells semi-finished steel products, long products of wide range of steel grades, carbon and stainless flat steel products and high value-added metal products, including wire products, stampings and forgings.

Our steel production facilities in Russia include one integrated steel mill, one steel-making mill, a wire products plant and forgings and stampings mills in the southern Ural Mountains, a wire products plant in northwestern Russia near the border with Finland. We also have a wire products plant in Lithuania.

Mechel-Steel Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mechel, acts as the sole executive body of our main subsidiaries in the steel segment.

Our steel segment also includes our distribution network in Russia and abroad, which consists of Mechel Service Global, and its subsidiaries in Russia, the CIS and Europe.

Ferroalloys Segment

Our ferroalloys segment produces and sells ferrosilicon from our Bratsk Ferroalloy Plant. We also have the subsoil license for the Shevchenko silicate nickel ore deposit in Kazakhstan. We consolidated our ferroalloy assets in Oriel Resources. Mechel Ferroalloys Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oriel Resources, acts as the sole executive body of our subsidiaries in the ferroalloys segment.

Power Segment

The power segment was formed in April 2007, when we acquired a controlling interest in Southern Kuzbass Power Plant located in Kaltan in the Kemerovo region, and it sells electricity and capacity to the wholesale market, as well as supplies electricity within our group. In June 2007, we acquired a controlling interest in Kuzbass Power Sales Company, the largest power distribution company in the Kemerovo region. Our power segment enables us to market high value-added products made from our steam coal, such as electricity and heat energy, and to increase the electric power self-sufficiency of our mining and steel segments. Mechel Energo acts as the sole executive body of Southern Kuzbass Power Plant and Kuzbass Power Sales Company in our power segment.

LOGO

Competitive Strengths

Our main competitive strengths are the following:

Leading mining and metals group by production volume with strong positions in key businesses

We are a leading coking coal producer and exporter by volume in Russia.

In 2013, we were the second largest coking coal producer in Russia with a 19.8% market share in the coking coal market in Russia by production volume, according to the Central Dispatching Department of Fuel and Energy Complex (“Central Dispatching Department”), a Russian information agency reporting on the fuel and energy industry. In 2013, our export sales of coking coal concentrate were the largest by volume among Russian companies, according to RasMin OOO (“RasMin”), a private information and research company focusing on the coal mining industry.

We have a large coal reserve base and a full-range offering of high-quality coal for blast furnace steel producers.

Our total coal reserves, accounted as per the SEC Industry Guide 7, amounted to 3,187.7 million tonnes as of December 31, 2013.

Our coal reserves allow us to supply steel producers and coke makers globally with a full range of coal grades to make quality metallurgical coke or to use in PCI-assisted and sintering-assisted steel manufacturing. In particular, Southern Kuzbass Coal Company produces semi-hard and semi-soft coking coal, as well as PCI and anthracite. Most of the coking coal grades of Southern Kuzbass Coal Company are sold in Russia, while PCI and anthracite are exported. Yakutugol produces low-volatile hard coking coal used by customers both in the Asia-Pacific region and in Ukraine. Elgaugol produces high-quality hard coking coal of high-volatile content which is planned for export. Our Bluestone coal assets produce low, medium and high-volatile hard coking coal used predominantly by customers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia-Pacific region and South America. The ability to serve our customers throughout the world with a broad range of metallurgical coal grades gives us a competitive advantage in winning new sales markets and establishing long-term relationships with the customers.

By volume we are Russia’s second largest producer of special steel and long steel products and Russia’s largest producer of wire products.

According to Metal Expert, a source for global and steel and raw materials market news and analytics, in 2013, we were Russia’s second largest producer of long steel products (excluding square billets) by production volume, third largest producer of reinforcement bars (rebar), largest producer of wire rod and largest producer of wire products. Our long steel products business has particularly benefited from the increased infrastructure and construction activity in Russia over the last 10 years. Our share of Russia’s total production volume of rebar in 2013 was approximately 19.0%, according to Metal Expert. According to Metal Expert and Chermet, a Russian ferrous metals industry association (“Chermet”), we are Russia’s second largest producer of special steel by production volume, accounting for 28.0% of Russia’s total special steel output in 2013. Our product range in special steel is broader and more comprehensive than other Russian producers, giving us an added advantage in our markets. According to Prommetiz, we are Russia’s largest producer of wire products by production volume, accounting for 33.2% of Russia’s total wire products output in 2013. Our product range in wire products is broader than other Russian producers and allows to cover all needs of customers, giving us an added advantage in our markets.

High degree of vertical integration

Our steel segment is able to source most of its raw materials from our group companies, which provides a hedge against supply interruptions and market volatility.

We believe that our internal supplies of coke, iron ore concentrate and ferrosilicon give us advantages over other steel producers, such as higher stability of operations, better quality control of end products, reduced

production costs, improved flexibility and planning latitude in the production of our steel and value-added steel products and the ability to respond quickly to market demands and cycles. In 2013, we were fully self-sufficient with respect to coke and ferrosilicon. In 2013, we satisfied approximately 23% of our electricity needs internally. In 2013, we were approximately 10% self-sufficient with respect to iron ore concentrate due to the export of most of our iron ore concentrate production. We believe that the level of our self-sufficiency in raw materials gives our steel business a competitive advantage.

We view our ability to source most of our inputs internally not only as a hedge against potential supply interruptions, but as a hedge against market volatility. From an operational perspective, since our mining and power assets produce the same type of inputs that our manufacturing facilities use, we are less dependent on third party vendors and less susceptible to supply bottlenecks. From a financial perspective, this also means that if the market prices of our steel segment’s inputs rise, putting pressure on steel segment margins, the margins of our mining and power segments will tend to increase. Similarly, while decreases in commodity prices tend to reduce revenues in our mining segment, they also create an opportunity for increased margins in our steel business.

Furthermore, we work on improving the quality of our steel products and reducing the costs for raw materials. Depending on prevailing market conditions, we evaluate the efficiency of use of our own raw materials or raw materials purchased from third parties, which allows us to generate additional income.

The ability to internally source our materials also gives us better market insight when we negotiate with our outside suppliers and improves our ability to manage our raw materials costs.

Our logistics capability allows us to better manage infrastructure bottlenecks, to market our products to a broader range of customers and to reduce our reliance on trade intermediaries.

We are committed to maximum efficiency in delivering goods to consumers and have been actively developing our own logistics network. Using our own transportation capacity enables us to save costs as we are less exposed to market fluctuations in transportation prices and are able to establish flexible delivery schedules that are convenient for our customers. Our logistics capacities are currently comprised of two seaports and a river port, as well as freight forwarding companies, Mecheltrans and Mecheltrans Auto, which manage rail and motor transportation of our products and carry out the overall coordination of our sea, rail and motor transportation logistics. These companies not only transport our products but also provide transportation services to third parties.

We own two seaports and a river port and we have our own rail rolling stock. Port Posiet in the Russian Far East, on the Sea of Japan, allows us easy access to the Asia-Pacific seaborne markets and provides a delivery terminal for the coal mined by our subsidiaries Yakutugol and Elgaugol in Yakutia. We are in the process of the first stage of the Port Posiet’s modernization, which upon completion in 2014 will enable us to expand the cargo-handling capacity of the port up to 7.0 million tonnes per annum. Port Temryuk on the Sea of Azov, an inlet of the Black Sea basin, is primarily used for coal and metal transshipment and provides us access to the emerging market economies of the Black Sea basin and beyond. Port Kambarka on the Kama River in the Republic of Udmurtia (a Russian administrative region also known as Udmurtia) is connected to the Volga River basin and the Caspian Sea, as well as by canal to the Don River and the Baltic Sea. As of December 31, 2013, our subsidiaries Mecheltrans and Mecheltrans Auto owned and leased 12,037 freight transportation units, including 11,988 railcars and 49 long-haul trucks that we use to ship our products.

In June 2008, pursuant to the terms of our subsoil license for the Elga coal deposit we began construction of a private rail line, which we own and control subject to applicable regulation. In December 2011, we finished laying track for the rail line in accordance with the terms of the license. The 321 kilometer-long rail line is now in operation and we are able to use it for transportation of coal currently produced at the Elga deposit. The rail line connects the Elga coal deposit with the Baikal-Amur Mainline (at the Ulak railway station), which, in turn, provides access to the Russian rail network, in general, and Pacific Ocean ports, in particular. We will further

develop the rail line to increase its capacity in line with our subsoil license requirements and coal production plans. We anticipate that the Elga rail line will not only provide an avenue for delivery of coal produced at the Elga coal deposit, but will eventually serve as the transport route for coal, iron ore and other raw materials mined in adjacent deposits.

