Eldorado Gold Corporation (NYSE: EGO) announced that first ore has been processed through the crushing circuit at its Skouries copper-gold project in Northern Greece, marking a commissioning milestone for the site.

According to a company press release, the Skouries project is in the final stages of construction, with wet and dry commissioning activities progressing across crushing, grinding, flotation, concentrate handling, and tailings circuits. The company continues to target first production of copper-gold concentrate in the third quarter of 2026, with commercial production targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026.

Full site energization remains contingent on final inspection and sign-off by the relevant Greek power authority. All 12 transmission towers and conductors have been installed, and initial substation testing has been completed by a third-party group. Eldorado said it has added supplemental generators to maintain commissioning momentum in the interim.

"Full integrated operation of the process plant will require final site energization, and our focus remains on completing the remaining steps safely and methodically as we work toward first concentrate in the third quarter," said George Burns, Chief Executive Officer.

Open pit mining at Skouries is running ahead of schedule. The company has accumulated a total ore stockpile of approximately 3.9 million tonnes, including roughly 3.4 million tonnes from the open pit and additional ore from underground operations. The stockpile is expected to provide sufficient ore feed through 2026.

Eldorado Gold is a gold, copper and base metals producer with operations in Canada, Greece, and Türkiye.