Greece grants permit to Eldorado Gold’s Skouries mine

Greece has granted Canada’s Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD)(NYSE:EGO) permission to build a plant at its Skouries gold mine in the northern part of the country, one of four major operations the firm has there.

The approval comes only a week after Giorgos Stathakis took charge of the environment ministry. His decision, The Greek Reporter reports, puts an end to everlasting confrontations between the Vancouver-based miner’s local subsidiary — Hellas Gold — and the previous minister, who refused to give the project the needed green light citing environmental concerns.

As a result of the arguments with the previous minister, Eldorado halted development at Skouries in January and laid off most of its 600 workers, saying authorities had been delaying necessary permits. It also threatened to do the same with its Olympias mine, which is located nearby.

In late February, Eldorado’s local subsidiary — Hellas Gold —  was granted a building permit for a processing plant at Skouries, but did not resume work until June, when it received approval for its updated technical study.

Gold mining at the Skouries complex in the forested Halkidiki peninsula is now expected to begin in 2019.