Eldorado Gold and the Greek government have signed a revised investment agreement covering Eldorado's assets in northern Greece, paying the way for the potential development of the Skouries project and expansion of the Olympias mine and the Stratoni/Mavres Petres mines and facilities in the country, collectively known as the "Kassandra Mines".
In 2017, Eldorado Gold halted all operations in the country due to government delays in issuing permits for Skouries and Olympias, two of the company's key assets.
The deal will allow the company to finish construction at Skouries and transition the project into production. It would also help it expand production at Olympias gold-silver-lead-zinc mine to 650'000 tonnes a year. The revised plan covers upgrades to the port facilities at Stratoni to allow for bulk shipment of concentrates and boost of exploration work Mavres/Petres deposit, part of the company's Stratoni project.
Eldorado Gold is continuing to evaluate financing options for Skouries, which the company has previously indicated would likely include a partnership.
Once restarted, Eldorado expects to complete construction in approximately 2.5 years. Skouries is a gold-copper porphyry deposit estimated to produce 140,000 ounces of gold and 67 Mio. pounds of copper per year with an initial mine life of 23 years. Plant construction is 50% complete.
