Greece is poised to become the largest gold producer in Europe as the European Goldfields project was finally approved by the current environment minister George Papaconstantinou. Shares in the company rose by 10% after it was confirmed that the long awaited government permit had been granted.
The project in Kassandra in north east Greece received the environmental permit for its mining and metallurgical facilities. The company had applied for the permit in April 2006. The years of delay in awarding the permit were influenced in part by the political uncertainty in the country.
Martyn Konig, executive chairman of European Goldfields Ltd said that the new environmental minister understands the growth and the jobs creation side of this business as much as the environmental side of things.
Mr Papaconstantinou had been the former finance minister and has been a key player involved in bail out deals from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. He was reassigned as the environmental minister after a cabinet reshuffle which took place in June this year.
The project is said to have 10 million ounces of gold reserves and will catapult the nation into the world’s top 25 primary gold producing nations. The company must now raise finances to work the project. An investment of about 1.3 billion euro will be needed to produce the silver, gold, copper, lead and zinc that the project promises.