TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Greece has revoked the approval required by Vancouver-based Eldorado Gold to complete construction of the Skouries project processing plant.
The company on Monday announced that its subsidiary Hellas Gold on Friday received the notice from Greece's Ministry of Productive Reconstruction, Energy and Environment, which had, however, indicated that it might reverse its decision once it had completed an internal review process.
The Ministry did not give a timeframe within which it would complete its review process.
TSX- and NYSE-listed Eldorado said it believed the Ministry’s decision had no legal basis and the company would, if necessary, act to protect its legal rights.
The company noted that the approval revocation had no material impact on the project’s construction schedule at this time and various site activities continued unabated.
Eldorado stressed that the integrity of the project’s environmental-impact assessment – the main environmental permit supporting its projects in Halkidiki, northern Greece – had been confirmed by three separate rulings of the Council of State, which is Greece's Supreme Court on administrative and environmental matters.
The company had reported earlier this year that it planned to invest $310-million on the development of Skouries and Olympias this year, which would generate new jobs for the Greek people and taxes for the Greek government.
“The recent decision of the Ministry of Energy – if not reversed in a timely manner – may force Eldorado to reconsider its investment plans for Greece,” Eldorado CEO Paul Wright advised.