One of the lowest-cost metallurgical coal producers

According to AME Group Pty Limited (“AME”), our Russian metallurgical coal operations are in the first, second and third quartiles of the global cash cost curve (FOB basis). Approximately 84% of our coking coal production is mined from open pit mines, which we believe is one of the highest rates among our major Russian competitors. Open pit coal mining is generally considered safer, cheaper and faster than the underground method of mining. Most of our mines and processing facilities have long and established operating histories. We view strict cost management and increases in productivity as fundamental aspects of our day-to-day operations, and continually reassess and improve the efficiency of our mining operations.

Strategically positioned to supply key growth markets

Our mining and logistical assets are well-positioned to expand sales to the Asia-Pacific seaborne markets.

Eastern Siberian coal mines of Yakutugol and our Elga coal deposit, which are part of our mining segment, are strategically located and will enable us to expand exports of our products to key Asian markets. Yakutugol and Elgaugol are located within the shortest distance among Russian coking coal producers to Port Posiet and Port Vanino in the Russian Far East. We view the proximity of these mining and logistical assets to key fast-growing economies as a key competitive advantage which allows us to diversify our sales, provides us with additional growth opportunities and acts as a hedge in the event of a decrease in demand from customers in Russia. Moreover, due to our integration, experience and location in Russia, which has some of the largest deposits of coal and iron ore in the world, we are better positioned than many of our international competitors to secure future production growth.

Our steel mills are well-positioned to supply Russian infrastructure projects.

Russia is our core steel market and we have significant domestic market shares in main types of carbon and special steel long products. We believe we have established a strong reputation and brand image for Mechel within Russia, just as we have with our international customers. The location of a number of our core steel segment assets in the southern Urals positions us advantageously, from a geographical and logistical perspective, to serve the areas in the west of the Urals as this region is one of the most intensive in consumption of long steel products for construction in Russia, according to Metal Expert. The construction industry has been a major source of our revenue and we have captured a large portion of the market. According to Metal Expert, our share of Russia’s total production volume of construction rebar in 2013 was approximately 19.0%.

Established distribution and sales platform

We have a non-retail sales and distribution network represented by our Swiss subsidiaries Mechel Trading and Mechel Carbon with representative offices in various countries. In September 2011, Mechel Carbon and Somani Group established Mechel Somani Carbon Private Limited, a joint venture engaged in distribution of metallurgical coals on the Indian market. In January 2012, we established Mechel Carbon Singapore to cover marketing and sales activities in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific market. This network facilitated sales constituting 25.6% of our total sales in 2013, reducing our reliance on the Russian market.

In 2013, following the refocusing of our strategy in the steel segment on the domestic market and the completion of the gradual withdrawal of production from Europe, we started optimizing the distribution network of Mechel Service Global in order to preserve the link between production and sales. The optimization entailed

the closure of some of our European service centers and warehouses, keeping those which offer a direct synergy between our Russian-based manufacturing and our consumer markets in Europe. We conduct sales of high-quality steel grades to European customers through Mechel Service Belgium, and commercial-quality steel is sold through service centers in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, which also provide customers with a wide range of services for metal processing. The distribution platform in Russia and the CIS also underwent a restructuring, though at a lesser scale. In 2014, we will continue to optimize the Mechel Service Global’s structure in order to maximize synergies with our Russian manufacturing.

Mechel Service Global sales accounted for 59.3% of our steel segment sales and 34.3% of our total sales in 2013. More than 95.0% of Mechel Service Global sales were sold domestically. Sales to companies within our group accounted for 2.2% of total sales of Mechel Service Global (including intra-group sales) in 2013.

Our direct access to end customers allows us to obtain real-time market intelligence and improve production planning at our steel facilities, which in its turn allows us to improve the efficiency of our existing operations through the optimization of the sales structure.

Strong and focused management team

Our current management team has significant experience in all aspects of our businesses. Mr. Zyuzin, one of the founders of our group and our controlling shareholder, is our Chairman. Mr. Zyuzin has led our successful transformation from a small coal trading operation to a large integrated mining and metals group. Mr. Zyuzin has over 27 years of experience in the coal mining industry and holds a Ph.D. in technical sciences in the coal mining field. Our divisional management also has long-tenured experience in the mining and metals industry. See “— Directors and Executive Officers.”

Business Strategy

Our goal is to become one of the largest mining companies globally with focus on metallurgical coal and a strong integration into steel. The key elements of our strategy include the following:

Continue to grow the value of our business on the basis of a vertically integrated holding with our mining division forming the backbone of our business model

We intend to maintain the flexibility to source our inputs internally as circumstances require.

Our coking coal and iron ore production form a solid platform for our steel business and provide a significant portion of the raw materials supply for our pig iron production. Steam coal produced in our mining operations can be used to feed our power generating business, which we operate not only as a diversification measure and a way to market another value-added product made from our coal, but also as a way to have more control over our energy efficiency and hedge against increases in electricity prices. However, even as we expand and develop our internal sourcing capability, we intend to adhere to our long-standing approach of purchasing inputs from third party suppliers and selling products, including raw materials, to domestic and international customers in a way that we believe creates the most advantageous profit opportunities for our group.

We plan to expand our logistics capabilities.

We intend to selectively expand our logistics capabilities. We plan to expand our own railcar fleet, balancing transportation security and cost efficiency. Development of Port Posiet will be a key for uninterrupted shipments of our coal and steel products to our main markets, predominantly sales of coal products to our customers in South-East Asia. Recently, we have expanded the cargo-handling capacity of Port Posiet by constructing a modern transshipment complex at the port. In order to reflect growing production of export-oriented coal in our mining segment, we contemplate further growth of port capacity including acquisitions of ports on our main export routes.

We will leverage synergies among our core businesses.

In addition to synergies derived from our status as an integrated group, we believe that additional cost savings and opportunities will arise as we benefit from optimization of our business combination in line with the changing markets, including economies of scale, continuing integration of recent acquisitions and targeted disposal of the assets which prevent from further efficient improvement of our business. We regularly evaluate the manner in which our subsidiaries source their raw materials needs and transfer products within our group in order to operate in the most efficient way, and we expect to identify and take advantage of further synergies among our core businesses.

We intend to concentrate on realizing the maximum potential from our existing assets, while also considering disposals of non-core assets on a selective basis.

Our strategy has shifted from growing our business through acquisition and expansion opportunities to extracting the maximum value from our existing assets, including recent acquisitions. We now intend to concentrate on efficiency improvements and modernization of the business lines, which we expect will increase the business’ overall profitability. We may also consider selective disposal of assets which do not fit our main strategy directions in order to minimize opportunity costs and decrease our financial leverage.

Since 2012, we have refocused our strategy to profitable mining and steel assets in Russia. In line with our strategy, in the mining segment we intend to prioritize the development of the Elga coal deposit, one of the largest global metallurgical coal reserves, and to strive to secure our position as one of the largest metallurgical coal producers globally. In the steel segment, we plan to focus on the Russian rail, infrastructure and construction markets, and to leverage the leadership in special and stainless steels and wire products in Russia by relying on our own distribution network which we believe is the largest in Russia. Furthermore, we have evaluated our other assets for potential divestment and decided to dispose of our ferroalloys segment, certain power assets and certain steel assets not integrated with our mining segment and less efficient through their high cost base and exposure to weaker end markets. In December 2012, we suspended operations at Southern Urals Nickel Plant, which mined nickel ore and produced ferronickel, and in July 2013, we made a decision to close the plant. In February 2013, we disposed of our Romanian steel plants. In July 2013, we disposed of Toplofikatsia Rousse, a power plant in Bulgaria. In December 2013, we disposed of Voskhod Mining Plant in Kazakhstan and Tikhvin Ferroalloy Plant in Russia, which mined chrome ore and produced ferrochrome, respectively.

Develop our substantial reserve base in order to become one of the leaders in key raw materials supplies for the global steel industry

We plan to develop our reserves in order to become one of the top three producers of metallurgical coal globally.

