In Aristotle's Homeland, Canadian Mining Giant Fights Ban To Get Its Gold

In the latest chapter of an ongoing fight over resource extraction, foreign investment, and environmental degradation, a Canadian mining company appealed to Greece’s top court on Friday to overturn a ban on its plans to develop a gold mine in the forested peninsula of Halkidiki.

A day before resigning to call a general election in August, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ government revoked Eldorado Gold’s permit for the Halkidiki mine, citing environmental concerns and violations of contract terms.

“When there is a contract signed with the Greek state, this should be respected,” Greek Energy Minister Panos Skourletis said at the time. “This is not because we want to cause investors trouble but because we want to protect the environment.”

According to Reuters: “Greece has said Eldorado should have conducted tests of the so called flash-melting method to ensure its mining activities will not harm the environment at the site. The company has done such tests in Finland.”

The leftist Syriza party has long opposed the mine, stating earlier this year: “Eldorado Gold must realize that beautiful Halkidiki is not its property, it is not all powerful in the country.” Nor, they added, is the region “a ‘lab rat’ of environmental destruction for its profits.”

And Syriza MP Katerina Igletzi said in February: “Halkidiki is a unique place with true natural beauty. It’s Aristotle’s homeland, it doesn’t need a mine to flourish.”

As Mining Watch Canada explained in 2013:

What’s more, a report from the Dutch Center for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) published earlier this year showed that Eldorado Gold finances its Greek operations using internal loans, shifting interest payments from a Greek subsidiary, Hellas Gold SA, via Dutch mailbox companies to its Barbados subsidiary—where this income remains untaxed.

The Greek government’s August suspension of mining operations drew the ire of workers, who protested in the streets following the decision. In response, Syriza issued a statement that read in part:

According to Canada’s Globe and Mail, after hearing oral arguments for about two hours on Friday, the Greek court gave both sides until October 7 to make full written submissions.