VANCOUVER — The Canadian Press
Published Thursday, Mar. 24, 2016 6:23
Ο διευθύνων σύμβουλος της Eldorado Gold Paul Wright δήλωσε σε τηλεδιάσκεψη την Πέμπτη. ότι έχει ενθαρρυνθεί από τις εξελίξεις
από τον Ιανουάριο, με το Υπουργείο ."Είμαστε, πιστεύω, σε μια καλύτερη θέση »
'Εχει εκδοθεί οικοδομική άδεια για το έργο
του Σκουριές τον Φεβρουάριο και μία άδεια εγκατάστασης για το χρυσό του έργου της Ολυμπιάδας. Δεν θα αγωνίζεται η εταιρεία
να πάρει τις άδειες μέσω δικαστηρίων.
Η Eldorado Gold απέλυσε 600 εργαζόμενους, τον Ιανουάριο, λέγοντας ότι δεν θα επαναλάβει τις εργασίες έως
ότου λάβει τις απαραίτητες άδειες και δεν βελτιωθούν οι σχέσεις με το Υπουργείο.
Οι εν λόγω σχέσεις είναι τεταμένες τα τελευταία χρόνια, με το έργο Σκουριές από τις διαμαρτυρίες
ορισμένων ντόπιων πάνω από τους φόβους των περιβαλλοντικών επιπτώσεων.
Η εταιρεία αναμένει μόνο την έγκριση της τεχνικής μελέτης του στις Σκουριές πριν προχωρήσει μπροστά.
Ο Jamie Kneen, συντονιστής επικοινωνιών και προβολής MiningWatch του Καναδά, είπε ότι υπάρχει ακόμα σημαντική
τοπική αντιπολίτευση για το ορυχείο , ανησυχίες για τα υψηλά επίπεδα αρσενικού και τις επιπτώσεις στην ύδρευση και τον τοπικό
τουρισμό.
Ο κ Wright είπε ότι η τοπική υποστήριξη είναι ισχυρή για το ορυχείο και η κυβέρνηση ανταποκρίνεται
στις ανάγκες της κοινότητας.
"Σαφώς, η χώρα χρειάζεται απασχόληση, χρειάζεται η δημιουργία θέσεων εργασίας, χρειάζεται φόρους,
χρειάζεται επενδύσεις", είπε ο κ Ράιτ.
Αργά την Τετάρτη, Eldorado Gold ανακοίνωσε καθαρή ζημία ύψους $ 1,54 δις (ΗΠΑ) για το 2015 , που σχετίζονται
κυρίως με ελληνικά περιουσιακά της στοιχεία.
Τα περισσότερα από τα εν λόγω σχέδια ανάπτυξης βρίσκονται στην Ελλάδα, όπου υπάρχει ακόμα αβεβαιότητα. Η εταιρεία έχει αντιμετωπίσει αντιδράσεις από την κυβέρνηση και τους τοπικούς διαδηλωτές που έχουν διαταράξει τα σχέδιά της. Δαπάνησε περισσότερα από US $ 300 εκατομμύρια για το έργο Σκουριές, το μεγαλύτερο περιουσιακό στοιχείο της στην Ελλάδα. Ένα από τα ερωτηματικά για την Eldorado είναι τι θα κάνει με την κινεζική στοιχεία του ενεργητικού της, το οποίο η εταιρεία είναι πρόθυμη να εκχωρήσει. Eldorado έχει εξετάσει μια αρχική δημόσια προσφορά για τα περιουσιακά στοιχεία στο Χονγκ Κονγκ, αλλά έχει επίσης προσεγγιστεί από τους πιθανούς αγοραστές. (business.financialpost.com)
Η εταιρεία ανακοίνωσε επίσης ότι αναστέλλει το μέρισμά της από το πρώτο τρίμηνο του 2016. Η εξάλειψη του μερίσματος θα σώσει Eldorado περίπου US $ 14 εκατομμύρια το χρόνο, αν και Ράιτ δήλωσε ότι θα μπορούσε να επανέλθει αργότερα το 2016.
Μαζί με την ανάπτυξη του εργοστασίου χρυσού στην Ελλάδα, η Eldorado Gold διαθέτει επίσης επιχειρησιακό
ορυχεία χρυσού στην Τουρκία και την την Κίνα
www.theglobeandmail.com
Eldorado Gold encouraged by improving ties with Greek government
VANCOUVER — The Canadian Press
Published
Last updated
Eldorado Gold says its relationship with the Greek government has significantly improved since it suspended some mine development work there in January.