We intend to build on our substantial mining experience and significant resource base by developing our existing coal reserves, particularly in order to sell more high-quality metallurgical coal and coal products to third parties. We currently plan to increase our annual saleable coal production from 22.7 million tonnes in 2013 to 29.3 million tonnes in 2016. We intend to develop coking coal reserves of Elgaugol that we believe will solidify our position as a leading global producer of coking coal for the future. We intend to selectively seek additional mining licenses through acquisitions and participation in auctions and tenders in view of our strategic plans and market dynamics. In particular, we believe that obtaining additional mining rights near the Elga coal deposit would allow us to realize more fully the benefits of our private rail line.

We plan to increase metallurgical coal sales to high-growth international markets.

We intend to continue to capitalize on our ability to serve fast-growing Asian and other international markets by leveraging our growth in production and favorable geographic location of our coal producing and

logistics assets. In particular, we view Japan, China, South Korea and India as countries to which our international growth strategy will be applied. Following this strategy, in 2011 we established a joint venture in India engaged in distribution of metallurgical coals on the Indian market. In addition, in 2012 we established Mechel Carbon Singapore to promote more effectively our products in the Asia-Pacific region.

We plan to increase production of iron ore in the future to complement the sales of metallurgical coal to our customers.

While our existing iron ore operations will maintain our annual iron ore concentrate production at the level of approximately 4.5 million tonnes, we plan to increase it in the future following the development of the Pionerskoye iron ore deposit, the Sutamskaya iron ore area and the Sivaglinskoye iron ore deposit. Growth of production from these operations will increase our sales of iron ore products to third parties, including exports. Our ability to offer iron ore feed together with metallurgical coal products to our customers will further enhance our competitive strength in our key markets.

Strengthening our position as a major player on our core steel products markets

We plan to increase our focus on our steel products offering to the Russian and CIS construction and engineering industries.

As one of the leaders in long steel production in Russia and the CIS we will continue to maintain our exposure to the construction and engineering sectors. While we expect to benefit from growing demand for our products fuelled by new infrastructure projects in these markets, we will continue to selectively invest in technology and equipment modernization, optimizing our product catalog and cutting production costs with a view to increase steel margins. Following this strategy, in 2013 we launched the universal rail and structural rolling mill at Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant, which allows to widen our offer book of high value-added products such as structural shapes and rails. That will significantly improve our competitive advantage as a full product range supplier to the construction sector and as an important supplier to the Russian Railways.

We intend to increase our group’s output and improve quality of high value-added steel products.

Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant, Izhstal and Urals Stampings Plant form the core of our group’s special and stainless steel platform. In some of these products we hold a unique market niche, which serves as the basis for further improvement in our market share and growth of our customer base. Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant is our main wire products production facility. Investments made in Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant have elevated our group as Russia’s largest wire products producer. The modernization of Izhstal allowed us to improve the quality of our products and expand the product range.

Capitalize on our domestic and European distribution capabilities.

Our continued focus on the Russian domestic market is a key element of our strategy. We are particularly well-positioned to supply construction and infrastructure projects in Russia from our Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant located in the southern Urals and our Beloretsk Metallurgical Plant located in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The geographical reach of our Mechel Service Global production and logistics facilities and sales network provides us with a strong platform for our sales growth. Mechel Service, a Russian subsidiary of Mechel Service Global, has 70 storage sites in 52 cities throughout Russia to serve our end customers. During the past few years, Mechel Service Global’s European distribution network generally developed through opening of additional branches and sales offices on the basis of existing companies. Previously opened companies reached the planned sales volumes of metal products and strengthened their presence in regional markets. In 2012, we limited the further expansion of our distribution network and focused on improving the efficiency of existing offices and optimization of the sales structure. Due to the completion of the gradual withdrawal of our steel production from Europe we have optimized the European part of our distribution network including the closure of certain service centers and warehouses, which did not offer immediate synergy with our production. We plan

to complete the restructuring of European companies of Mechel Service Global in 2014. Simultaneously we will continue to improve the quality of services to our customers, as well as inventory and receivables management, which will allow us to maintain stable sales of our products, to minimize potential losses and to improve our cash flow in the current economic slowdown.

Our History and Development

We trace our beginnings to a small coal trading operation in Mezhdurechensk in the southwestern part of Siberia in the early 1990s. See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects — History of Incorporation.” Since that time, through strategic acquisitions in Russia and abroad, Mechel has developed into one of the world’s leading mining and metals companies, comprising producers of coal, iron ore, coke, steel, rolled products, ferrosilicon, heat energy and electricity, with operations in Russia, Lithuania and the United States. With each of our acquisitions, we implement our operational and management practices. We also devote all the management, technological and logistical resources necessary to integrate new acquisitions into all aspects of our business, including the supply of raw materials and steel, production methodologies and sales and distribution.

After the restructuring of our assets into separate mining, steel, ferroalloys and power segments, we have been implementing operational independence of our segments to be followed by their legal and financial separation from each other. For example, during 2008-2011 we consolidated our major mining assets under Mechel Mining, which has now its separate management and corporate governance.

We intend to retain a controlling voting interest in each of our subsidiary holding companies as we continue to build upon our business model of vertical integration among our assets. See “— Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Business and Industry — Changes in our subsidiaries’ management and corporate governance might affect our integrated business model.”

Mining Segment

Our mining segment produces coking coal and other types of metallurgical coal (anthracite and coal for pulverized, or finely crushed, coal injection (PCI)), steam coal, middlings, coking coal and steam coal concentrates, as well as coke and chemical products, iron ore, iron ore concentrate and limestone. Our mining segment also includes certain transportation and logistics facilities and engineering operations. Our coal operations consist of Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, Yakutugol, Elgaugol and Bluestone, which together produced 17.1 million tonnes of raw coking coal, 7.9 million tonnes of raw steam coal, 2.5 million tonnes of raw anthracite and 2.9 million tonnes of PCI in 2013. Our coke operations consist of Moscow Coke and Gas Plant and Mechel Coke, which together produced 3.1 million tonnes of coke in 2013. Our iron ore operations consist of Korshunov Mining Plant which produced 12.6 million tonnes of iron ore and 4.3 million tonnes of iron ore concentrate in 2013. Our limestone operations consist of Pugachevsky Open Pit which produced 1.9 million tonnes of limestone in 2013.

Description of key products

Coking coal and metallurgical coal. Southern Kuzbass Coal Company produces high-quality bituminous coal, which is washed to reduce the ash content. The premier product is a high-quality, low phosphorous, low sulfur semi-soft to semi-hard coking coal used to produce coke for the iron and steel industry. Other products produced by Southern Kuzbass Coal Company include PCI and anthracite. Yakutugol produces hard coking coal of low-volatile content. Elgaugol produces high-quality hard coking coal of high-volatile content. Our West Virginia-based Bluestone operations produce a range of metallurgical coals including low, medium and high-volatile hard coking coal. The Bluestone mines blend low, medium and high-volatile hard coking coal in different proportions to meet the requirements of their customers. The final products are blended at the port, as they are loaded on to the customer’s vessels.

Steam coal. We produce steam coal products for use in the power generation industry. Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, Yakutugol, Elgaugol and our Bluestone operations produce high-energy steam coal as part of their product mix.

Coke. Coke is used in the blast furnace as a main source of heat, a reducing agent for iron and a raising agent for charging material in the smelting process. It is a product prepared by pyrolysis (heating in the absence of oxygen) of low-ash, low-phosphorus and low-sulfur coal charging material. We offer customers coke from our Moscow Coke and Gas Plant and Mechel Coke.

Chemical products. Chemical products are hydrocarbon products obtained as a by-product of the production of coke. We produce chemical products in our subsidiaries Moscow Coke and Gas Plant and Mechel Coke. We offer our customers coal tar, naphthalene and other compounds. Worldwide, coal tar is used in diverse applications, including in the production of electrode pitch, pitch coke, coal-tar oils, naphthalene, as well as boiler fuel. Naphthalene, a product of the distillation of coal tar, is used by the chemical industry to produce chemical compounds used in synthetic dyes, solvents, plasticizers and other products.

Iron ore concentrate. From our Korshunov Mining Plant we offer iron ore concentrate with a standard iron content of 62%. In 2011 and 2012, Yakutugol obtained subsoil licenses for three iron ore deposits located in Yakutia. These deposits contain high-quality iron ore, which will allow to produce iron ore concentrate with 65% iron content.

