The paper said the fees would hit Russia's largest iron miner, Metalloinvest, Novolipetsk Steel , Russia's fourth largest steelmaker, as well as the country's top steelmaker, Severstal , and Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works , Russia's third-largest steelmaker.

Kommersant says one of the ministry's proposals would slap iron ore exports with a 30 percent duty, while rolled metal shipments could be levied with a 10 percent fee.

This may bring the state coffers an additional $1.5 billion.

Another scenario envisages flexible duties depending on metal prices and is seen replenishing the budget by around $218.4 million.

Last year, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said steel price hikes were "inexplicable" and the country's anti-monopoly watchdog launched an investigation.