Eldorado gold output down 4.0% in Q2 due to Quebec wild fires
Eldorado Gold Corp. [ELD-TSX; EGO-NYSE] is on track to meet its annual production forecasts after reporting a second quarter adjusted profit of $16.1 million or $0.09, which was in line with consensus estimates.
Second quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $107 million was slightly above forecasts set by Scotiabank analysts.
Based in Vancouver, Eldorado is a mid-tier gold and base metals producer with an international portfolio that includes mining, development and exploration projects in Turkey, Canada, Greece, Romania, and Brazil. Key operations include the Kisladag and Efemcukuru mines in Turkey, the Olympias Mine in Greece, and the Lamaque Mine in Quebec.
The company has said it is on track to produce between 475,000 and 515,000 ounces of gold this year at an all-in-sustaining cost of US$1,190 and US$1,290 an ounce.
Eldorado reported second quarter gold production of 113,462 ounces, a 4.0% decrease from the second quarter of 2022 as a result of lower throughput at Lamaque due to wildfires in the region and lower average gold grade and recoveries at Olympias
Meanwhile Eldorado said the Skouries project gold-copper project in northern Greece is on track with commissioning expected by mid-2025.
A feasibility study released in December 2021, pegged the initial capital costs to complete Skouries at $845 million, an increase of 23% over forecasts contained in a March, 2018 pre-feasibility study.
The feasibility study envisages life of mine production of 2.9 million ounces of gold, including average annual production of 140,000 ounces of gold and 67 million pounds of copper (approximately 312,000 ounces of gold equivalent) over a 20-year life span.
The Skouries project is part of the Kassandra Mine Complex, and located within the Halkidiki Peninsula in northern Greece. It is a gold-copper porphyry deposit designed to be mined using a combination of open pit and underground mining techniques.
Kisladag is a low-grade, bulk-tonnage, open pit operation that uses heap leaching for gold recovery. It was discovered by Eldorado in the late 1990s during a regional grassroots exploration program.
At Kisladag, the North Leach pad Phase 1 expansion was commissioned in July with stacking set to commence in the second half of 2023. At the Perama Hill project, optimization and studies are ongoing to prepare permitting documentation.
Perama Hill is an epithermal gold-silver deposit located in the Thrace region of northern Greece. It will operate as a small open pit mine that uses conventional carbon in leach circuit for gold recovery.
It is expected to produce 106,000 ounces of gold annually and 98,000 ounces of silver at a sustaining cost of around US$480 an ounce.
Eldorado recently announced details of a $81.5 million strategic investment by the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as well as a $135 million bought deal financing.
On Friday, Eldorado shares eased 5.6^ or $0.75 to $12.67 on volume of 401,930. The shares are currently trading in a 52-week range of $16.40 and $6.86.