Limestone. The processed limestone produced by our Pugachevsky Open Pit is segregated into three main size fractions: 0-40 millimeters, 40-70 millimeters and 70-120 millimeters. Further processing of 0-40 millimeters fraction limestone allows to obtain aggregate limestone of 0-5 millimeters, 5-20 millimeters and 20-40 millimeters categories.

Mining process

Coal. At our Russian and U.S. mines, coal is mined using open pit or underground mining methods. Following a drilling and blasting stage, a combination of shovels and draglines is used for moving coal and waste at our open pit mines. Production at the underground mines is predominantly from longwall mining, a form of underground coal mining where a long wall of coal in a seam is mined in a single slice. After mining, depending upon the amount of impurities in the coal, the coal is processed in a washing plant, where it is crushed and impurities are removed by gravity methods. Coking coal concentrate is then transported to coking plants for conversion to coke for use in pig iron smelting at steel plants. Steam coal is shipped to power utilities which use it in furnaces for steam generation to produce electricity. Among the advantages of our mining business are the high quality of our coking coal and the low level of volatile matter in our steam coal. Coal extracted at each of the Bluestone mining complexes is processed at the on-site coal preparation plants. Coal mined in Central Appalachia typically contains impurities such as rock, shale and clay and occurs in a wide range of particle sizes. The coal preparation plants treat the coal to ensure a consistent quality and to enhance its suitability for particular end users. Steam coal is not processed and is sold as is, as well as some high-quality coking coal which does not need washing.

Iron ore. At our Korshunov Mining Plant, ore is mined using conventional open pit mining method. Following a drilling and blasting stage, ore is hauled by rail hopper cars to the concentrator plant. At the concentrator plant, the ore is crushed and ground to a fine particle size, then separated into an iron ore concentrate slurry and a waste stream using wet magnetic separators. The iron ore is upgraded to a concentrate that contains about 62% elemental iron. Tailings are pumped to a tailings dam facility located adjacent to the washing plant. The concentrate is sent to disk vacuum filters which remove the water from the concentrate to reduce the moisture level, enabling shipment to customers by rail during warmer months, but in colder periods the concentrate must be dried further to prevent freezing in railcars. Korshunov Mining Plant operates its own drying facility with a dry concentrate production capacity of up to 16,000 tonnes per day. In 2011, Yakutugol

obtained the subsoil license for the Pionerskoye iron ore deposit in Yakutia. The deposit has iron ore with high iron content, which we anticipate will allow us to produce iron ore concentrate at the early stages of development of the mine without the need to use complex beneficiation technologies. In 2012, Yakutugol obtained subsoil licenses for the Sutamskaya iron ore area and the Sivaglinskoye iron ore deposit in Yakutia. We plan to develop all new iron ore deposits with the open pit mining method, using excavators and trucks.

Limestone. Limestone is mined using open pit mining method. Following a drilling and blasting stage, mined rock is quarried with shovels and transported to the crushing and screening plant for segregation by size fraction.

Coal production

Our coal production consists of the following mines in Russia and the United States:


Subsidiary (Location)	Surface	Underground
Yakutugol (Sakha Republic, Russia)	Neryungrinsky Open Pit	Dzhebariki-Khaya Underground
	Kangalassky Open Pit
Elgaugol (Sakha Republic, Russia)	Elga Open Pit
Southern Kuzbass Coal Company (Kuzbass, Russia)	Sibirginsky Open Pit Tomusinsky Open Pit Olzherassky Open Pit Krasnogorsky Open Pit	V.I. Lenina Underground Sibirginskaya Underground Olzherasskaya- Novaya Underground
Bluestone (West Virginia, United States)	Job 30 Job 38 Pocahontas No. 11 Contour and Auger No. 2	Mine 58 Mine 65 Ben’s Creek 1 (Frontier)

Our active Russian coal mines are primarily located in the Kuznetsky basin, a major Russian coal-producing region, and in the Sakha Republic in Eastern Siberia.

The table below summarizes our ROM coal production by type of coal and location of mines for the periods indicated.


	2013					2012					2011
	Tonnes		% of Production			Tonnes		% of Production			Tonnes		% of Production
	(In millions of tonnes)⁽¹⁾
Coking Coal
Yakutugol		9.0					8.8					6.3
Elgaugol		0.04					0.2					—
Southern Kuzbass Coal Company		6.3					5.7					6.8
Bluestone		1.8					3.2					4.9

Total Coking Coal		17.14		62.2	%		17.9		64.4	%		18.0		65.2	%
Steam Coal
Yakutugol		0.9					0.9					1.6
Elgaugol		0.11					0.1					0.1
Southern Kuzbass Coal Company		6.3					6.5					5.1
Bluestone		0.6					0.4					0.5

Total Steam Coal		7.91		28.7	%		7.9		28.4	%		7.3		26.5	%
Anthracite
Yakutugol		—					—					—
Elgaugol		—					—					—
Southern Kuzbass Coal Company		2.5					2.0					2.3
Bluestone		—					—					—

Total Anthracite		2.5		9.1	%		2.0		7.2	%		2.3		8.3	%

Total Coal		27.55		100	%		27.8		100	%		27.6		100	%

(1)	Volumes are reported on a wet basis.

The coking coal produced by our Russian mines is predominately low-sulfur (0.3%) bituminous coal. Heating values for coking coal range from 6,861 to 8,488 kcal/kg on a moisture- and ash-free basis. Heating values for steam coal range from 6,627 to 8,286 kcal/kg on a moisture- and ash-free basis.

The table below summarizes our saleable coal production by type of coal and location of mines for the periods indicated.


	2013					2012					2011
	Tonnes		% of Production			Tonnes		% of Production			Tonnes		% of Production
	(In millions of tonnes)
Coking Coal
Yakutugol		5.7		25	%		5.3		25	%		4.7		19	%
Elgaugol		0.1		0	%		0.1		1	%		—		—
Southern Kuzbass Coal Company		4.0		18	%		4.1		19	%		5.1		21	%
Bluestone		1.1		5	%		1.5		7	%		2.8		11	%

Total Coking Coal		10.9		48	%		11.0		52	%		12.6		51	%
PCI
Yakutugol		—		—			—		—			—		—
Elgaugol		—		—			—		—			—		—
Southern Kuzbass Coal Company		2.9		13	%		2.6		12	%		2.1		9	%
Bluestone		—		—			—		—			—		—

Total PCI		2.9		13	%		2.6		12	%		2.1		9	%
Anthracite
Yakutugol		—		—			—		—			—		—
Elgaugol		—		—			—		—			—		—
Southern Kuzbass Coal Company		1.3		6	%		1.1		5	%		1.1		5	%
Bluestone		—		—			—		—			—		—

Total Anthracite		1.3		6	%		1.1		5	%		1.1		5	%
Steam Coal
Yakutugol		3.3		14	%		3.5		16	%		3.6		14	%
Elgaugol		0.2		1	%		0.1		1	%		0.2		1	%
Southern Kuzbass Coal Company		3.5		15	%		2.6		12	%		4.5		18	%
Bluestone		0.6		3	%		0.4		2	%		0.5		2	%

Total Steam Coal		7.6		33	%		6.6		31	%		8.8		35	%

Total Coal		22.7		100	%		21.3		100	%		24.6		100	%

Yakutugol mines

Our Yakutugol coal mines are located in the Sakha Republic. The Sakha Republic is located in Eastern Siberia and covers an area of 3.1 million square kilometers. It has a population of fewer than one million inhabitants. Its capital, Yakutsk, is located on the Lena River in south central Yakutia.

Our Yakutugol mines include two open pit mines and one underground mine: Neryungrinsky Open Pit, Kangalassky Open Pit and Dzhebariki-Khaya Underground. Neryungrinsky Open Pit is located in the South-Yakutsky basin which covers an area of 25,000 square kilometers and lies near the southern border of Yakutia. Neryungrinsky Open Pit is located near the town of Neryungri, one of the main industrial centers of Yakutia and its second largest city. Kangalassky Open Pit and Dzhebariki-Khaya Underground are located in the Lensky basin which covers an area of 750,000 square kilometers and lies near Yakutsk.

The table below sets forth certain information regarding the subsoil licenses for our Yakutugol coal mines.

