Eldorado wins gold mine appeal in Greece

Greece’s top administrative court has annulled the government’s decision last year to revoke Eldorado Gold’s mining license, according to court documents published on Wednesday.

The Canadian mining company had appealed to Greece’s top court to overturn the ban on its plans to develop gold mines in a forested area of northern Greece, in a case widely seen as a test of the leftist government’s approach to foreign investment.

The majority of the court’s judges ruled in favor of Eldorado in November, but a final ruling was pending.

Eldorado has put in about $700 million since 2012 and planned to invest another $1 billion to develop two mines at Skouries and Olympias in Halkidiki.

But Greece’s government revoked its permit in August, saying the tests for a so-called flash-melting method the company planned to use to ensure there would be no environmental damage did not take place on the spot, but rather outside Greece.

[Reuters]