Eldorado Gold seeks $877 million compensation from Greece for permit delays

(Reuters) - Eldorado Gold Corp said on Tuesday it would seek 750 million euros ($877 million) from Greece for damages the Canadian miner said it suffered due to delays in the issuance of permits for its Skouries project.

The differences between Eldorado and the government over the miner's plans to produce gold and other metals in the northern Greek region of Halkidiki have dragged on for years, mainly over environmental regulations.

"We hope that this matter can be resolved in an amicable manner without needing to go down the route of arbitration," said Chief Executive George Burns in a statement.

Eldorado has blamed Greece for long delays in issuing necessary permits, while Athens said the company submitted a deficient plan to build a metallurgical plant that will process ores mined in Skouries and Olympias.

But the company said in April that an arbitration panel in Greece has ruled it has a valid technical plan to build a metallurgy plant to process concentrate mined from Skouries and Olympias.

Eldorado froze investment and suspended operations at its Skouries project last November, citing years of permit delays.

(Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Lisa Shumaker)