Eldorado Gold Announces Key Milestone: First Ore Crushed at Skouries
Eldorado’s Skouries project has begun crushing its first ore and building a stockpile, with the power connection remaining the critical path to full production.
Eldorado Gold Corporation (ELD) reported the crushing of its first ore at the Skouries copper-gold project in Greece, marking a significant commissioning milestone. The company maintains its timeline for first copper-gold concentrate production in the third quarter of 2026 and commercial production in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Open-pit mining operations are currently ahead of schedule, with an ore stockpile standing at 3.9 million tonnes, comprising approximately 3.4 million tonnes from the open pit and underground sources. This inventory is sufficient to feed the mill through 2026. Construction of all 12 transmission towers and conductors is complete, though full site energization awaits final inspection and sign-off by the Greek power authority. In the interim, additional gensets are supplying power to maintain commissioning momentum.
CEO George Burns characterized the milestone as important but noted that full integrated operation of the process plant requires final site energization.
Eldorado Gold Corporation has reached the milestone of processing its first ore through the crusher, a key commissioning step for a project that is 94% complete and targeting first concentrate production in the third quarter. The release reiterates the existing production timeline without signaling an acceleration or a further delay. However, the critical path item of final site energization remains unresolved, meaning this milestone removes only modest floor risk.
Market expectations already incorporate first concentrate in Q3 2026, so the update provides no new information that would alter investor sentiment. This follows a steep decline in the stock from its January highs, with shares falling 41% to a recent price of $39.16.
Eldorado Gold Corporation (ELD) is a gold and base metals producer with operations in Canada’s Lamaque Complex, Türkiye’s Kisladağ and Efemçukuru mines, and Greece’s Olympias. The company’s flagship development projects include the Skouries gold-copper mine in Greece, which is scheduled to produce its first concentrate in the third quarter of 2026, and the McIlvenna Bay copper-zinc-gold-silver project in Canada. Eldorado acquired McIlvenna Bay in April 2026, with commercial production also targeted for the third quarter of 2026.
The company’s later-stage pipeline includes the Perama Hill project in Greece, as well as exploration activities at Tesla in Saskatchewan, Lamaque South, and Stratoni Skarn. Following the acquisition of Foran, Eldorado’s combined commodity exposure is approximately 77% gold, 15% copper, 4% silver, and 4% zinc and lead.