The Skouries mining project in northern Greece will be officially inaugurated on October 8 in the presence of Greek political leaders, marking the transition from construction to commercial production.
The ceremony signals the start of operational activity at the facility, which forms part of a major development effort by mining company Hellenic Gold across the region.
The broader Kassandra Mines investment totals more than $3 billion, with over $2 billion allocated specifically to the Skouries project. According to company figures, it represents one of the largest industrial capital investments currently underway in Greece.
More than 3,000 workers are employed at the Skouries project. Workers receive an average monthly salary of approximately €2,500, a rate 67 percent higher than the Greek industrial average. Women currently make up 14.3 percent of the workforce.
Hellenic Gold has invested in workforce education through reskilling and upskilling programs utilizing dedicated training facilities, simulators, and virtual and augmented reality applications. The company also recently partnered with Greece's Public Employment Service, DYPA, to train operators for specialized heavy machinery.
High-tech mining automation
The Skouries project has been developed as a digital and automated mine equipped with advanced automation systems, remote control capabilities, and real-time monitoring of production processes.
Technical expertise developed at the Kassandra Mines complex, including remote control and digital systems tested at the nearby Olympiada mine, has been transferred to the new facility.
Environmental design at Skouries incorporates dry stacking technology for dewatered mining tailings, which extracts up to 90 percent of the water from processing waste so it can be recycled back into production.
Company data shows that dry stacking has reduced the site's environmental footprint by approximately 40 percent compared to original designs by eliminating the land area previously required for traditional tailings storage ponds.
Environmental management plans also include ongoing land restoration, backfilling underground stopes with a portion of the processed tailings, and completely filling the open pit after extraction ends. The site is monitored by an integrated environmental system with more than 700 control checkpoints.
Economic impact and local revenues
The Kassandra Mines complex is located in the Municipality of Aristotelis on the Halkidiki peninsula, a region with an extensive mining heritage. Skouries is designed to extract key mineral deposits, including copper and gold, over an operational lifecycle of approximately 20 years.
Over its 20-year lifespan, the project is scheduled to deliver $80 million in direct social investments to support local healthcare, education, municipal infrastructure, environmental projects, and economic development.
The mine is projected to generate €6.7 billion in domestic procurement spending across Greece alongside €17.5 billion in total export value.
Public revenue contributions from the project include state taxes and mining royalties, with €509 million specifically designated for the Municipality of Aristotelis.
The upcoming inauguration on October 8 will mark the formal shift into operational production as political leaders gather at the site to highlight its role in securing critical raw materials.
