By L. Kalamara
No progress was made this week in standing efforts by Eldorado Gold and its Greek subsidiary, Hellas Gold, to finally obtain necessary permits to restart gold mining operations at the Skouries complex in northern Greece.
According to reports, negotiations were merely bumped into the near future following another fruitless meeting between Environment Minister Giorgos Stathakis with company executives this week, a meeting that was also attended by Eldorado Gold CEO George Burns.
The meeting was the second between the two sides after an arbitration court this year ruled in favor of the Canadian multinational’s Greek subsidiary and against the Greeks state, noting that the miner’s activities in Halkidiki prefecture are legal.
Sources told “N” that the government side, during the latest meeting, requested more information from Hellas Gold, whereas the concessionaire again told the ministry’s leadership that implementation and financing of the specific mining concession necessitates the issuance of the pending permits. Hellas Gold executives also said the leftist-rightist coalition government must clarify its positions vis-a-vis the industrial investment so that no more legal or administrative obstacles are placed (by the government) in the future.
The Canadian multinational’s visiting leadership also met with workers in Halkididi prefecture over the recent week, where Burns reiterated that once pending issues are resolved, work at Skouries will resume immediately.
The Skouries worksite is more-or-less inactive at present, whereas the Olympiada site – also operated by Hellas Gold – is in the production phase. Hellas Gold awaits a relevant permit and approval of the company’s environmental impact study by environment ministry, so that operations can resume at Skouries and begin at the Perama site in the border Evros prefecture.
