Eldorado Gold

Canadian gold mining company Eldorado Gold announced it would be suspending its operations in Greece, citing the failure of the Greek government to fulfil its contractual obligations.

Greece plans to start an arbitration process this month to settle its differences with Canada's Eldorado Gold Corp over its gold mine development plans in northern Greece, its energy minister said on Thursday.

A 46-year-old logger died Monday morning after he was crushed by a falling branch while felling trees in the Skouries forest in Halkidiki, northern Greece. His colleagues rushed him to a health center in the nearby town of Paleochori, where he was pronounced dead.

The Greek subsidiary of Canada's Eldorado Gold, Hellas Gold, is set to put its investment in mining projects in Halkidiki on ice following the government's decision to refer its dispute with the company to arbitration.

Hellas Gold announced on Wednesday that it has suspended the inauguration of the facilities at the Olympias mine in northern Greece 'until further notice.'

Greece's decision to start an arbitration process with Eldorado Gold Corporation over a gold mine development could undermine the Canadian company's 2.8-billion-dollar investment project and cost hundred of jobs.

Greece plans to start an arbitration process in August to settle its differences with Canada's Eldorado Gold Corporation over a gold mine development, the Greek Energy Ministry said on Thursday.

Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis met Eldorado's management in Athens on Wednesday and the two sides discussed the issue, the ministry said in a statement.

Eldorado Gold Corp responded to a statement posted on the Greek Energy and Environment Ministry's website on Thursday about seeking arbitration over the Canadian company's gold mine investment, saying it has not received formal notification or any details of any arbitration proceedings.

Greece will seek arbitration to settle its differences with Canada's Eldorado over a gold mine investment, the Energy Ministry said on Thursday.

Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis has requested that the state's legal advisers prepare for the arbitration process to begin, the ministry said.

Relations between the Environment Ministry and Eldorado Gold have changed completely after the departure of former minister Panos Skourletis, as the signing of a decision by new minister Giorgos Stathakis illustrated this week.

The ministerial decision approves the technical study by the company's subsidiary Hellas Gold on the ore dressing plant at Skouries in Halkidiki.

The Canadian mining group Eldorado Gold confirmed on Monday that it was resuming work at a controversial site in Skouries, Halkidiki, after the Environment Ministry approved a technical study for the project.