The Hellas Gold project is nearing a 75% completion rate and will possibly be ready by the end of the year to begin production, according to company spokeswoman Errika Xirouhaki, who spoke at OT.gr’s studio at the Thessaloniki International Fair’s (TIF) grounds on Friday.
The 88th TIF will be inaugurated over the weekend.
She reminded that the entire mining project, which faced significant opposition over the past 15 years from a portion of the local community, environmental activists, political parties and some residents and was nearly terminated by a previous SYRIZA government between 2015 and 2019, was restarted two years ago. Nevertheless, the company previously overcame all legal hurdles to remain on track, including repeated lawsuits filed by opponents with the Council of State (CoS).
Hellas Gold is a subsidiary of Canadian multinational Eldorado Gold, and has received the mining rights for the Skouries mine, Olympias and Stratoni mines in northern Greece’s Halkidiki prefecture.
“Two years ago we installed two 4G network lines some 300 meters below ground. This enabled us to perform remote mining, organize and improve our production,” she said.
“At the same time, we have created a technical training center, which hosts advanced reality simulators, where employees are trained and prepared for the Skouries mine, with a total investment of one million euros.”
According to Xirouhaki, whose official title with the company is head of communications and corporate affairs, Hellas Gold employed some 2,000 workers over recent years, mainly from the local Aristotelis Municipality, with the future permanent work force estimated to reach 3,000 and possibly up to 5,000.
