Canadian company Eldorado Gold has announced the temporary postponement of its plans to mothball development of the Kasandra Mine assets comprising the Skouries and Olympias projects, as well as the Stratoni mine in Halkidiki, northern Greece.
Earlier this month, the company said it would suspend operations in Greece unless it received all of its pending licenses.
The latest decision comes after Eldorado Gold has entered into constructive dialogue with Greece’s Ministry of Energy and Environment with regard to the development of the Kassandra assets held by its subsidiary Hellas Gold.
The assets were permitted under a single environmental impact study approved in 2011 by the Greek State.
Eldorado Gold president and CEO George Burns said: “We are very pleased with the constructive dialogue that is underway with the Ministry of Energy and Environment.
“Furthermore, last week, the ministry issued a number of long overdue routine permits for our Olympias project. As a result of these developments, we have decided to temporarily postpone our decision to place our assets in Halkidiki on care and maintenance.”
“We reserve the right to place our assets on care and maintenance, and to take prompt legal action to protect the company and its assets in Greece should our dialogue with the Ministry of Energy and Environment prove unsuccessful.”
The company recently confirmed the receipt of approval of the technical study for the Old Olympias Mine Closure and the installation permit for the paste plant at Olympias.
Source: mining-technology
