Greece is high in the list of countries with good potential for producing large quantities of gold, but currently contributing only an insignificant amount, no more than a few thousand kilograms. Experts are quite clear; the small country contains large reserves of gold, most of which are still untapped.
It’s hardly a secret that gold and other valuable miners are found in the country. Mining has actually been happening here for thousands of years.
History of Gold Mining in Greece
Thousands of years ago the people of Greece were good at many things, including extracting gold. Although they were more famous for producing iron and silver back then, gold was mined from a number of areas. The major mining areas were in the northern part of the country, particularly in the Thrace Mountains.
Since ancient times, the areas around the Thrace Mountains have been known to contain gold. The Thrace Mountains and the Northern regions of Bulgaria, widely popular for rich gold deposits, have similar geological conditions.
The writings and records of old times talk of active mining in the south-eastern side of the island of Thasos. Some have raised doubts about these claims. But those who knows the geological conditions of the area agrees to the presence of gold in the region.
There is clear documented proof to show there was extensive zinc, silver, and lead mining in the western part of the island of Thasos.
Can Gold Save Greece from Its Economic Woes?
For Greece, the past ten years was a decade in which nothing good happened. While many would say the worst is over, government officials and economists believe that country is not out of the woods yet. They have a plan and they are confident that new means would open up in the near future.
There are many who believe that gold, the most coveted precious metal, can help Greece stand on its feet again. In Greece, scientists and experts are confident that the yellow metal is present in high concentration in areas like Milos, Kilkis, Western Thrace, Sapes, and Chalkidiki. In addition, places such as Chios, Lemnos, Lesbos, Angistro of Serres, and Pangeo contain smaller deposits of gold.
In 2012, Bloomberg had reported that in the next four years, Greece could easily replace Finland to become the leading gold producer in Europe. The prediction didn’t come true not because it was based on questionable data, misreading the political and economical situation in Greece. But the reserves are still there…
Involvement of Large Exploration Companies in Greece
A Canadian exploration company, Eldorado Gold Corporation, is of the opinion that Greece has large gold reserves. The company also believes that Greece can become one of the top gold producers in the world. Eldorado Gold has already invested millions of dollars in gold extraction in the country.
The company has already commenced production in Skouries, Olympias, and Perama Hill. Once these mines hit peak production, the company expects to turn out hundreds and thousands of kilograms of the precious metal.
Even in an uncertain political and economic climate, the Eldorado Gold Corporation expected great results from the Skouries Mine. The company plans to develop the mine in several phases. The first phase involves constructing an open pit for gold extraction. Then a flotation circuit will be used to process ores. Finally the mine will go underground.
Skouries is both gold and copper mine. The company expects to produce in excess of 2 million ounces of gold throughout the life of the mine.
The Olympias is an old mine that is being redeveloped by Eldorado Gold Corporation. Earlier, a variety of minerals and metals such as gold, zinc, lead, and silver were extracted from the mine. Similar to the Skouries Mine, the Eldorado Gold Company plans to develop Olympias in multiple phases.
Retreated tailings will yield 20,000 ounces of gold per year. Additional processing will yield lead, silver and zinc. At full operation the mine estimates production totals in access of 170,000 ounces of gold per year.
The best known areas are on the mainland, but Greece has hundreds of islands that also hold potential for gold and other valuable minerals. There are over 6,000 thousand islands, but only 223 are inhabited. Most of them have probably never been prospected. Large islands like Crete and Euboea might be worth exploration.
The Gallikos River runs through Macedonia and Greece and has documented gold occurrences. Alluvial gold is hidden amongst the gravel. Though rarely in large quantities, a person can find some flakes if the spend enough time with their gold pan.
Thasos was known to be the source of gold of much of the early coinage in Greece. There are creeks on the island that hide alluvial gold amongst the gravels.
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