An aerial view of Eldorado Gold's Skouries gold-copper project in northern Greece. The company received two permits after announcing they would suspend investments in Greece due to a lack of granted permits, government support and a pending arbitration process against the company's Greek subsidy, Hellas Gold. Courtesy of Eldorado Gold
Eldorado Gold has received two permits for its Greek operations, two days after announcing it would suspend investments there.
The company confirmed receipt Sept. 13 of the Olympias operating permit and the modified electromechanical installation permit for the tailings management facility at the Kokkinolakkas site of its Olympias project from the Ministry of Energy and Environment.
"This is a positive step forward; however, we are still waiting on other permits,” president and CEO George Burns said in a release Wednesday.
The release stated these permits alone were not enough for Eldorado to reconsider its decision to cut funding. It is holding out for the approval and receipt of all required permits, clarity around a pending arbitration process and “a supportive government open to discussions.” Eldorado operates the Stratoni silver-lead-zinc mine in Greece, is constructing the Olympias and Skouries mines and has a development project there as well.
Eldorado announced Sept. 11 it would suspend investment and exploration in Greece starting Sept. 22. Burns said at an Athens press conference Monday that it was not a decision that was made lightly.
"But unfortunately, since my predecessor Paul Wright last sat here in January 2016, there has been little change to the Greek government's attitude towards our significant investments."
On Tuesday, miners pushed their way into the Greek Ministry of Environment to demand the permits be granted.
Eldorado has been one of the largest foreign investors in Greece since 2012 and has over 2,400 employees working on its Greek projects. According to the company, any change in operational activity would affect 90 per cent of workers.
The company has struggled to move forward with its Greek projects. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, of the left-wing Syriza party has expressed criticism of Eldorado’s Skouries project in particular.
Related: Greek environment minister to take Eldorado to court over contract dispute
“After it wins the election, the Syriza government will stop the destruction brought on by Skouries,” Tsipras said in September 2014.
Panagiotis Lafazanis, a former Syriza minister, also expressed his government’s opposition to Eldorado’s development of the gold-copper porphyry deposit located in northern Greece.
“We are absolutely against it and we will examine our next moves on it,” he told Reuters in 2015.
Eldorado said it is waiting for an outstanding approval of a technical study for the old Olympias mine closure, installation permits for paste plants at Olympias and an amended electromechanical installation permit for the Skouries flotation plant.
In addition, the company said in a release they need to resolve “other matters including, but not limited to, the relocation of antiquities at the Skouries site.”
Project profile: Eldorado Gold's Greek mines have a storied past but face an uncertain future
Eldorado is also awaiting details from the Greek government about the pending arbitration proceedings against their Greek subsidy Hellas Gold.
On Monday, Burns said that “open dialogue with the government would be the company's preference rather than legal recourse and arbitration.” Details about the scope of the arbitration are expected Sept. 15.
