TSX: ELD NYSE: EGO
VANCOUVER, March 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ - Eldorado Gold
("Eldorado" or the "Company") hereby informs that on Friday February 27, 2015, its Greek subsidiary,
Hellas Gold S.A., received a formal
notice from Greece's Ministry of
Productive Reconstruction, Energy and Environment (the "Ministry"
or "Ministry of Energy") revoking the approval required to
complete final construction of the processing plant at the
Skouries Project. The notice from the Ministry indicates however,
that the Ministry may reverse its decision once it completes an
internal review process. Timing to complete this review process has
not been stipulated by the Ministry.
The Company believes the decision of the
Ministry has no legal basis and will, if necessary, act to protect
the legal rights of the Company, employees and stakeholders. At
this moment in time the revocation of this approval has no
material impact on the construction schedule of the Skouries
Project and various site activities continue unabated.
The Company takes the opportunity to remind all
stakeholders that the integrity of the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) - the main environmental permit supporting its
projects in Halkidiki, Northern
Greece - has been confirmed by three separate rulings of the
Council of State, which is Greece's Supreme Court on administrative and
environmental matters.
Paul Wright,
Chief Executive Officer of Eldorado, commented: "We have 2,000 people
working directly for us and our contractors in Greece and are making a significant
contribution to the economy of the country during challenging
times. Since 2012 we have invested in excess of US$450 million on the construction and
development of two mines in Greece
- Skouries and Olympias. Once these two mines reach commercial
production, Hellas Gold will become
one of Greece's top exporters. The
funds invested in Greece to
date have been used primarily for payments to Greek
stakeholders, such as our employees, suppliers of goods and
services, contractors and government (the Greek State having
received in excess of 50 million
euros in taxes as a result of our investments since 2012).
Thus the benefits of our investment to the Greek economy
are obvious to all. We remain committed to the responsible
development of our asset base in Greece and announced earlier this year that we
plan to invest US$310 million on the
development of Skouries and Olympias in 2015, which will generate
additional jobs for the Greek people and taxes for the Greek
government. However, the recent decision of the Ministry of Energy
- if not reversed in a timely manner - may force Eldorado to reconsider its investment plans
for Greece. Eldorado, Hellas
Gold, its Greek employees, labor unions, and pro-mining
stakeholders from the Municipality of Aristotle in Halkidiki look
forward to engaging in a constructive dialogue with the new Greek
Government."
About Eldorado Gold
Eldorado is a leading low cost
gold producer with mining, development and exploration operations
in Turkey, China, Greece, Romania and Brazil. The Company's success to date is
based on a low cost strategy, a highly skilled and dedicated
workforce, safe and responsible operations, and long-term
partnerships with the communities where it operates.
Eldorado's common shares trade on
the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: ELD) and the New York Stock
Exchange (NYSE: EGO).
Certain of the statements made herein may
contain forward-looking statements or information within the
meaning of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable
Canadian securities laws. Often, but not always,
forward-looking statements and forward-looking information can be
identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is
expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts",
"intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negatives thereof or
variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or
"will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements
or information herein include, but are not limited, to statements
or information with respect to the Company's Greece Update.
Forward-looking statements and
forward-looking information by their nature are based on
assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or
achievements of the Company to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by
such forward-looking statements or information. We have made
certain assumptions about the forward-looking statements and
information, including assumptions about the legal restrictions
regarding the payment of dividends by the Company; assumptions
about the price of gold; anticipated costs and expenditures;
estimated production, mineral reserves and metallurgical
recoveries; financial position, reserves and resources and gold
production; and the ability to achieve our goals. Although our
management believes that the assumptions made and the expectations
represented by such statements or information are reasonable, there
can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements or
information will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, should
one or more of the risks, uncertainties or other factors
materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect,
actual results may vary materially from those described in
forward-looking statements or information. These risks,
uncertainties and other factors include, among others, the
following: gold price volatility; risks of not meeting production
and cost targets; discrepancies between actual and estimated
production, mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical
recoveries; mining operational and development risk; litigation
risks; regulatory restrictions, including environmental regulatory
restrictions and liability; risks of sovereign investment and
operating in foreign countries; currency fluctuations; speculative
nature of gold exploration; global economic climate; dilution;
share price volatility; competition; loss of key employees;
additional funding requirements; and defective title to mineral
claims or property, as well as those factors discussed in the
sections entitled "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors"
in the Company's Annual Information Form & Form 40-F dated
March 28, 2014
There can be no assurance that
forward-looking statements or information will prove to be
accurate, as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the
forward-looking statements or information contained herein.
Except as required by law, we do not expect to update
forward-looking statements and information continually as
conditions change and you are referred to the full discussion of
the Company's business contained in the Company's reports filed
with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and the U.S.
SOURCE Eldorado Gold Corporation