Construction work is expected to resume in the summer Skourion Mine in Halkidikiwhich the Canadian group put in for maintenance Eldorado Gold since November 2017. According to reportsThe mining group’s Vancouver-based subsidiary is currently bidding to select companies to operate selected projects, such as the dry waste mine site.

After the completion of the concentrator (where the mined ore is graded) further work will continue inside while the underground mine is undergoing preliminary work. The main construction works, which will start in the coming months, include the creation of a road network for access to selected sites, the excavation of a quarry, the construction of a dry dump for mining waste, and the implementation of foundation work. Drainage canals, treatment facilities, disposal and recycling of waste will also be built.

Skouria’s construction work will last three years, until the mine, which is a combination of underground and open pit mining, is put into operation. It is estimated that 800 new jobs will be created during the construction phase alone, and 1,400 workers will be employed permanently. To date, Eldorado Gold has invested more than half a billion euros in Skouries, with about 800 million euros in additional funds required to commission the plant and to mine and process the gold-rich porphyry deposit. (0.74 g/t gold) and copper (0.49% copper).

Hellenic Gold conducts tenders for the selection of contractors.

In Olimpiada Halkidiki (together with Skouries and Stratoni – in the geological exploration phase – the mines of Kassandra constitute the mines of Kassandra) mining remains largely unprofitable and therefore Eldorado Gold remains constantly focused on cost rationalization. Taking on some of the staff from the Black Stones mine and the Stratoni factory, which have been under renovation since late 2021, he is digitizing some of the mine’s work, among other things. For example, the Olimpiada mine has its own mobile network, on which applications are developed to automate part of the mining process, ventilation on demand, remote control of loading, etc.

Limiting losses at the Olympics is a challenging task given that the €680 million funding provided by Hellenic Gold (through a syndicated loan from banks and the Recovery Fund) will be dedicated exclusively to the Scuria project. The first installment of this loan is expected to be disbursed in the near future after some outstanding bureaucratic issues are completed.

The Kassandra Mines project as a whole is awaiting approval of a new Environmental Impact Study (EIA), which was required following parliamentary ratification of the revised concession agreement in March 2021.