Today we announced that our wholly-owned subsidiary Hellas Gold has entered into a €680 million project financing facility for the development of the Skouries Project in Northern Greece, with National Bank of Greece S.A. and Piraeus Bank S.A. as lead arrangers. The complete details about the announcement can be found in the news release (click here)
The announcement is the culmination of significant effort by people throughout Eldorado Gold. The financing facility will allow the company to move the project forward, delivering increased value to shareholders, employees and the communities where the company operates.
“On behalf of the Eldorado and Hellas teams, I want to thank our local partners and workforce, the Aristotle Municipality, the Greek government, and National Bank of Greece and Piraeus Bank, for their support of the Project and we look forward to working with them and developing a world-class mine in the region, adhering to best-in-class sustainability standards,” says Eldorado Gold CEO George Burns. “We are extremely excited to move the project forward, given its robust project economics, upside potential and the transformational effect it is expected to have on our business.”
The Skouries project is a world-class asset located on the Halkidiki Peninsula in Northern Greece. The high-grade gold-copper porphyry deposit will be mined using a combination of conventional open pit and underground mining techniques. The total life of the mine is approximately 20 years, and once constructed, it is expected to produce an average of 140,000 ounces of gold and 67 million pounds of copper per year.
The Skouries project, part of the overall Kassandra Mines Complex, will create significant positive economic and social value at local and national levels in Greece. At over US$3 billion, the full development of the Kassandra Mines (which includes Skouries, the Olympias Mine, the Stratoni Port Facility and the Kokkinolakkas Tailings Management Facility), represents one of the largest foreign direct investments in the country and will enable Greece to become one of the leading gold-producing nations in Europe.
Through the life of mine of the Kassandra assets, the Greek State will see $US2 billion revenue through royalties, taxes and social contributions, approximately 5,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created by the mining activity and an additional $US4 billion worth of procurement revenue will be contributed to companies in Greece. The Skouries project is focused on local hiring, procurement and training, with an estimated 800 dedicated construction jobs created during the construction period and approximately 1,400 positions required at Skouries throughout the life of the mine. (Read more about the Skouries Project here)
The Skouries Project will also implement best-in-class sustainabilty technologies. The project is being designed with dry-stack tailings technology which provide increased geotechnical stability, a smaller physical footprint, and allows for progressive reclamation techniques. As part of Eldorado’s climate change strategy, the Skouries project also presents a unique opportunity to incorporate energy and carbon management into a world-class project that will produce copper needed for the low-carbon economy. Energy efficiency is actively being included in the project design and construction, and Eldorado is working to make Skouries an energy and carbon-efficient mine.
Our focus now shifts to project execution, with first production expected in the second half of 2025, followed by a ramp-up as we optimize facilities. We look forward to delivering a world-class mine in Greece and couldn’t be more excited to start work in the new year.