Loading ...Greece’s top administrative court on Monday rejected a 2013 decision by local authorities in northern Greece which had blocked Eldorado Gold’s plans to build a processing plant in the area, court officials said.
Canadian miner Eldorado has spent about $400 million at a gold mine in Skouries in the forest of Halkidiki since 2012 and wants to invest another $700 million by 2017 to develop the project. But without the plant, its investment, a test case for Greece’s willingness to attract foreign funds, is in doubt.
The court ruled the 2013 decision by a local environment and town planning authority to reject Eldorado’s request for an approval of the plant had no legal grounds.
The ruling is expected to boost the company’s arguments in its standoff with the new left-wing government of Alexis Tsipras which revoked Eldorado’s authorisation to build the plant in March, about two months after taking office.
http://www.mineweb.com/news/gold/greek-court-gives-boost-to-eldorado-mine-development-plans/
Thousands of workers at the Canadian-run gold mine protested in Athens last month against the government’s decision.
The government said that no jobs would be lost.