Eldorado Gold said on October 9 that the European Commission has designated its Skouries copper gold mine in northern Greece as a Strategic Project under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act. The designation gives projects expedited permitting pathways and support in seeking public and private financing, but no immediate Commission funding. Copper is a strategic raw material under the Act because of its role in electrification, renewable energy infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.
Skouries is one of 46 projects selected in this round, across 16 member states, from 102 applications. Reporting on the selection put the mix at eight extraction projects, 11 processing projects, 19 recycling projects and eight integrated projects, covering 15 of the Act’s 17 strategic raw materials. The round follows 47 EU projects and 13 third country projects selected in 2025, against 2030 benchmarks of at least 10 percent of EU consumption from domestic extraction, 40 percent from processing and 25 percent from recycling.
The mine, part of the Kassandra complex in Halkidiki, represents more than $2 billion of investment over an approximately 20 year mine life. Company and analyst reporting put expected output at about 140,000 ounces of gold and 67 million pounds of copper a year. First copper gold concentrate was produced on September 8, and commercial production is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026, after a construction suspension between 2017 and 2021 and a revised investment agreement with Greece in 2021.
Eldorado shares fell 3.03 percent to C$52.09 in Toronto trading on Tuesday morning, according to IndexBox reporting of the announcement, giving the company a market value of about C$13.6 billion.