Mine

License (plot)

Area
(sq. km)

Mining
Method

Life
of
Mine

License
Expiry
Date

Status⁽¹⁾

Year
Production
Commenced

Surface
Land Use
Rights

Neryungrinsky Open Pit

LOGO 12336 LOGO

(Moshchny seam)

15.3

Open pit

2029

Dec 2014

In production

1979

Ownership

Kangalassky Open Pit

15017

(Kangalassk)

7.7

Open pit

2450

Dec 2027

In production

1962

Ownership

Dzhebariki-Khaya Underground

15061

(Dzhebariki-Khaya)

14.8

Underground

2105

Dec 2023

In production

1972

Ownership

(1)	“In production” refers to sites that are currently producing coal.

The earliest production at our Yakutugol mines was in 1962, although we acquired these mines and license areas in October 2007. Neryungrinsky Open Pit produces low-volatile hard coking coal which is sold in the Asia-Pacific region, primarily to Japan, South Korea and China, and steam coal which is sold domestically. Neryungrinsky Open Pit has a railway spur connected to the Russian rail system, which is controlled by Russian Railways. Kangalassky Open Pit produces steam coal that is sold as fuel for power plants in Yakutia. It is accessible through an all-weather road from Kangalassy and through a highway from Yakutsk. Dzhebariki-Khaya Underground produces steam coal, most of which is sold to state housing and municipal services. Dzhebariki-Khaya Underground is accessible only through the Aldan River.

The table below summarizes ROM coal production of our Yakutugol mines by mine and type of coal for the periods indicated.


	2013					2012					2011
Mine	Tonnes		% of Total Production			Tonnes		% of Total Production			Tonnes		% of Total Production
	(In millions of tonnes)⁽¹⁾
Coking Coal
Neryungrinsky Open Pit		9.0					8.8					6.3

Total Coking Coal		9.0		90.9	%		8.8		90.7	%		6.3		79.7	%

Steam Coal
Neryungrinsky Open Pit		0.2					0.4					1.1
Dzhebariki-Khaya Underground		0.6					0.4					0.4
Kangalassky Open Pit		0.1					0.1					0.1

Total Steam Coal		0.9		9.1	%		0.9		9.3	%		1.6		20.3	%

Total Coal		9.9		100	%		9.7		100	%		7.9		100	%

(1)	Volumes are reported on a wet basis.

The table below sets forth coal sales volumes of our Yakutugol mines by type of coal and destinations for the periods indicated.


Coal Type	Region	2013		2012		2011
		(In thousands of tonnes)
Coking coal	Asia		5,620.4		4,091.3		3,315.2
	CIS		58.4		811.4		1,221.9
	Middle East⁽¹⁾		0.0		0.1		0.0
	Europe		0.0		0.0		4.1

Total			5,678.8		4,902.8		4,541.2
Steam coal	Russia		771.8		1,087.3		1,875.9
	Asia		0.0		0.0		132.0

Total			771.8		1,087.3		2,007.9
Middlings	Russia		2,126.6		2,315.9		1,848.0
	Asia		308.8		128.8		72.4

Total			2,435.4		2,444.7		1,920.4

Total			8,886.0		8,434.8		8,469.5

(1)	Includes Turkey only.

Elgaugol mine

Our Elga Open Pit is located in the South-Yakutsky basin of the Toko Coal-Bearing region in the Sakha Republic. This coal region was first discovered and explored in 1952 with the first geological surveys being conducted in 1954 through 1956. The closest inhabited localities are Verkhnezeysk village, located 320 kilometers south of the deposit, and the town of Neryungri, located 415 kilometers to the west. Since 1998, there have been several studies on the Elga coal deposit, including geology and resources, mine planning and feasibility studies. Overburden removal at the Elga deposit commenced in November 2010. Coal mining at Elga Open Pit commenced in August 2011.

Our subsidiary Elgaugol was established on August 14, 2013 under the laws of the Russian Federation with Yakutugol and Mechel Mining as shareholders for raising project financing from Vnesheconombank. In September 2013, Vnesheconombank’s Supervisory Board approved a $2.5 billion project financing for the construction of the first stage of the Elga coal complex and the relevant loan agreements were signed in March 2014.

In August 2013, the board of directors of Yakutugol decided to transfer the subsoil license for the Elga coal deposit to Elgaugol. In January 2014, Elgaugol obtained the respective subsoil license.

The table below sets forth certain information regarding the subsoil license for our Elgaugol mine.

Mine

License (plot)

Area
(sq. km)

Mining
Method

Life
of
Mine

License
Expiry
Date

Status⁽¹⁾

Year
Production
Commenced

Surface
Land Use
Rights

Elga Open Pit

LOGO 03730 LOGO

(Elga)

144.1

Open pit

2102

May 2020

In production

2011

Lease

(1)	“In production” refers to sites that are currently producing coal.

Elga Open Pit produces two types of coal: high-quality hard coking coal (high-volatile) and steam coal. It also produces middlings (by-product of the coking coal washing process).

The table below summarizes ROM coal production of our Elgaugol mine by type of coal for the periods indicated.


	2013					2012					2011
Mine	Tonnes		% of Total Production			Tonnes		% of Total Production			Tonnes		% of Total Production
	(In millions of tonnes)⁽¹⁾
Coking Coal
Elga Open Pit		0.04					0.2					—

Total Coking Coal		0.04		26.7	%		0.2		66.7	%		—		0	%

Steam Coal
Elga Open Pit		0.11					0.1					0.1

Total Steam Coal		0.11		73.3	%		0.1		33.3	%		0.1		100	%

Total Coal		0.15		100	%		0.3		100	%		0.1		100	%

(1)	Volumes are reported on a wet basis.

The table below sets forth coal sales volumes of our Elgaugol mine by type of coal and destinations for the periods indicated.


Coal Type	Region	2013		2012		2011
		(In thousands of tonnes)
Steam coal	Russia		95.6		0.0		0.0
	Asia		24.2		0.0		0.0

Total			119.8		0.0		0.0
Middlings	Asia		19.0		0.0		0.0

Total			19.0		0.0		0.0

Total			138.8		0.0		0.0

In 2009, the general scheme of the Elga coal complex development and the plan of initial mine block development were prepared. The plan of initial mine block development was approved by governmental authorities. In 2011, the project documentation of the first stage of the Elga coal complex construction was prepared. The project documentation was approved by governmental authorities. In November 2011, we concluded a contract for engineering, procurement and construction of a permanent housing complex for 3,000 miners and workers who will operate the Elga coal complex. Construction works are in progress, and miners live in a temporary settlement with all necessary amenities. In September 2012, we completed the construction of a seasonal washing plant with a seasonal capacity of 2.0 million tonnes per annum. In 2013, we commenced construction and installation works aimed at increasing the plant’s washing capacity to 2.7 million tonnes per annum and making it capable of year-round operations.

In December 2011, we finished laying track for the rail line to the Elga deposit. The 321 kilometer-long rail line is now in operation and we are able to use it for transportation of coal currently produced at Elga Open Pit. The rail line connects Elga Open Pit with the Baikal-Amur Mainline (at the Ulak railway station), which, in turn, provides access to the Russian rail network, in general, and Pacific Ocean ports, in particular. We will further develop the rail line to increase its capacity in line with the production capacity requirements of the Elga subsoil license and our production plans.

Currently, Elga has an electricity substation with diesel power generators with a total installed capacity of 6 megawatts (“MW”). Federal Grid Company, the state-owned operator of the unified electricity grid, is

installing high-voltage transmission lines to deliver electricity from the Zeysky hydro power plant located 270 kilometers from the site, and we are constructing electricity-receiving infrastructure capable of receiving 134 MW. We expect to start receiving electricity from this power plant in December 2014.

According to the conditions of the subsoil license for the Elga coal deposit, we are required to meet certain construction deadlines and operational milestones. In view of our commitments, we applied to the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (“Rosnedra”) for and obtained amendments to certain terms of the subsoil license in order to stay in compliance with the terms of the license. The license terms were last amended in June 2013, and we are required to meet the following construction deadlines and operational milestones: (1) complete construction of the first stage of the Elga coal complex with an annual capacity of 9.0 million tonnes by August 1, 2017; (2) commission a coal washing plant with an annual capacity of 9.0 million tonnes by December 31, 2017; (3) reach annual coal production capacity of 9.0 million tonnes by August 1, 2018; and (4) reach annual coal production capacity of 18.0 million tonnes by December 31, 2021. We also have significant contractual commitments for the construction of the rail line. See note 25 to the consolidated financial statements.

