Yestyuninskaya mine of Vysokogorskiy ore mining and processing enterprise (part of Evraz Group) has recently assessed the productivity of the additional oil containment device installed at the water outfall: the device has already managed to reduce the oil content in the wastewater by 23%. The system was installed in the fall of 2005 and is made up of a coke-filled iron box; due to its sponginess, the coke can absorb the oil. Using this device provides for higher quality decontamination of mine water; its effectiveness is normally assessed by means of taking and comparing two samples of

Last Monday, the Board of Directors of Zinc Plant of Chelyabinsk JSC decided to hold an extraordinary shareholder meeting on August 18, 2006. The attendees will have to approve of a number of newly edited papers (the company’s Charter and Provisions on the general meeting, the Board of Directors, the management, the General Director, and the Corporate Culture Code. The shareholders will also have to determine the amount, the face value, and the type of shares and the rights they entitle the holders to. The list of attendees is complied according to the shareholder status as of July 3, 2007.

Asha Metallurgical Works held the annual general meeting that was attended by 28 shareholders and their authorized representatives holding the total of 195, 906, 304 votes (78.61% of the total number of votes). The participants of the meeting approved of the annual report and the annual accounting report, including the P&L statement, and agreed on profit distribution, including the dividend payments for 2005. They also elected eight Board Members: GD Vladimir Evstratov, Commercial Issues Director Vladimir Kozhevnikov, Head of Transport Shop Alexander Bolschikov, Head of Plate Rolling Shop

Metallurgical Industrial Complex of Nizhniy Tagil JSC (part of Evraz Group_ has recently completed renovation of its ball-rolling shop. The company’s technicians replaced the new gate devices at the furnaces used for heating ingots, which should ensure a more economical functioning of the furnaces as well as upgrade the heating system; they also replaced the twenty-two obsolete devices used for recycling the exhaust gas heat with a modern recuperator, which improved the environmental characteristics of ball-rolling production. Finally, the technicians assembled the new motor and reductor. The

Sixteen Sverdlovsk Region enterprises are on the verge of bankruptcy at the moment, and four companies have had to introduce external management (Plant of Engineering Tools JSC of Alapaevsk, Plant of Plumbing Fitments JSC of Pervouralsk, Fine Mechanics Plant Federal Unitary Enterprise, and ResinoTekhnika JSC). Bankruptcy proceedings were introduced at Machine-building Works JSC of Artemovsk, Saraninsk Works JSC, Electromechanical Works JSC of Baranchinsk, Bearing Plant # 6 Ltd., Mechanical Works of Tavda, Transport Equipment Works JSC of Kushva, Yekaterinburgmashpribor JSC, Sverdmashpribor

Metallurgical Industrial Complex of Magnitogorsk JSC backed out of the initial decision to go for a public offer of a 2% ordinary share holding. The investment company that possesses a 21% share holding of the Complex has officially declared this change of plans at Moscow Interbank Currency Exchange (MICEX). Thus MICEX decided to stop dealing in their shares. According to FinMarket Information Agency, the opening bid came to $.7 per share. The company’s authorized capital is estimated to reach the point of 10.63bn RUR, and 10,630,221,600 ordinary shares with face value 1 RUR each had been

Russian Federal Property Fund in Chelyabinsk Region announced the results of the auction aimed at selling the shares of TRUST Insurance Company JSC. A.I. Sukhikh bought the shares, with the total amount of shares put up to auction coming to 20 ordinary shares, state serial number №1-01-52028-Z. The opening bid for the holding came to 14,393 RUR, the closing bid to 30,000 RUR. The auction took place on June 21, 2006.

Magnesite Industrial Complex JSC set refractory life record of 5,390-foundings for the casing of an oxygen-blown vessel. As the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative, this technological breakthrough will provide for a dramatic decrease in production costs in iron industry, where the maintenance of the casing leaves a lot to be desired. The company’s researches had been working on refractory goods made of carbonaceous components and the new Carbores-P bonding agent since 2003. At the beginning of 2006, the company’s technicians fit the oxygen-blown vessel with new casing with

Shareholders of Magnitostroy JSC suggested early resignation of GD Dmitriy Pulekha at the extraordinary general meeting held on June 20, 2006. The decision was made by 284,936 votes or 86.2% of the voting stock. Viktor Karpov was appointed the new General Director. The shareholders also decided to ask the committee of the company’s creditors for a workout. Magnitostroy JSC used to be the largest local building company but now finds itself on the list of companies gone bust. In September 2005, it had to introduce bankruptcy proceedings, and since the beginning of 2006, the company’s budget

According to the Central Bank of Russia, the volume of investments drawn to accounts of non-commercial organizations and NGOs in UralfinpromBank JSC for a term of 181 days to 1 year has decreased by 57% (from 50 million RUR to 21.5 million RUR) throughout January to June.

