A Greek court decided October 2 to allow Vancouver’s Eldorado Gold (TSX:ELD) to temporarily resume work at its Skouries mine in Greece.
Shares in the $3.3 billion-market cap company gained 9.63% by the close of trading that day in Toronto following the news the company could resume mining until a final court ruling is made. This is the biggest advance the global gold miner has seen in two months.
As of press time, shares were up a further 4.39% to $4.64.
In August, Greece's energy and environment minister ordered Eldorado to suspend work at the mine, alleging the firm had violated contractual terms.
As a result, Eldorado Gold left about 2,000 employees temporarily out of work, triggering massive demonstrations.
The mine has been a bone of contention ever since Hellenic Gold was granted approval to mine in the forested Halkidiki peninsula in northern Greece in 2011.
Some claim the operation, owned 95% by Eldorado, may hurt tourism and the environment, while others believe it is good news for Greece, as it will generate new jobs and bring hundreds of millions into the struggling economy. Eldorado took possession of the mine in 2012 through the acquisition of European Goldfields.
Eldorado Gold says the copper-gold mine, which began construction in 2013, will operate as an open-pit mine for seven years, at which point operations would move underground for another 20 years.
