Russian Mechel to supply up to 300,000 tons of coal to S. Korea

SEOUL. February 20. KAZINFORM Russian steel giant Mechel has agreed to supply annually between 100,000 to 300,000 metric tons of coking coal to South Korea's Hyundai Steel from 2010, a Russian delegation source said on Friday.

"An agreement has been signed on the delivery of an extra 100,000-300,000 metric tons of coking coal a year. The supplies will be long-term," he said. The documents were signed as part of a visit to South Korea by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin; Kazinform has learnt from RIA Novosti. Yakutugol, a Mechel subsidiary, will be in charge of the deliveries. The Russian steel giant currently supplies 1 million metric tons of coal annually to South Korean consumers, and the new agreement will increase the quantities by 10%-30%. South Korea consumes 90 million metric tons of coal annually, all of which is imported, Mechel said.