Commercial production at the Skouries project in Halkidiki will start 6 months late, as instead of the end of 2025, the start date is now set for mid-2026, due to difficulties in finding staff, Eldorado Gold said in a statement.

Also, the company's revised capital cost estimate for the project incorporates an increase of about $143 million, bringing the total project to about $1.06 billion.

PROJECT STATUS

In terms of project construction, as of December 31, 2024, Phase 2 was 60% complete. As noted, implementation engineering and procurement studies are substantially complete. By the end of 2024, the company has incurred approximately $512 million of capital expenditures at Skouries, with approximately $705 million expected to support the commercial production phase, including accelerated operating capital.

LACK OF QUALIFIED PERSONNEL

Labor market tightness in Greece, particularly pronounced in the construction sector, has continued to limit the availability of key construction personnel at Skouries, resulting in a reduced rate of workforce growth and delayed progress in certain areas of the project. As noted, the revised schedule and cost estimates continue to be affected by the required workforce increase, with the aim of retaining approximately 1,300 workers on site at the peak of the construction season. The company did, however, achieve a total of approximately 1,150 employees at the end of January.

The risk factor associated with the workforce will be present even after the increase in required staff, as the company will seek to incorporate and manage staff with a variety of skills (in concrete, mechanical, electrical and control systems) necessary to support the various parts of the project being constructed.

GOLD PRODUCTION

Gold production in 2025 is expected to be in the range of 460,000-500,000 ounces due to the following factors:

• First production from Skouries in 2026 rather than 2025.
• At Kisladag, expected production has been impacted by longer-than-planned processing cycles and lower gold content in the ore
• At Olympiada, expected production has been affected by a delay in the commissioning of the mill expansion to 650 thousand tonnes/year and the extraordinary maintenance of the gold concentrate filters