Arrears of wages of Chelyabinsk Mechanical Plant reached the point of 12.4 million RUR on July 1, 2006. This has been the greatest figure among the enterprises of Chelyabinsk Region so far, and the debt recovery is supervised by the State Labour Inspectorate on a weekly basis, reports the spokesperson for the inspectorate. Among the other debtors who failed to pay their workers for 2 or more months are Kusinskiy lead Ltd. (arrears of 239,800 RUR), Ashabyservice (220,000 RUR), EnergoService of Kusa (155.600 RUR), Doverie Plus Ltd. of Katav-Ivanovsk (113,400 RUR), and some other companies.

Metallurgical Industrial Complex of Chelyabinsk JSC (part of Mechel) has recently announced that the company was going to delegate the sole executive powers to Mechel Managing Company Ltd. As the company’s spokesperson said to UrBC representative, the company signed the corresponding agreement after such decision had been made at the annual general meeting with the hope of improving the company’s management structure. Former GD Sergey Malyshev was appointed the company’s Managing Director.

Tube Metallurgical Company JSC summed up the results of its activity in the six months of 2006. Throughout January to June 2006, the company has shipped 1,459,000 tons of various tubes and pipes and 319,800 tons of rolled metal and uninterruptedly-casted billets. Since the beginning of the year, the company has smelted 1,107,900 tons of iron.

Metallurgical Industrial Complex of Nizhniy Tagil JSC (part of Evraz Group) has recently introduced a program aimed at assisting their employees with paying mortgage loans. So far, twelve of the company’s metallurgists have received the agreement of the Complex to pay their interest rate and placed mortgage loan applications with the local banks. In the meantime, the company has been updating the list of those willing to move to a better dwelling for the year 2006. The list will be used to sign the agreements that should make it possible for the employees to receive financial support from the

Vanadium Ore Mining and Processing Enterprise of Kachkanar (part of Evraz Group) started reclaiming the muck stacks through revegetation and planting trees. The company’s ore managing department reclaims five hectares of slopes annually. This year, most of the work is to be done in the third and fourth quarters: the company’s employees should cover the stacks with loam that creates the artificial root layer and then sow various grass seeds. The company is currently revegetating both the muck stacks and the slime pool; one hectare of the slope of the obstructing bank will be reclaimed as well.

Ural Turbine Works CJSC (part of Renova Group) will supply a steam turbine to Belarus in 2007. The turbine is meant for producing heat and electricity at Minsk heating plant 3 alongside with the 80-megawatt generator produced in Novosibirsk by ELSIB, the 170-megawatt gas turbine produced by Alstom, and the Slovenian waste-heat boiler produced by SES Energy. The Ural plant should supply the Т-53/67-8.0 turbine and the generator from Novosibirsk as well as some additional equipment; the company’s technicians will also complete the assembling, reports their spokesperson.

On July 31, 2006, the first session of Chelyabinsk Region Court of Arbitration concerning the claim laid by Starwood Trading Ltd.of the UK against Metallurgical Works of Zlatoust JSC will take place, the spokesperson for Sovetnik Ltd., the local firm representing the interests of the British company, said to UrBC representative. The claim was placed with the court on May 10, 2006. According to the plaintiff, the works of Zlatoust had been supplying them with faulty rolled metal from December 2004 to April 2005; there were four shipments of low-quality rolled metal altogether, and the

On July 3, 2006, Leonid Kuznetsov was appointed Head of Ural Regional Center of Svyas-Bank Joint Stock Commercial Bank. Mr Kuznetsov will have to deal with the implementation of the Bank’s network developing policies as well as with the control over and providing for the realization of the business plans of the company’s subsidiaries in Chelyabinsk and Yekaerinburg, reports the bank’s spokesperson. Prior to this appointment, Mr Kuznetsov was employed in the capacity of Deputy Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District

Tube Metallurgical Company JSC held the annual general meeting on June 30, 2006. The shareholders elected the Board of Directors, the inspection committee, and company’s Auditor, Ernst and Young Ltd. They also approved of the company’s annual report and of the accounting report and decided to declare the dividend of .54222 RUR per ordinary share for 2005. The new Board Members are Adrian Cobb, Muhadin Eskindarov, Petr Golitsin, Andrey Kaplunov, Igor Khmelevskiy, Josef Maru, Sergey Papin, Dmitriy Pumpyanskiy, Alexander Shiryaev, and Geoffrey Townsend. Dmitriy Pumpyanskiy was elected Chairman.

Sverdlovsk Region Federal Antimonopoly Service imposed fines of 1,000 minimum wages on Arshin Ltd., Encore Ltd., and Dveri & Okna Ltd., all located in the town of Samara. The total worth of the three fines comes to 300,000 RUR, reports the spokesperson for Sverdlovsk Region Federal Antimonopoly Service. The enterprises were fined for failing to place a petition with Sverdlovsk Region Federal Antimonopoly Service asking to buy a certain voting share holding of the authorized capital of UralBurMash JSC. These share holdings made up over 20% of the company’s voting stock, and, given that