Name of the Project
Skouries gold/copper project.

Location
The Halkidiki Peninsula, in northern Greece.

Project Owner/s
Hellas Gold, a subsidiary of Eldorado Gold Corporation (95%), and Aktor (5%).

Project Description
The gold/copper porphyry deposit is planned to be mined using a combination of conventional openpit and underground mining techniques. The mineral process facilities will produce doré and a gold/copper concentrate.

The project has total proven and probable reserves of 157.67-million tonnes grading 0.74 g/t gold and 0.49% copper. 

Mineral resources have been estimated at 289.28-million tonnes grading 0.58 g/t gold and 0.43% copper, with inferred mineral resources of 170.14-million tonnes grading 0.31 g/t gold and 0.34% copper.

Gold production has been estimated at 140 000 oz/y.

Skouries has been designed as a two-phase operation.

Phase 1 comprises a combined openpit and underground mine operating over ten years.

Skouries will be a conventional truck-and-shovel operation. The mining sequence will consist of drilling, blasting and loading, as well as the hauling of ore and waste materials for processing and waste disposal.

Phase 1 total mill feed is eight-million tonnes a year consisting of a nominal 5.5-million tonnes a year from the openpit mine, combined with 2.5-million tonnes a year from the underground mine. 

At the start of the mine life, during the initial two-year underground mine ramp-up, the openpit feed rate is 6.4-million tonnes a year to maintain the eight-million-tonne-a-year mill feed. 

During Phase 1, about 6.5-million tonnes of oxide ore will be stockpiled, to be rehandled for mill feed during Phase 2. Phase 1 will be completed at the end of the openpit mine life in Year 10.

Phase 2 consists of underground mining for a further 13 years. Sublevel open stoping has been confirmed as the most appropriate underground mining method for the project.

Phase 2 mine production, from Year 11 to the end of the life-of-mine (LoM), will be provided from the underground mine. Phase 2 mine development begins in Year 4 to allow for a seamless ramp-up from the Phase 1 production of 2.4-million tonnes a year. During the first three years of Phase 2, the mill feed rate of eight-million tonnes a year will be maintained by reclaiming oxide ore stockpiled during Phase 1 at 1.6-million tonnes a year. 

From Year 14, Phase 2 mill feed will be maintained at an average of 6.2-million tonnes a year, solely from underground mine production.

The total LoM is 23 years.

The materials handling strategy for Phase 1 is based on truck haulage of run-of-mine ore directly to the surface from the loading bays using the dual ramp system.

The Phase 2 materials handling will involve the shaft hoisting of ore to the surface. Shaft hoisting is critical to allow for ramp-up to full production of 6.4-million tonnes a year from the Phase 1 production of 2.5-million tonnes a year. 

To hoist the material by shaft, underground crushing will be implemented. The design of the Skouries mine includes provision for remote mining technology, which has an impact on the cycle times of stopes and the productivity of equipment. This technology includes the teleremote operation of mechanised equipment by an operator located on surface or in a remote area of the underground mine.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an estimated net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $925-million and an internal rate of return of 21.2, with a payback of 3.4 years.

Capital Expenditure
The project will cost an estimated $689.2-million to implement.

Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Eldorado Gold has signed an amended investment agreement with the Hellenic Republic to govern the development, construction and operation of its mines and projects in Greece.

Hailed as a “new beginning” for Eldorado and its Kassandra mines in Greece, the agreement will pave the way for the completion of the Skouries project, the expansion of Olympias to 650 000 t/y, upgrades to the port facilities at Stratoni and further investment in exploration.

The Skouries project has struggled with permit delays for years. Eldorado threatened to pull all investment from its operations in Greece in 2020, citing the permit delays and a fractured relationship with government.

The miner has said that the revised agreement provided investor protection, including a permitting framework similar to other large-scale foreign investment agreements in Greece.

The agreement will be formally submitted to the Greek Parliament for ratification, with a vote expected to take place in an upcoming Parliamentary session.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Eldorado Gold manager – investor relations Peter Lekich, tel +1 604 687 4018 or email peter.lekich@eldoradogold.com; or director – communications and government relations Louise Burgess, tel +1 604 687 4018 or email louiseb@eldoradogold.com.