Eldorado Gold, the parent company of Hellas Gold, has updated its Skouries copper-gold project construction progress, detailed production and cost forecast for 2025, as well as its three-year production outlook.
“We have revised our start-up and cost estimates, remaining confident in the long-term value of the Skouries project, which is underscored by the initial 20-year mine life with a significant positive impact on our production and costs,” said George Burns, President and CEO of Eldorado Gold.
He added that “Skouries will expand our operational reach and strengthen our position for a sustainable growth path and long-term value creation.
We continue to operate in a responsible and sustainable manner with the Skouries project contributing significantly to the Greek economy and local communities, with hundreds of jobs and significant social investments for the residents of the Municipality of Aristotelis.”
Project Status and Expenditures
As of December 31, 2024, Phase 2 of the project was 60% complete. Detailed engineering and procurement are substantially complete.
As of December 31, 2024, the company has made approximately 512 million dollars in capital expenditures at Skouries, with approximately 705 million expected to support the commercial production phase, including accelerated working capital.
The Company maintains a strong financial position, with approximately 857 million in cash and cash equivalents and total liquidity of approximately 1.1 billion as of December 31, 2024.
The project remains fully funded through the Company’s balance sheet and the remaining undrawn funds under the Company’s Skouries project financing.
Year-end liquidity was further enhanced by the divestment of its interest in G Mining Ventures in January 2025 for proceeds of 155 million dollars.
According to Burns, “the updated 2025 gold production forecast is expected to range between 460,000 and 500,000 ounces.
The reduction compared to our previous forecasts in 2024 concerns the change in initial production in Skouries from the third quarter of 2025 to the first quarter of 2026.”
Revised Costs and Production
According to the new analysis, first production at Skouries is expected in the first quarter of 2026, followed by commercial production in mid-2026.
The revised capital cost estimate for the project incorporates an increase of approximately 143 million dollars, or 15.5%, over previous capital cost estimates, to a total of approximately 1.06 billion.
In addition, the company expects to implement additional pre-commercial mining and production and has accelerated the purchase of higher capacity mobile equipment (originally expected to be purchased after commercial production), resulting in 154 million dollars of accelerated working capital prior to commercial production.
As the company emphasized, the variation in the cost of the capital project depends on indirect costs and the quantity of materials.
Gold production in 2025 is expected to range between 460,000 and 500,000 ounces, reflecting the following:
-First production from Skouries in 2026 rather than 2025.
-At Kisladag, expected production has been impacted by longer than planned processing (leaching) cycles and lower gold content in the ore.
-At Olympias, expected production has been affected by the delay in the start-up of the mill expansion to 650 thousand tonnes/year and emergency maintenance of the gold concentrate filters.
