Mechel, a coal mining company based in Russia, announced that it is selling its ferroalloy assets to Yildirim Group, the largest chrome ore producer in Turkey for USD 425 million. The Russian group said it will use the proceeds to help pay down its debt totaling USD 9 billion. As one of Russia's largest coal, iron ore, and steel producers, the company said it will also invest part of the money in its core projects. The assets that Mechel is offering include its plants in Kazakh and Tikhvin. The Kazakh mining plant has an estimated 20 million tonnes of chrome ore reserves. The Tikhvin plant has an annual ferrochrome produce of 120,000 tonnes.
In a statement, Mechel Chief Executive Evgeny Mikhel said, "The funds our company will get from this deal will help the company to deleverage and continue to finance its priority development projects." Mechel is currently cutting investments and selling non-core assets to pay the debts it took in a bid for growth before the 2008 crisis hit.
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