If the current conditions of the subsoil license for the Elga coal deposit are not met, our license may be suspended or terminated or we may be required to extend the license under less favorable conditions. We believe that given our substantial progress in developing the project, Vnesheconombank’s project financing and our own considerable investments, along with the importance of the project to the region, we will be able to obtain further extensions of the construction deadlines should they be necessary, although we cannot guarantee that such extensions will be granted.

Southern Kuzbass mines

The Kuznetsky basin, or Kuzbass, is located in the southeastern part of Western Siberia and is one of the largest coal mining areas in the world, covering an area of around 70,000 square kilometers. Coal-bearing seams extend over an area of 26,700 square kilometers and reach a depth of 1,800 meters. Coal was discovered in 1721, and systematic mining started in 1851. During the Soviet era, Kuzbass was the second largest regional coal producer. According to the Central Dispatching Department, Kuzbass (Kemerovo region) now accounts for more than 57% of Russia’s total coal production.

All of our Southern Kuzbass mines are located in southeast Kuzbass around the town of Mezhdurechensk in the Kemerovo region, with the exception of the Yerunakovskaya mine area, which is located about 100 kilometers northwest of Mezhdurechensk.

The earliest production at our Southern Kuzbass mines was in 1953, although we acquired these mines and license areas starting in the 1990s. The Southern Kuzbass mines include four open pit mines, three underground mines and one underground mine under development: Sibirginsky Open Pit, Tomusinsky Open Pit, Olzherassky Open Pit, Krasnogorsky Open Pit, V.I. Lenina Underground, Sibirginskaya Underground, Olzherasskaya-Novaya Underground and Yerunakovskaya-1 Underground (project).

Our Southern Kuzbass mines and the related washing plants produce semi-soft and semi-hard coking coal, anthracite, PCI and steam coal. Our Kuzbass operations are connected by rail to the Trans-Siberian Mainline and substantially all products are shipped by rail. Products are shipped by rail to Russian and Ukrainian customers, to Baltic ports for European customers, to Port Posiet and Port Vanino for export to Asia and to Port Temryuk for customers in the Black Sea and Mediterranean basins.

The table below sets forth certain information regarding the subsoil licenses for our coal mines in Kuzbass, all of which are held by our subsidiary Southern Kuzbass Coal Company, unless otherwise noted.

Mine

License (plot)

Area
(sq. km)

Mining

Method

Life
of
Mine

License

Expiry

Date

Status⁽¹⁾

Year
Production
Commenced

Surface
Land Use
Rights

Krasnogorsky Open Pit

LOGO 14016 LOGO (Tomsk, Sibirginsk)

22.4

Open pit

2043

Jan 2021

In production

1954

Lease

13367

(Sorokinsk, Tomsk, Sibirginsk)

2.8

Nov 2025

In production

2012

Lease

Olzherassky Open Pit

LOGO 01374 LOGO (Raspadsk,

Berezovsk, Sosnovsk)

9.3

Open pit

2044

Dec 2029

In production

1980

Lease

12939

(Raspadsk)⁽²⁾

3.5

Dec 2024

Development

n/a

Lease

12940

(Berezovsk-2, Berezovsk, Olzherassk)

4.8

Dec 2024

In production

2007

Lease

Tomusinsky Open Pit

13312

(Tomsk)⁽³⁾

6.7

Open pit

2022

Dec 2020

In production

1959

Lease

Sibirginsky Open Pit

13639

(Sibirginsk, Kureinsk, Uregolsk)

17.7

Open pit

2047

Jun 2014

In production

1970

Lease

01557

(New-Uregolsk)

2.4

Apr 2031

In production

2011

Lease

Sibirginskaya Underground

LOGO 12917 LOGO (Sibirginsk, Tomsk)

5.9

Underground

2048

Dec 2024

In production

2002

Lease

15463

(Sibirginsk-2, Sibirginsk, Kureinsk)

0.9

Dec 2032

Exploration
and
development

n/a

—

V.I. Lenina Underground

14060

(Olzherassk)

10.0

Underground

2033

Jan 2016

In production

1953

Lease

01701

(Granichny, Olzherassk)

1.2

Feb 2033

Exploration
and
development

n/a

—

Olzherasskaya-Novaya Underground

LOGO 14199 LOGO (Raspadsk)

1.2

Underground

2079

Dec 2021

In production

2008

Lease

01471

(Olzherassk-2, Raspadsk)

0.03

Jan 2030

In production

2010

Lease

13366

(Razvedochny, Raspadsk)

14.6

Nov 2025

Exploration
and
development

n/a

Lease

Yerunakovskaya-1 Underground (project)

LOGO 13237 LOGO (Yerunakovsk-1, Yerunakovsk)⁽⁴⁾

8.4

Underground

2033

Jun 2025

Development

n/a

Lease

Yerunakovskaya-3 Underground (prospect)

LOGO 13238 LOGO (Yerunakovsk-3, Yerunakovsk)⁽⁴⁾

7.1

Underground

2115

Jun 2025

Exploration
and
development

n/a

—

Yerunakovskaya-2 Underground (prospect)

LOGO 13271 LOGO (Yerunakovsk-2, Yerunakovsk)⁽⁴⁾⁽⁵⁾

7.3

Underground

2051

Jul 2025

Exploration
and
development

n/a

—

Olzherasskaya-Glubokaya Underground (prospect)

LOGO 13365 LOGO (Olzherassk)

19.2

Underground

2211

Nov 2025

Exploration

n/a

—

Usinskaya Underground (prospect)

LOGO 14093 LOGO (Olzherassk)

3.6

Underground

2071

Dec 2014

No activity

n/a

—

(1)

“In production” refers to sites that are currently producing coal. “Development” refers to sites where preliminary work is being carried out. “Exploration” refers to sites where drilling for calculation of mineral reserves is being carried out. “Exploration and development” refers to sites where preliminary work and drilling for calculation of mineral reserves are being carried out.

(2)	We failed to commence commercial production in 2009 as required by the subsoil license due to unfavorable mine economics. We expect to commence production at the Raspadsk license area in the second quarter of 2015 provided coal prices recover sufficiently.

(3)	License held by Tomusinsky Open Pit, a subsidiary of Southern Kuzbass Coal Company.

(4)	We failed to commence commercial production in 2011 as required by the subsoil license due to unfavorable mine economics.

(5)	License held by Resurs-Ugol OOO, a subsidiary of Southern Kuzbass Coal Company.

The table below summarizes ROM coal production of our Southern Kuzbass mines by mine and type of coal for the periods indicated.


	2013					2012					2011
Mine	Tonnes		% of Total Production			Tonnes		% of Total Production			Tonnes		% of Total Production
	(In millions of tonnes)⁽¹⁾
Coking Coal
Sibirginsky Open Pit		2.2					2.0					2.5
Tomusinsky Open Pit		1.4					1.7					1.8
V.I. Lenina Underground		1.0					0.7					1.4
Sibirginskaya Underground		1.1					0.7					0.5
Olzherassky Open Pit		0.6					0.6					0.6

Total Coking Coal		6.3		41.7	%		5.7		40.1	%		6.8		47.9	%

Steam Coal
Krasnogorsky Open Pit		3.1					3.7					3.2
Sibirginsky Open Pit		1.5					1.4					0.9
Olzherassky Open Pit		0.1					0.6					0.5
Olzherasskaya-Novaya Underground		1.0					0.4					0.2
Tomusinsky Open Pit		0.6					0.4					0.3

Total Steam Coal		6.3		41.7	%		6.5		45.8	%		5.1		35.9	%

Anthracite
Krasnogorsky Open Pit		2.5					2.0					2.3
Sibirginsky Open Pit		—					—					—
Olzherassky Open Pit		—					—					—
Olzherasskaya-Novaya Underground		—					—					—
Tomusinsky Open Pit		—					—					—

Total Anthracite		2.5		16.6	%		2.0		14.1	%		2.3		16.2	%

Total Coal		15.1		100	%		14.2		100	%		14.2		100	%

(1)	Volumes are reported on a wet basis.

The table below sets forth Southern Kuzbass mines’ coal sales volumes by type of coal and destinations for the periods indicated.


