Greece has given Canada鈥檚 Eldorado聽Gold (TSX:ELD)(NYSE:EGO) the green light to conduct a technical study for test drilling at its Mavres Petres deposit, part of the company鈥檚 Stratoni project, in the country鈥檚 north.
The Vancouver-based miner, through its local subsidiary Hellas Gold, acquired Kassandra mines form the state in 2004. The property includes the Stratoni silver-lead-zinc mine, which is made up of two deposits: Madem Lakkos and Mavres Petres.
The approved study involves some 59 drills to further explore Mavres Petres. It seeks to determine whether Stratoni mine鈥檚 life can be extended, Greece鈥檚 Minister of Environment and Energy, Kostis Hatzidakis, told .
Greece and Eldorado have been in talks over a revised investment plan that would bring the government higher royalties from mining projects. It is also expected to boost jobs.
Stratoni is slated to process 230,000 tonnes of ore at grades of 6% lead, 8% zinc and 157 grams per tonne silver this year. Capital investment Stratoni is expected to be between $5 and $10 million including equipment purchases and facilities upgrades.
Eldorado also has mining, development and exploration operations in its home country, Turkey, Romania and Brazil.