SMM survey: what kind of metal do you like most in 2022?
(Eldorado Gold), the Canadian gold company Eldorado, said on Tuesday that it had completed two key growth projects for its assets-the Lamaque gold mine in Val d'Or, Quebec, and the Kleiner lada gold mine in Turkey, which will allow it to further expand production outside Greece.
Over the years, the miner has focused its exploration and development efforts on European countries. The long-standing disagreement between Mr Eldorado and the Greek government, mainly over environmental regulations, has prompted the company to look elsewhere, including at home.
The Vancouver-based company Lamaque, the first gold mine in Canada, has completed the Triangle-Sigma descent project, which provides an underground passage for low-cost exploration in the potential area between the Triangle mine and the historic Sigma and Lamaque operations.
The project also reduces the reprocessing and transportation of surface ore, with a round trip of about 26 km, or 50 minutes, from the triangle to the Sigma plant, reducing costs and carbon emissions, and eliminating transport traffic on public roads.
At the Kashi lada gold mine in Turkey, the company has completed the construction and wet commissioning of the (HPGR) circuit for high-voltage grinding rollers and is expected to increase the recovery rate of heap leaching by 4 to 5 per cent.
Eldorado believes that by further optimizing the circuit of high-voltage grinding rolls, it is possible to further improve the recovery rate of potassium lada, thereby increasing gold production. The company said the project had completed a cost estimate of $35 million in two years.
Eldorado, which also has operations in Romania and Brazil, has paid more attention to the domestic market in recent years. It bought QMX Gold, a Quebec exploration company, in January and an 11.5 per cent stake in Probe Metals, another local exploration company, in July.
The main issue between Eldorado and Greece is the company's projects in the north of the country, particularly Skouries. Progress on the gold and copper project has been hampered in the past because of government delays in issuing permits and community opposition to the possible environmental impact of gold mining in heavily forested areas.
The company has been able to advance the Olympias project, one of its two key mining areas in the country.
Construction of the Skouries, with reserves of 3.7 million ounces of gold and 1.7 billion pounds of copper, has stalled since 2017.
In April, Eldorado received a long-awaited license for dry stack tailings treatment.
The company said on Tuesday that it would announce the results after the market closes on Wednesday, Dec. 15, after it has completed the feasibility study for Skouries.
Greece negotiated a new investment contract with Eldorado, the country's largest foreign investor, this year, which was signed and approved by the Greek parliament. The agreement provides more revenue, environmental benefits, and supports local communities in the form of job creation and local projects.
Greece's conservative government has vowed to attract foreign investment to boost an economy that has shrunk by 1/4 during the decade-long financial crisis.
