ego_ex991
NEWS RELEASE
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TSX: ELD NYSE: EGO
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March 24, 2020
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Eldorado Gold Provides Update on Lamaque Operations and Expansion
Permit Approval
VANCOUVER,
BC - Eldorado Gold Corporation, (“Eldorado” or
“the Company”) reports that, in accordance with the
Quebec provincial government-mandated restrictions to address the
COVID-19 situation in the province announced on March 23, 2020, it
will temporarily minimize operations at its Lamaque mine until
April 13, 2020. The Company also reports that it has today received
a Certificate of Authorization from the Quebec Ministry of
Environment to allow for the expansion of underground production
from the Triangle deposit at Lamaque from 1,800 tonnes per day
(“tpd”) to 2,650 tpd, once operations
resume.
Effective
March 25, 2020, Eldorado will ramp down operational activity and
maintain only essential personnel on site responsible for
maintaining appropriate health, safety, security and environmental
systems. The Company remains committed to resuming operations in a
timely manner once the suspension is lifted.
George
Burns, President and CEO, said: “Our focus and number one
priority is our people and supporting local families and
communities. While we are temporarily suspending operations at
Lamaque, we continue to run our global operations at modestly
reduced manpower levels at this time. This is a result of us
putting people first and taking proactive steps to mitigate
potential risk to our workforce and mandating work from home where
possible. We remain focused on ensuring that these temporary
disruptions to our business do not impact long-term value.
Inventories of key suppliers, trade routes and delivery times have
been reviewed and remain unaffected at this time. Today’s
receipt of the expansion permit at Lamaque will create jobs and
increase value for local communities, Quebec and our shareholders
once the temporary suspension is lifted and we are safe to return
to normal operations.”
The
Company continues to monitor the operating environment closely in
the jurisdictions where it operates. Eldorado has implemented
additional controls at all its operations and offices around the
globe to further protect the health and safety of its workforce,
their families and neighboring communities, which
include:
●
Restricting site
access and conducting employee screening measures, such as
thermometric testing;
●
Putting
social-distancing protocols in place and encouraging increased
hand-washing;
●
Educating workforce
and local communities about symptoms and transmission of the virus
with clear instructions to stay home if one feels
unwell;
●
Halting all
non-essential travel; and
●
Liaising with
governments, regulators and other external stakeholders to closely
monitor developments.
About Eldorado Gold
Eldorado
is a gold and base metals producer with mining, development and
exploration operations in Turkey, Canada, Greece, Romania and
Brazil. The Company has a highly skilled and dedicated workforce,
safe and responsible operations, a portfolio of high-quality
assets, and long-term partnerships with local communities.
Eldorado's common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX:
ELD) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: EGO).
Contacts
Investor Relations
Peter
Lekich, Manager Investor Relations
604.687.4018
or 1.888.353.8166 peter.lekich@eldoradogold.com
Media
Louise
Burgess, Director Communications & Government
Relations
604.687.4018
or 1.888.353.8166 louise.burgess@eldoradogold.com
Cautionary Note about Forward-looking Statements and
Information
Certain of the statements made and information provided in this
press release are forward-looking statements or information within
the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. Often,
these forward-looking statements and forward-looking information
can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects",
"is expected", "budget", “continue”,
“projected”, "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts",
"intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negatives thereof or
variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or
"will" be taken, occur or be achieved.
Forward-looking statements or information contained in this release
include, but are not limited to, statements or information with
respect to: the duration or extent of the restrictions and
suspensions with respect to our operations at Lamaque,and the
effect that any such restrictions or suspensions may have on our
operations and our financial and operational results; the ability
of the Company to continue with any operations at Lamaque or our
other operations, or to successfully maintain our Lamaque
operations while they are temporarily suspended ,or to restar or
ramp-up these operations efficiently or economically, or at all,
the impact of COVID-19 on our workforce, suppliers and other
essential resources and what effect those impacts, if they occur,
would have on our business, our planned capital and exploration
expenditures; our expectation as to our future financial and
operating performance, gold price outlook and the global
concentrate market; and our strategy, plans and goals, including
our proposed exploration, development, construction, permitting and
operating plans and priorities and related timelines and
schedules.
Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information by their
nature are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown
risks, market uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the
actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements or information.
We have made certain assumptions about the forward-looking
statements and information, including the world-wide economic and
social impact of COVID-19 is managed and the duration and extent of
the COVID 19 pandemic minimized or not long-term; tonnage of ore to
be mined and processed; ore grades and recoveries, decommissioning
estimates, the geopolitical, economic, permitting and legal climate
that we operate in; the future price of gold and other commodities;
the global concentrate market; exchange rates; anticipated costs
and expenses; production, mineral reserves and resources and
metallurgical recoveries, the impact of acquisitions, dispositions,
suspensions or delays on our business and the ability to achieve
our goals. In particular, except where otherwise stated, we have
assumed a continuation of existing business operations on
substantially the same basis as exists at the time of this
release.
Even though our management believes that the assumptions made and
the expectations represented by such statements or information are
reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking
statement or information will prove to be accurate. Many
assumptions may be difficult to predict and are beyond our
control.
Furthermore, should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or
other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described
in forward-looking statements or information. These risks,
uncertainties and other factors include, among others, the
following: the duration and effects of COVID-19, and any other
pandemics on our operations and workforce, and the effects on
global economies and society,; geopolitical and economic climate
(global and local), risks related to mineral tenure and permits;
gold and other commodity price volatility; continued softening of
the global concentrate market; risks regarding potential and
pending litigation and arbitration proceedings relating to the
Company’s, business, properties and operations; expected
impact on reserves and the carrying value; the updating of the
reserve and resource models and life of mine plans; mining
operational and development risk; financing risks, foreign country
operational risks; risks of sovereign investment; regulatory risks
and liabilities including, environmental regulatory restrictions
and liability; discrepancies between actual and estimated
production, mineral reserves and resources and metallurgical
testing and recoveries; additional funding requirements; currency
fluctuations; community and non-governmental organization actions;
speculative nature of gold exploration; dilution; share price
volatility and the price of the common shares of the Company;
competition; loss of key employees; and defective title to mineral
claims or properties, as well as those risk factors discussed in
the sections titled “Forward-Looking Statements” and
"Risk factors in our business" in the Company's most recent Annual
Information Form & Form 40-F. The reader is directed to
carefully review the detailed risk discussion in our most recent
Annual Information Form and other regulatory filings filed on SEDAR
under our Company name, which discussion is incorporated by
reference in this release, for a fuller understanding of the risks
and uncertainties that affect the Company’s business and
operations.
Forward-looking statements and information is designed to help you
understand management’s current views of our near and longer
term prospects, and it may not be appropriate for other
purposes.
There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements or
information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
statements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on the
forward-looking statements or information contained herein. Except
as required by law, we do not expect to update forward-looking
statements and information continually as conditions
change.