“We are, I believe, moving to a better place here,” chief executive Paul Wright said on a conference call on Thursday.
“We’ve seen more encouraging engagement between ourselves and the ministry over the last month or two.”
Vancouver-based Eldorado Gold put the Skouries gold project on care and maintenance and laid off 600 workers in January, saying it would not resume work until it received the necessary permits and relations with the government improved.
Those relations have been strained in recent years, with the Skouries project drawing strong condemnation and protests from some locals over fears of environmental effects. It has also been a source of several legal battles.
The company says it has been encouraged by developments since January, with the government having issued a building permit for its Skouries project in February and an installation permit for its Olympias gold project on Tuesday.
Mr. Wright said he’s encouraged that the company didn’t have to struggle to get the permits through the courts as they have over the past year or two.
“These approvals are being granted by the ministry, as opposed to us having to wrest them free through legal action,” Mr. Wright said.
The company is only awaiting approval of its technical study on Skouries before moving ahead.
Jamie Kneen, MiningWatch Canada’s communications and outreach co-ordinator, said there is still significant local opposition to the mine over concerns of high arsenic levels and effects on water supplies and local tourism.
He said community members opposed to the mine have been focused on building political support to block it, but if the left-leaning Syriza government approves the mine, they could return to the streets.
“The support from the anti-mining movement had really been key to getting Syriza elected in Northern Greece, and if the government and the party are no longer responding to that, then I think people might well turn back to direct protests,” Mr. Kneen said.
Mr. Wright said local support is strong for the mine and the government is responding to the needs of the community.
“Clearly, the country needs employment, it needs job creation, it needs taxes, it needs investment,” Mr. Wright said.
Late Wednesday, Eldorado Gold reported a net loss of $1.54-billion (U.S.) for 2015 after taking a non-cash impairment charges of $1.53-billion, mainly related to its Greek assets.
The company also announced that it was suspending its dividend as of the first quarter of 2016.
Along with its gold development projects in Greece, Eldorado Gold also has operational gold mines in Turkey and China.
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Eldorado Gold Corp suspends dividend as it reports monster $1.24 billion loss
Eldorado Gold Corp. suspended its dividend and reported a monster fourth quarter loss late Wednesday as the company struggles to move forward with its troubled Greek assets.
The Vancouver-based miner said its Q4 loss was a whopping US$1.24 billion. That includes US$1.25 billion of writedowns, largely on its projects in Greece. In January, the company halted most of its activity in northern Greece after failing to receive permits on a reasonable timeline from the leftist Syriza government. Lower assumed metal prices also affected the carrying values of the assets.
Once the writedowns were stripped out, Eldorado had an adjusted loss of US$19.3 million, or two cents a share. That was slightly below most analyst estimates, though Eldorado maintained it is performing well.
“I’m very pleased to deliver strong operational results,” chief executive Paul Wright said on a conference call Thursday, noting that the company beat its production and cost guidance in 2015.
However, Eldorado still decided to suspend its semi-annual dividend. The company blamed a low gold price (among other factors), even though gold has rallied so far in 2016. Eliminating the dividend will save Eldorado about US$14 million a year, though Wright said it could be reinstated later in 2016.
“We continue to believe that a portion of funds from operations should be shared with our investors and look forward to resuming dividend payments in a stronger gold price environment,” the company said in a statement.
Even after the dividend suspension, BMO Capital Markets analyst Andrew Kaip said in a note that he expects Eldorado will draw funds from its US$375 million credit facility in order to fund its “longer-dated” growth initiatives.
Most of those growth plans are in Greece, where there is still plenty of uncertainty. The company has faced opposition from both the government and local protestors that has disrupted its plans. It spent more than US$300 million on the Skouries project, its biggest asset in Greece, before halting construction in January due to permitting delays.
Eldorado did report some positive news from Greece recently, as it received a building permit for a processing plant at Skouries and a license for its Olympias project. Other permits and licenses are still needed at Skouries, but Wright said recent conversations with the government have been more constructive.
One of the question marks surrounding Eldorado is what it will do with its Chinese assets, which the company is keen to divest. Eldorado has looked into an initial public offering for the assets in Hong Kong, but has also been approached by potential buyers. On Thursday, Wright said he anticipates a resolution in the “near term,” and expects to provide updates on the process in the second quarter of 2016.
