Eldorado to take legal action over suspension of Halkidiki gold mine studies
Eldorado, the Canadian firm that owns the Skouries gold mine in northern Greece, says it will take legal action against the Greek government after it ordered the suspension of the site's technical studies.
"We are most disappointed and perplexed by this entirely inappropriate decision of the Ministry of Energy, which puts 5,000 direct and indirect jobs in Greece at risk, including the jobs of 2,000 Greek employees and contractors of Hellas Gold,” said Eldorado CEO Paul Wright.
The government suspended the work following tests on the smelting process. The company carried out the tests in Finland but the Energy Ministry said they should have been done at the mine in Halkidiki.
“We have received numerous favorable decisions of the Council of State – Greece's Supreme Court on administrative and environmental matters – over the course of the last three years, which confirm the legality of our activities in Halkidiki,” said Wright.
“At this time, work at all our Halkidiki operations and projects continues as normal; however, Hellas Gold may be forced to suspend all its mining and development activities in Halkidiki due to this rash decision by the Ministry of Energy,” he added.
