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GreekReporter.comBusinessEldorado Gold Secures Finance from Greek Banks for the Skouries Project

Eldorado Gold Secures Finance from Greek Banks for the Skouries Project

Eldorado Gold Skouries
Eldorado has secured financing to continue its investment at the gold mine in Skouries in northern Greece. Credit: Eldorado Gold

Canadian firm Eldorado Gold has signed a mandate letter for a credit-committee-sanctioned €680 million finance facility from Greek banks to develop the Skouries project in northern Greece.

According to the feasibility study, the project is expected to cost $845 million for development.

Eldorado President and CEO George Burns said: “We believe that Skouries is a world-class project that will have a lasting positive economic and social impact for Greece, the communities we work in, and other stakeholders.”

“We remain confident in the feasibility study capital cost estimate of $845 million, and with the project finance facility in place, the company has the balance sheet capacity to fund the remaining capital cost for completion of the project,” he reported.

“We also continue to evaluate opportunities for complementary sources of financing,” Burns said. “A final decision to re-start construction remains subject to board approval, which we expect to seek in the second half of 2022.”

Eldorado Skouries mine is expected to produce 140,000 oz of gold

Part of the Kassandra Mines Complex, the Skouries project is a gold-copper porphyry deposit located within the Halkidiki Peninsula of Northern Greece.

With an anticipated operational life of twenty years, the project is expected to produce an aggregate of 140,000 ounces of gold and 67 million pounds of copper per annum.

The deposit is planned to be mined using a combination of conventional open pit and underground mining techniques, Eldorado said.

The Eldorado investment at Skouries was opposed by a large section of the local population in the early 2010s. Demonstrations and sit-ins took place in the area by environmental groups citing tremendous environmental impact which would result in the complete desecration of tourism and agriculture in the area.

The local population demonstrated over the years, often clashing violently with police, and shutting down national roads. The investment was also challenged in Greek courts and amendments to the mining plan were made in alignment with environmental laws.

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