Which US presidential candidate does gold prefer?
Gold loves chaos and should be hitting new highs, especially with inflation coming down and with it, two rate cuts likely before year’s end.
A decision on Friday by a Greek court going in favour of Eldorado Gold’s (TSX:ELD) Skouris mine has bumped the stock up by close to 10 percent.
Shares in the $3.3-billion market cap company gained 9.63 percent at the close of trading in Toronto, following news that the company can temporarily resume mining until a final court ruling is made. It’s the most the Vancouver-based global gold miner has advanced in two months.
In August, Greece’s energy and environment minister ordered Eldorado to suspend work at the mine, alleging the firm had violated contractual terms.
As a result, Eldorado Gold left about 2,000 employees temporarily out of work, triggering massive demonstrations.
The mine has been a bone of contention ever since Hellenic Gold was granted approval to mine in the forested Halkidiki peninsula, in northern Greece, back in 2011.
Some claim the operation, owned 95 percent by Eldorado, may hurt tourism and the environment, while others believe it is good news for Greece, as it will generate new jobs and bring hundreds of millions into the struggling economy. Eldorado took possession of the mine in 2012 through the acquisition of European Goldfields.
According to the Financial Post, Eldorado has already sunk US$600 million into the project since 2012, and plans to invest another billion at two other sites in Greece.
Eldorado Gold says the copper-gold mine, which began construction in 2013, will operate as an open-pit mine for seven years, at which point operations would move underground for another 20 years.
2 Comments
Laurence Hunt
Does it need to be said that the Greek people would appreciate the employment? The back story is that ELD’s Greek mines were originally developed by engineering and construction people with close ties to the previous Greek government. The government intervention here is certainly 100% politically motivated.
bjoe244
As far as I know, Eld’s contract includes the obligation to build a flash smelting pilot plant on site and prove that they can process the local -with a very high arsenic content- ore effectively. Until they will have their obligation fulfilled, it will be difficult to continue normal operations.