Coal Type	Region	2013		2012		2011
		(In thousands of tonnes)
Coking coal	Russia		1,551.8		1,567.2		1,615.2
	Asia		212.6		533.7		428.4
	CIS		56.6		429.2		378.7
	Europe		0.0		20.5		0.0

Total			1,821.0		2,550.6		2,422.3
Anthracite	Europe		1,096.0		1,186.4		1,266.5
	Asia		584.8		343.3		311.9
	CIS		173.6		131.2		78.8
	Russia		41.4		183.0		358.8
	Other		98.7		49.9		28.1
	Middle East⁽¹⁾		33.0		42.3		25.4

Total			2,027.5		1,936.1		2,069.5
PCI	Asia		1,388.4		1,014.0		1,042.7
	Europe		1,036.9		540.5		663.0
	Middle East⁽¹⁾		557.1		655.6		220.2
	Other		315.5		213.2		33.0
	CIS		10.3		0.0		9.8

Total			3,308.2		2,423.3		1,968.7
Steam coal	Middle East⁽¹⁾		108.3		206.0		131.6
	Russia		49.4		68.0		266.7
	Europe		58.8		54.9		191.1
	CIS		0.0		27.4		96.5
	Asia		0.0		10.5		0.0
	Other		0.0		7.8		0.0

Total			216.5		374.6		685.9
Middlings	Russia		0.0		19.2		33.0
	Europe		0.0		21.5		9.5

Total			0.0		40.7		42.5

Total			7,373.2		7,325.3		7,188.9

(1)	Includes Turkey only.

Bluestone mines

Coal was first discovered in West Virginia in the mid-1700s, and it is part of a coal-rich area known as Central Appalachia, which comprises West Virginia, the eastern part of Kentucky and the southwestern part of Virginia. Presently, West Virginia is the largest coal producing state in the United States east of the Mississippi River and accounts for 10% of the nation’s production.

Our Bluestone mines are located in McDowell and Wyoming counties in southern West Virginia, near the city of Beckley. West Virginia coal areas are located within the central portion of the Appalachian Plateau physiographic province, which is a broad upland that extends from Alabama through Pennsylvania. The mines are organized around three mining complexes: Keystone No. 1 and No. 2 (collectively called the “Keystone”), Justice Energy and Dynamic Energy, all of which are located in close proximity to each other. Together, the mining complexes comprise three surface mines and three underground mines.

The table below summarizes ROM coal production of our Bluestone mines by complex and type of coal for the periods indicated.


	2013					2012					2011
Complex	Tonnes		% of Total Production			Tonnes		% of Total Production			Tonnes		% of Total Production
	(In millions of tonnes)⁽¹⁾
Coking Coal
Keystone		0.7					1.8					2.3
Justice Energy		0.3					0.4					1.0
Dynamic Energy		0.8					1.0					1.6

Total Coking Coal		1.8		75.0	%		3.2		88.9	%		4.9		90.7	%

Steam Coal
Keystone		0.1					0.0					0.1
Justice Energy		0.1					0.2					0.2
Dynamic Energy		0.4					0.2					0.2

Total Steam Coal		0.6		25.0	%		0.4		11.1	%		0.5		9.3	%

Total Coal		2.4		100	%		3.6		100	%		5.4		100	%

(1)	Volumes are reported on a wet basis.

The table below sets forth the Bluestone mines’ coal sales volumes by type of coal and destinations for the periods indicated.


Coal Type	Region	2013		2012		2011
		(In thousands of tonnes)
Coking coal	Asia		445.9		378.7		402.8
	Europe		318.3		609.7		1,224.1
	United States		273.4		212.4		426.0
	Other		150.2		101.5		248.6
	CIS		14.6		178.7		263.2
	Middle East⁽¹⁾		11.0		20.9		75.2

Total			1,213.4		1,501.9		2,639.9
Steam coal	Europe		195.0		119.9		0.0
	United States		158.7		323.1		565.7
	Other		119.5		19.7		0.0
	Asia		69.0		16.6		0.0
	Middle East⁽¹⁾		9.1		0.0		0.0

Total			551.3		479.3		565.7

Total			1,764.7		1,981.2		3,205.6

(1)	Includes Turkey only.

The mines in the Keystone complex produce premium low-volatile coking coal. The complex includes one surface mine and two underground mines, as set out in the table below. Seam thickness ranges from a few centimeters to 1.8 meters. Coal from the mines is hauled by dump truck directly to the complex’s preparation plant for washing and is then dispatched to its rail loadout facility, which is served by the Norfolk Southern Railway. The complex is comprised of 28,328 hectares, of which 4,975 hectares are owned, 7,910 hectares are leased under long-term leases expiring from 2031 to 2032 and 15,443 hectares are leased in perpetuity.

The mines in the Justice Energy complex produce mid-volatile coking coal. The complex includes one surface mine, as set out in the table below. Seam thickness ranges from a few centimeters to 1.52 meters. Coal

from the mine is hauled by dump truck directly to the complex’s preparation plant (which is leased from Natural Resource Partners) for washing and is then dispatched to its rail loadout facility, which is served by the Norfolk Southern Railway. The complex is comprised of 7,485 hectares, of which 602 hectares are owned, 1,334 hectares are leased under long-term leases expiring from 2018 to 2019 and 5,549 hectares are leased in perpetuity.

The mines in the Dynamic Energy complex produce high-volatile coking coal. The complex includes one surface mine and one underground mine, as set out in the table below. Seam thickness ranges from a few centimeters to 2.1 meters, with the majority of seams being more than one meter thick. Coal from the mines is hauled by dump truck directly to the complex’s preparation plant (which is leased from Natural Resource Partners) for washing and is then dispatched to its rail loadout facility, which is served by the Norfolk Southern Railway. The complex is comprised of approximately 2,980 hectares, which are leased in perpetuity.

The table below sets forth certain information regarding each of our Bluestone mines.

Complex

Mine

Mining Method⁽¹⁾

Life of
Mine

Permit
Expiration
Dates⁽²⁾

Status⁽³⁾

Year
Production
Commenced

Keystone

Mine 58

Room and pillar

2016

October 2013⁽⁴⁾, September 2018

Idle

1998

Mine 65

Room and pillar

2014

June 2018, June 2014

Idle

1998

Pocahontas No. 11 Contour and Auger No. 2

Contour and highwall

2031

September 2013⁽⁴⁾, July 2014

Idle

2013

Justice Energy

Job 38

Mountain top removal

2015

August 2017, August 2018

Idle

1982

Dynamic Energy

Job 30

Mountain top removal

2015

May 2017, April 2015

Idle

1997

Ben’s Creek 1

(Frontier)

Room and pillar

2014

December 2017, June 2015

Idle

2007

(1)	Mountain top removal and contour mining are surface mining methods. Room and pillar is an underground mining method. Highwall mining is a specific method of mining which we consider to be an underground mining method.

(2)	Expiration dates listed for the following permits issued by the WVDEP: (1) Article 3 Surface Mining Permit and (2) NPDES Article 11 402 Permit.

(3)	“Idle” refers to sites that are capable to be productive but temporarily neither active nor being developed.

(4)

The permit expired in 2013. We applied for the renewal of the permit to the WVDEP within the timeframe required by the law. Due to the lack of resources at the WVDEP, a decision on its application was delayed. It is not a violation of law to continue operations during the pendency of the renewal application. We expect the permit to be renewed.

In January-February 2014, we temporarily idled our Bluestone mines due to adverse market conditions. Mining operations are anticipated to resume once market conditions improve.

Coal is transported from our West Virginia mining complexes to customers by means of railways, trucks, barge lines and ocean-going ships from terminal facilities. Most of the Bluestone production is shipped via the Norfolk Southern Railway, so our West Virginia operations are dependent on the capacity of and its relationship with the Norfolk Southern Railway. In 2012, we agreed upon lower freight rates with the Norfolk Southern Railway. These shipments either go directly to coking plants in North America or to port facilities for transloading into ocean going ships. In 2010, all exports of our West Virginia coal were transported through the port of Norfolk, Virginia. In April 2011, we began exporting coal through the port of New Orleans by trucking coal to a local river terminal and transporting it via barge down the Mississippi River to the port.

