According to the feasibility study, the project development may require an estimated capital cost of $845m, and the company is well positioned to fund the capital costs beyond the project finance facility
Skouries mine is a high-grade gold-copper porphyry deposit. (Credit: Παρατηρητήριο Μεταλλευτικών Δραστηριοτήτων/Wikipedia)
Eldorado Gold has signed a mandate letter with Greek banks for a credit committee approved €680m project finance facility for the development of Skouries project in Greece.
The mandate letter includes a long-form term sheet, which comprises customary terms and conditions, and is subject to negotiation of definitive loan documentation.
It is also subject to other conditions, including board approval and confirmation of the availability of funds for a low-interest portion of the facility.
The Canadian gold mining company said that project development may require an estimated capital cost of $845m, according to the feasibility study.
With the project finance facility in place, it is well positioned to fund the remaining capital cost for completion of the project, said the company.
Eldorado president and CEO George Burns said: “We believe that Skouries is a world-class project that will have a lasting positive economic and social impact for Greece, the communities we work in, and other stakeholders.
“We remain confident in the Feasibility Study capital cost estimate of $845m, and with the project finance facility in place, the Company has the balance sheet capacity to fund the remaining capital cost for completion of the Project.
“We also continue to evaluate opportunities for complementary sources of financing. A final decision to re-start construction remains subject to Board approval, which we expect to seek in the second half of 2022.”
Acquired from European Goldfields in 2012, Skouries project is part of the Kassandra Mines Complex, located within the Halkidiki Peninsula of Northern Greece.
It is a gold-copper porphyry deposit planned to be mined using a combination of conventional open pit and underground mining techniques.
The project has a total mine-life of around 20 years, and is expected to produce an aggregate of 140,000oz of gold and 67 million pounds of copper per annum.
Through its first production, the project is expected to payback the costs within less than four years, and generate an average free cash flow of $215m per year in the first five years.
Eldorado is a gold and base metals producer with mining, development and exploration operations located in Turkiye, Canada, Greece, and Romania.