Alexander Nikolayevich Popov has been appointed General Director of the Olenegorsk Mining and Concentration Works, part of the mining division of OAO Severstal. Effective 22 March 2011 he will succeed Vasily Alexeyevich Chernykh, who will leave the Olengorsk Mining and Concentration Works to become Head of the mining department of Severstal’s gold division. In his new position, Chernykh will be responsible for open pit and underground operations at eight mines in Russia, Kazakhstan and Africa. Popov holds a degree in Economics and Construction Management from Kuzbass State Technical University. He joined the OAO Severstal team in 2006 as the Director of Capital Construction at Kuzbassugol. From 2007 to 2009 he was the Director of Procurement at Vorkutaugol, another enterprise within Severstal mining division. Since 2009, Popov has held the position of Director of the Vorkuta Transport at Vorkutaugol.