Most of the coal produced at the Bluestone mines is washed. Some coal extracted from the surface mines is sufficiently clean to bypass the coal washing process. This coal is either blended with washed coal or other clean mined material from different seams to produce a metallurgical quality product. Coal is hauled from the mines to the coal washing facilities by truck.

Coal washing plants

We operate six coal washing plants and one processing unit in Russia: four coal washing plants and one processing unit located near our coal mines in Southern Kuzbass, one coal washing plant located near Neryungrinsky Open Pit and one coal washing plant at Elga Open Pit.

Our four coal washing plants and one processing unit located near our coal mines in Southern Kuzbass have an aggregate annual capacity of approximately 17.0 million tonnes of ROM coal. These are Krasnogorskaya Washing Plant, Sibir Washing Plant, Tomusinskaya Washing Plant, Kuzbasskaya Washing Plant and Sibirginskaya Processing Unit. These washing plants have aggregate storage capacity for saleable products of 131,000 tonnes, of which 45% is covered storage.

Neryungrinskaya Washing Plant located near Neryungrinsky Open Pit has an annual capacity of 9.0 million tonnes. The plant produces coking coal concentrate and middlings.

In October 2012, we launched Elginskaya Washing Plant, a seasonal washing plant for Elga Open Pit, which operates in the warmer months of April to October only, with a seasonal capacity of 2.0 million tonnes per annum. In 2013, we commenced construction and installation works aimed at increasing the plant’s washing capacity to 2.7 million tonnes per annum and making it capable of year-round operations.

For our Bluestone mining operations we have four coal washing plants as follows (most of which are temporarily idled but are under care and maintenance):

Complex

Coal Washing Plant

Capacity
(Short tons per year)

Status

Year
Commissioned

Keystone

KS1

2,000,000

⁽¹⁾

Temporarily idled in February 2011 due to excess capacity

1920s, 1977

KS2

3,250,000

Temporarily idled in October-November 2013 due to adverse market conditions

2010

Justice Energy

Red Fox⁽²⁾

1,900,000

Temporarily idled in February 2014 due to adverse market conditions

2006

Dynamic Energy

Coal Mountain⁽²⁾

1,900,000

In use, keeps processing previously mined coal

2007

(1)	The plant also has a thermal dryer.

(2)	Contracted pursuant to a long-term agreement with Natural Resources Partners and Taggart. The plant is operated by Taggart with its own personnel.

All of the coal feedstock enriched by our washing plants in 2013 (27.5 million tonnes) was supplied by our own mining operations.

Investments in coal companies

We own 16.14% of Mezhdurechye OAO, a Russian coal producer whose production volume accounted for 4.8% of Russian coking coal output and 1.7% of Russian total coal output in 2013, according to the Central Dispatching Department.

Coke and chemical products production

The following table lists the various types and grades of coke and chemical products we produce and sell. We also produce and sell coke gas.


Plant		Products
Moscow Coke and Gas Plant		Coke +40 mm, Coke 25-40 mm, Coke nut 10-25 mm, Coke breeze 0-10 mm, Coal benzene, Coal tar, Coke gas
Mechel Coke		Coke +40 mm, Coke +25 mm, Coke 25-40 mm, Coke nut 10-25 mm, Coke breeze 0-10 mm, Coal benzene, Coal tar, Ammonium sulfate, Coke gas

We have two coke plants, one of which is located in the city of Chelyabinsk and the other in the Moscow region. Coke is prepared by pyrolysis (heating in the absence of oxygen) of low-ash, low-phosphorus and low-sulfur coal. Coke is used in the blast furnace as a main source of heat, a reducing agent for iron and a raising agent for charging material in the smelting process.

In addition, we produce coke nut, which is smaller in size than metallurgical coke and is principally used as a reducing agent in ferroalloys production and for other purposes, and coke breeze, which is even smaller in size and is principally used for sintering iron ore concentrate prior to its use in blast furnaces or as fuel. Coke production and sales volumes figures presented herein include, among others, coke nut and coke breeze. Additional chemical products, such as coal benzene, coal tar and ammonium sulfate, are obtained as by-products in the coke production process.

The table below summarizes our production of coke, chemical products and coke gas for the periods indicated.


	2013		2012		2011
	(Coke and chemical products in thousands of tonnes) (Coke gas in millions of cubic meters)
Mechel Coke
Coke (6% moisture)		2,418		2,692		2,552
Chemical products		128		143		142
Coke gas		739		852		833
Moscow Coke and Gas Plant
Coke (6% moisture)		724		921		1,149
Chemical products		36		44		53
Coke gas		313		384		463
Total
Coke (6% moisture)		3,142		3,613		3,701

Chemical products		164		187		195

Coke gas		1,052		1,236		1,296

The table below summarizes our sales volumes of coke and chemical products for the periods indicated.


	2013		2012		2011
	(In thousands of tonnes)
Coke		1,025		1,387		1,500
Chemical products		171		193		194

The following table sets forth the capacity, the capacity utilization rate and the planned increase in capacity for each of Moscow Coke and Gas Plant’s principal production areas.


Production Area	Capacity in 2013		Capacity Utilization Rate in 2013			Planned Increase (2014-2016)
	(Coke and chemical products in thousands of tonnes) (Coke gas in millions of cubic meters)
Coke (6% moisture)		876		82.6	%		—
Chemical products		44		82.6	%		—
Coke gas		379		82.6	%		—

The following table sets forth the capacity, the capacity utilization rate and the planned increase in capacity for Mechel Coke’s principal production area.


Production Area	Capacity in 2013		Capacity Utilization Rate in 2013			Planned Increase (2014-2016)
	(In thousands of tonnes)
Coke (6% moisture)		3,134		77.2	%		—

Our own production facilities purchase a substantial majority of our coke production. For the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, purchases of our coke by our own production facilities amounted to 2.0 million tonnes, 2.2 million tonnes and 2.0 million tonnes, respectively, which represented 66%, 61% and 56% of our total coke sales volumes (including intra-group sales) for those periods.

We purchase some coking coal from other producers in order to produce coke. The need to purchase coking coal from third parties for coke production varies from period to period, depending on customers’ demand for particular products and the availability of suitable coal grades from our own mines.

Iron ore and concentrate production

Our iron ore operations consist of Korshunov Mining Plant which operates Korshunovsky Open Pit, Rudnogorsky Open Pit and Korshunovskaya Washing Plant, and three subsoil licenses held by Yakutugol for the Pionerskoye iron ore deposit, the Sivaglinskoye iron ore deposit and the Sutamskaya iron ore area in Yakutia.

Korshunovskaya Washing Plant is located outside of the town of Zheleznogorsk-Ilimsky, 120 kilometers east of Bratsk in the Irkutsk region. Korshunovsky Open Pit is located near the washing plant and Rudnogorsky Open Pit is located about 85 kilometers to the northwest of the washing plant. We have operated these iron ore mines and the washing plant since 2003 when we acquired Korshunov Mining Plant. Both mines produce a magnetite ore (Fe₃O₄) and the washing plant produces iron ore concentrate with a standard iron content of 62%. Product is shipped by rail to domestic customers as well as for export sales. All of the sites are served by regional public highways and a nearby federal motorway. The area is served by the Baikal-Amur Mainline, which connects the Trans-Siberian Mainline with China and Yakutia.

The table below sets forth certain information regarding the subsoil licenses for our iron ore mines, all of which are held by our subsidiary Korshunov Mining Plant.

Mine

License (plot)

Area
(sq. km)

Mining
Method

License
Expiry
Date

Status⁽¹⁾

Year
Production
Commenced

Surface
Land Use
Rights

Korshunovsky Open Pit

14051

(Korshunovsk

)

4.2

Open pit

Apr 2019

In production

1965

Lease

Rudnogorsky Open Pit

14052

(Rudnogorsk

)

5.1

Open pit

Jan 2028

In production

1984

Ownership

(1)	“In production” refers to sites that are currently producing iron ore.

The table below summarizes our ROM iron ore and iron ore concentrate production for the periods indicated.


	2013					2012					2011
Mine	Tonnes		Grade (% Fe)			Tonnes		Grade (% Fe)			Tonnes		Grade (% Fe)
	(In millions of tonnes)⁽¹⁾
Korshunovsky Open Pit		6.8		24.2	%		6.9		24.3	%		6.5		25.6	%
Rudnogorsky Open Pit		5.8		30.9	%		5.7		31.5	%