Halkidiki at risk: the environmental and socio-economic impacts of Eldorado Gold’s investment plan

An analysis by the Mining Activities Observatory

This extensive and complex investment project, which currently involves three mines, occupies 44% of the Municipality of Aristotle’s land area. The environmental impact, coupled with potentially hazardous design choices and incomplete planning, poses a direct threat to the health and safety of local residents, as well as their economic activities. Although the company’s Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) acknowledges many of these negative effects, they are often downplayed.

1. Water contamination

Environmental Inspectors have documented significant pollution of surface waters in Olympiada and Stratoni due to the operations of Hellas Gold, a subsidiary of Eldorado Gold. The company has discharged liquid waste with dangerously high levels of toxic elements like cadmium, zinc, lead, and arsenic. A 2018 inspection revealed that lead concentrations in the Mavrolakkas river, which receives waste from the Olympiada enrichment plant, were 985% above permissible limits—a clear indication of the pollution’s severity. This pattern of violations has been ongoing since operations began and has been cited in multiple official reports from 2015 to 2022.

Despite recommendations from inspectors to impose fines, the Ministry of Environment has largely ignored these violations since 2019. Instead, the new environmental permit appears to legitimise these breaches by altering the allowable pollutant levels in a way that favours the company. This represents a significant deterioration in environmental protection standards, a matter that may ultimately be decided by the Council of State.

The future development of these mining projects is equally concerning. The EIA warns of negative, immediate, and long-term impacts on the river, coastal, and underground water systems in Olympiada, Mavroni Petra, and Skouries. These effects will persist for at least 25-30 years, until the mines are fully closed. The necessary aquifer drainage for mine operations will lower groundwater levels by several metres, jeopardising both surface water flows and drinking water wells. In Olympiada, for example, groundwater levels may not recover until 30 years after pumping ceases, expected in 2040.

Water withdrawals across the three Kassandra Mines, estimated at around 10 million cubic metres per year, will also have long-term negative impacts on the broader Groundwater Holomont System of Oreokastro. The Investment Agreement grants Eldorado Gold virtually unrestricted access to local water resources, exacerbating water scarcity issues already intensified by climate change. This could lead to severe shortages of this vital resource, not just in the Municipality of Aristotle, but across the wider region.

Furthermore, the new environmental conditions explicitly exclude the Skouries-Mavroni Petra and Olympiada underground water subsystems from achieving the objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive. This exemption effectively acknowledges that degradation is inevitable, with no measures in place to prevent it.

2. Forests, soil, and biodiversity

The revised EIA reveals a significant increase in the environmental footprint of the Skouries project, with the area of land affected expanding from 1,788 acres to 2,552 acres—a 42% increase. Including roads for material transport, the total area impacted approaches 3,200 acres.

The vast majority of this land is covered by valuable forest ecosystems, vital for their ecological and productive roles, including soil retention, regulation of the hydrological cycle, and quality water production. The destruction of these ecosystems also means the loss of habitats for countless species. Even the EIA admits that the impacts on these forests will be severe, long-term, and irreversible.

3. Air pollution

Despite any mitigation measures outlined in the EIA, the air pollution resulting from such a large-scale open-pit mining operation is unavoidable. The daily use of explosives, combined with the constant movement of mining materials and waste, generates massive amounts of dust that cannot be fully contained. Even a small fraction of these particles escaping into the environment poses significant environmental and health risks, particularly given the toxicity of substances like metallic particles, asbestos fibres, and quartz micro-grains.

While the company has installed a network of air pollution monitoring stations, these are insufficient. They fail to assess the qualitative composition of the particles, which is crucial for understanding their potential toxicity. This lack of detailed analysis leaves significant gaps in the environmental and health risk assessments.

4. Seismic risks

The Halkidiki region is highly seismically active, with numerous large and small faults. The most significant of these, the Stratonio fault, was responsible for the 1932 Ierissos earthquake, which had a magnitude of 7.1. All of Eldorado Gold’s projects in the Mavroni Petra-Stratoni area are either directly on or very close to this fault, including the underground mine, storage facilities for toxic minerals, and the Kokkinolakka Hazardous Waste Landfill.

The Kokkinolakka site is particularly concerning, as it was built directly above the fault, in a position that defies logic and endangers the entire region. During the 1932 earthquake, a 10-metre-deep chasm opened along this fault line. No technical structure can withstand such extreme ground movements, making the risk of catastrophic failure at this site alarmingly high.

5. Climate change risks

Eldorado Gold’s EIA also highlights another major issue: the potential effects of climate change on flood risks at the Kassandra mining facilities. The company did not use the official rainfall data from Greece’s General Directorate of the Ministry of Environment but instead opted for lower estimates. This decision underestimates future rainfall, even without accounting for the 15% increase expected due to climate change.

The risks are clear and include the potential overtopping and collapse of the Kokkinolakka embankment, which could result in significant environmental damage. Moreover, the possibility of contaminated waters overflowing into the surrounding environment during extreme weather events presents another serious threat.

The Halkidiki region has a history of extreme rainfall, with severe flooding events recorded multiple times over the past two decades. These events underline the urgency of revising the project’s design to account for more accurate and up-to-date climate data.

6. Impacts on local communities

Communities like Stratoni and Olympiada, already heavily burdened by Eldorado Gold’s past activities, are highly vulnerable to further environmental damage. The original 2011 Investment Plan concentrated all polluting activities within the Madem Lakkos area and planned to transport mining materials underground, minimising the impact on the local road network.

However, this plan was abandoned for financial reasons, and the new permit allows the continued operation of two existing beneficiation plants at Stratoni and Olympiada until the mineral reserves are exhausted. This change means more dust, noise, and pollution, all within close proximity to residential areas. Moreover, with the cancellation of the underground transport route, heavy vehicle traffic now passes through unsuitable country roads, increasing the risk of accidents and further straining local infrastructure.

7. Socio-economic impacts

The intensification of mining activities in the region has far-reaching socio-economic effects. The overwhelming focus on mining severely restricts other economic opportunities, such as agriculture, livestock farming, beekeeping, and tourism—industries that have long been vital to the region’s economy.

While mining provides jobs and profits for some, it does not compensate for the environmental degradation and the loss of potential income from other sectors. The dominance of large-scale mining creates a monoculture that stifles diversification and sustainable economic development, a pattern observed globally in regions heavily reliant on mining.

In conclusion, the impacts of Eldorado Gold’s intensified operations in Halkidiki are profound and multi-faceted, affecting not only the environment but also the socio-economic fabric of the region. As the risks of climate change and seismic activity grow more pressing, the need for a comprehensive reassessment of this investment plan becomes ever more urgent. Without significant changes, the long-term costs to Halkidiki may far outweigh any short-term economic gains.

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