European Goldfields granted permits for Stratoni

Vancouver With the help and clout of a local partner, European Goldfields (EGU-T) has been granted all necessary environmental and mining permits needed to begin operations at the Stratoni silver-lead-zinc project in northern Greece.

Through a Greek subsidiary, European Goldfields holds a 65% interest in the project, with the remainder held by a local partner.

President David Reading notes that the company worked closely with the Greek government and the local community to move the project forward. He adds that the cooperation of the company’s local partner was "crucial" for obtaining the required permits.

Stratoni is a former producer being refurbished to produce 170,000 tonnes by the end of its first year of full-scale production, and steadily increasing thereafter. Historical production levels reached 450,000 tonnes per year on a continuous-shift basis, with grades averaging 8-11% zinc, 8-10% lead, and 200 grams silver per tonne. Recoveries averaged about 90%.

A new 1,900-metre adit is being developed to allow improved access to the deposit, which hosts proven and probable reserves of 1.9 million tonnes of 190 grams silver, 10.8% zinc and 8.1% lead. The deposit will be mined by mechanized cut-and-fill techniques.

The expected mine life is six years, however the deposit remains open in all directions and is believed to have good potential for resource expansion. An exploration program is planned to test this potential later this year.

The newly refurbished mill and flotation plant at Stratoni are expected to produce clean concentrates that will be transported a short distance to the company’s port-loading facility on the Aegean Sea.

European Goldfields also plans to update feasibility studies and prepare new business plans for the Olympias and Skouries gold-base metal deposits. The past-producing deposits are situated within 10 km of the Stratoni mine complex, and also have existing mining and processing infrastructure. The company and its local partner hope to receive all necessary permits for the project within ten months.

European Goldfields also holds five properties in a historic gold-producing region in Romania. The most advanced of these, the 80%-held Certej project, hosts measured and indicated resources of 31.4 million tonnes grading 2.1 grams gold and 11 grams silver, or about 2.34 million oz. gold-equivalent.