“We are most disappointed and perplexed by this entirely inappropriate decision”, Eldorado Gold chief executive officer Paul Wright said in a statement reacting to the decision disrupting the group’s plans in the northern Halkidiki peninsula.
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Panos Skourletis said Wednesday that Hellenic Gold, a subsidiary of Vancouver-based Eldorado Gold, had violated the terms of technical studies, and that the revocation of those studies approvals meant work in the mine’s Skouries area was being temporarily halted.
Documents released by his ministry claim the mining company did not perform certain tests on the flash smelting process proposed for the facility.
Canada’s Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD) (NYSE:EGO) has threatened legal action against the Greek government after the country’s energy ministry halted production at the company’s Skouries gold and copper mine in northern Greece. The Company’s success to date is based on a low cost strategy, a highly skilled and dedicated workforce, safe and responsible operations, and long-term partnerships with the communities where it operates.
Eldorado’s assets in Greece, which include the Olympias project, represent about a third of its operating net-asset- value per share, RBC Capital Markets’ analysts Dan Rollins and Mark Mihaljevic said Wednesday in a note to clients.
A series of protests against the project included a violent one in 2013, when hooded militants threw Molotov cocktails at the mine worksite, wounding a guard and damaging equipment.
“But the companies must also respect the terms to which they have committed so as not to harm the public interest and the environment”, Skourletis said.
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The move came as the leftist Greek government seeks to rebuild investor confidence by authorising privatisations it had previously opposed.
