An unidentified Vnesheconombank spokesperson declined to tell Reuters Monday the amount requested but told the news service the company’s application was being reviewed.

Mechel has an estimated $US9.1 billion in debt, primarily gained as it expanded operations prior to the global financial crisis of 2008 that also hit steel and coal prices.

Reuters said the producer had its credit rating downgraded by Moody's on Monday and also had to divest non-core assets and cut its investments.

With analysts estimating the development of Elga, which has about 2.3 billion tonnes of proven reserves, could cost $2-4 billion, Mechel reportedly still has a good chance of having its request granted.

An Alfa bank analyst told the news service the Russian government considered the Elga field to be a significant project.

Mechel has not issued public comment on the report.

It did, however, announce on Tuesday the company was celebrating the 10th anniversary of its 2003 formation.

It also noted that it started out with just a few production assets such as the Chelyabinsk metallurgical plant and Southern Kuzbass Coal and now had about 30 producers in its umbrella for coal, iron ore, steel, rolls, high value-added products, ferroalloys, heat and electricity.

“Over the past decade, Mechel has traveled a long way, becoming not only one of Russia's leading producers of coal, rolls and hardware but also one of the world's top coking coal producers,” chief executive officer Evgeny Mikhel said.

“Now, 10 years later, we can tackle such large-scale endeavors – unprecedented for Russian business – as developing the Elga deposit, whose coking coal reserves are among the world's largest and including construction of a 321-kilometer railway.

“Today Mechel does not plan to rest at the level it has achieved and is alert to the challenges of market volatility.

“Throughout its existence, Mechel remained flexible and ready to keep up with the times [and] despite hardships of the crisis period Mechel intends to reach new heights, particularly in developing our mining division where, due to our coal reserves and plans for deposit development, by the next decade's end the company plans not only to maintain its leading positions among the world's metallurgical coal producers but also consolidate them.”