Eldorado Gold Corp. reported that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) made a private placement of C$81.5 million ($60.6 million) purchasing 6,269,231 shares at a price of C$13/share ($9.67/share). The proceeds of the private placement will be invested in the Skouries project in Northern Greece.
Located on the Halkidiki Peninsula, Skouries is a high-grade gold-copper porphyry deposit that will be mined using a combination of conventional open pit and underground mining techniques. The total life of the mine is approximately 20 years, and once constructed, it is expected to produce an average of 140,000 oz/y of gold and 67 million lb/y of copper.
“With this landmark equity transaction, the EBRD, as a long-term investor, will play an important role in ensuring that the Skouries project is developed and operated in line with best environmental and social practices, in particular in relation to stakeholder engagement,” said Natalia Lacorzana, Head of Natural Resources at the EBRD.
In addition, Eldorado has entered into an agreement with BMO Capital Markets and National Bank Financial, on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters, who have agreed to purchase on a bought deal basis 10.4 million common shares for the same price as the EBRD private placement for gross proceeds of C$135 million ($100.4 million). These proceeds will be used to fund growth initiatives across the company’s global portfolio.
“The EBRD’s equity investment, coupled with the Greek lenders in our recently closed project finance facility, provides strategic partners as we advance Skouries towards commercial production,” said George Burns, president and CEO of Eldorado. “With a number of exciting development opportunities that are not currently included within our 5-year plan, the additional funding provides us financial flexibility to advance these projects, including the Perama Hill project in Northern Greece. Perama Hill is a high-quality project with consultation activities expected to commence later this year and then advance through the EIA process over the next two years. At Olympias, we received a modified EIA in April that provides us the ability to expand the processing plant following ramp up of development of the underground.
“In Canada, with a maiden reserve expected next year at our Ormaque discovery, we expect to undertake additional trade-off studies to determine the optimum approach to incorporate it into our plans. Additionally, in Türkiye, we have a number of exciting opportunities, including conversion of inferred resources at Efemçukuru and early-stage exploration targets that have the potential to add to an already robust production profile,” added Burns.
