Hellas Gold: Loan agreement of 680 million euros for the Skouries project

The path has been opened for one of the largest investments in Greece totaling 3 billion euros after the successful completion, by Hellas Gold and Eldorado Gold, of two important milestones for the development of their investment activity in the Kassandra Mines in Northern Greece.

Firstly, Hellas Gold – a wholly owned subsidiary of Eldorado Gold – completed the conclusion of a long-term syndicated loan from the National Bank of Greece and the Bank of Piraeus, totaling 680 million euros, which ensures the financing of the completion of the development of the Project Skourion in Northern Greece. The amount of 680 million also includes a Loan from the Recovery & Resilience Fund (RRF) in the amount of 100 million euros. The rest of the financing for the completion of the Skouries development will be covered in its entirety by Greek Gold, Eldorado Gold’s subsidiary. Disbursement of the funds is subject to customary Project Finance syndicated loan terms and the first disbursement is expected to be disbursed within the first quarter of 2023.

Eldorado Gold investment decision

Also, Hellas Gold announced that the Board of Directors of Eldorado Gold, in the framework of the signing of the aforementioned long-term syndicated loan, proceeded to make the investment decision regarding the resumption of construction at Skouries upon completion of the lending process.

With the above developments, the way is opened for the complete construction of the new state-of-the-art Skouries mine and the utilization of a world-class gold and copper deposit that will provide long-term value to the national and local economy. The Skouries development is expected to create, over 25 years, approximately 1,400 stable and well-paid jobs in the area and approximately 800 additional jobs during construction. In total, the full development of Kassandra Mines will create 5,000 direct and indirect jobs, while contributing over $2 billion in tax revenue for the Greek State from taxes and levies and over $4 billion in estimated value of purchases to Greek suppliers . Over the lifetime of Kassandra Mines, $80 million will be invested in corporate responsibility programs to develop programs and implement development projects that will exclusively benefit the local economy. At the same time, a model Technical Training Center will be created for the training of employees.

The construction project is expected to start in early 2023 and last approximately 3 years. The Project will be constructed and operated with the highest environmental standards, in accordance with the Environmental and Social Impact Study (ESIA) completed by Hellinikon Chrysos.