Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) -- OAO Severstal, Russia’s second- biggest steelmaker, said it will separate its Nord Gold unit, after shelving a plan for an initial public offering this year.

“Strategically we made a decision to separate gold,” Chief Executive Officer Alexey Mordashov said today in an interview in London. “It has no synergy with steel and steel- related mining.”

Nord Gold postponed plans for an IPO in London in February, citing “market conditions.”

Severstal has a “strong intention” to decide on when to separate the unit this year, Mordashov said, adding that the timing depends on the market.

--Editor: Amanda Jordan

To contact the reporter on this story: Ilya Khrennikov in London, via Moscow newsroom at ikhrennikov@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: John Viljoen at jviljoen@bloomberg.net