NLMK Group (LSE: NLMK), Russia¡¯s largest steelmaker and one of the most efficient steel companies in the world, improved environmental performance at its Russia-based assets in H1 2015 against increased production.

Steel output in H1 2015 increased by 3% year-on-year while the environmental impact decreased:

specific air emissions at Russian production facilities decreased by 5% year-on-year to 20.9 kg/t of steel, coming close to the ¬£¬¡¬´ level of 18.9 kg/t of steel;

specific water consumption fell by 7.2% year-on-year to 5.1 m©ø/t, which is below the ¬£¬¡¬´ level of 7 m©ø/t;

wastewater discharge decreased by 33% year-on-year to 0.02 kg/t (¬£¬¡¬´ is zero);

waste generated decreased by 6.2% year-on-year to 3.9 t/t of steel.

Yuri Larin, NLMK Vice President, Technology Development & Operational Efficiency, said: ¡°Environmental investment at NLMK Group¡¯s Russian sites since the beginning of the year has exceededRUB1 billon. We have completed 6 new environmental projects and 13 more are underway. We expect these projects to allow us to supply our clients with products that are manufactured with the minimum impact of the environment.¡±

The bulk of NLMK Group¡¯s environmental projects in H1 2015, as part of Environmental Programme 2020, were aimed at reducing air emissions and optimizing waste recycling.

At Novolipetsk(main production site in Lipetsk):

Full-scale operation of an innovative biochemical wastewater treatment facility for coke and chemical operations began. This provides a twenty-fold improvement in wastewater treatment quality for reuse in the closed-loop water cycle; and a twenty-fold reduction in specific air emissions;

A new unit for processing blast-furnace slag was launched. This enabled transition to a safe slag cooling technology; and more than an 8-fold reduction in hydrogen sulfide emissions that accompany the cooling process;

A number of projects have been implemented to reduce dust levels in refractory and blast furnace operations, with dust emissions decreasing significantly as a result;

Work continues implementing a large-scale project to introduce new technical solutions at BOF Shop #2, which has a capacity of 5.1 million tonnes of steel per year. This will reduce specific air emissions by more than 50%;

Construction of a plant to process iron waste into briquettes, with an annual capacity of 700,000 tonnes.

The launch of the plant will enable more than 350,000 tonnes of blast furnace waste to be recycled each year. The company will cease to accumulate sludge and will begin to process existing waste piles returning material back into production process

At Stoilesnky:

Testing of a dust suppression system began at the gangue storage complex. The first stage, with completion scheduled for 2018, will allow for a 23-fold decrease (by 99.1%) in dust content at the border of the plant¡¯s sanitary protection zone.

At NLMKLong Products:

Project continues to reconstruct the gas-cleaning equipment at the NSMMZ Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) Shop (Revda). This will double the efficiency of EAF gas cleaning.

About EnvironmentalProgramme 2020

During Stage 2 of NLMK¡¯s Technical Upgrade Programme between 2007 and 2012, the Group invested more than RUB21 billion in environmental projects. Over this period, steel output at NLMK Group¡¯s Russian sites has increased by 52% to 14.2 million tonnes; whilst specific air emissions decreased by 40% from 37.5 to 22.6 kg per tonne of steel; and waste water discharge was reduced by 54 times from 1.08 to 0.02 kg/t. Waste water discharge at the Lipetsk site was completely eliminated.

In May 2014, NLMK Group announced Environmental Programme 2020; the new stage of its Environmental Programme leading up to 2020. Investment in environmental initiatives and projects at NLMK Group companies will total over RUB10 billion. The Programme will enable NLMK to close in on the level of best available technologies by 2020:

to stop wastewater discharge at all Group sites;

to increase waste recycling from 5% to 25% across all Group companies, including Stoilesnky;

to reduce specific emissions to 19.4 kg per tonne of steel.

About NLMKGroup

NLMK Group is the largest steelmaker in Russia and one of the most efficient in the world. NLMK¡¯s metal products are used in various industries, from construction and engineering to the manufacture of power-generating equipment and offshore wind turbines.

NLMK's production assets are located in Russia, Europe, and the United States. The Company¡¯s liquid steel production capacity is over 17 million tonnes per year, of which about 16 million tonnes are produced in Russia.

NLMK has the most competitive cash cost among global manufacturers; and one of the highest profitability levels in the sector. The company generated $4.4 billion in revenue; $1.1 billion in EBITDA; and a net profit of $491 million in H1 2015.

NLMK¡¯s ordinary shares are traded on the Moscow Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: NLMK), and its global depositary shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: NLMK:LI).

Media contact info:

Sergey Babichenko 
+7 (916) 824 6743 
babichenko_sy@nlmk.com

Investor Relations contact info:
Sergey Takhiev 
+7 (495) 915 1575 
tahiev_sa@nlmk.com