Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-01-27

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] ND leader Mitsotakis reiterates his demand for elections

[02] The conclusion of the agreement is in everyone's interest, EP Vice President Papadimoulis says

[03] Hellas Gold to begin operations of Olympiada gold mine in April

[01] ND leader Mitsotakis reiterates his demand for elections

"I am ready. We are ready to struggle, in a credible and decent way, for the reconstruction of the country," he said.

"The government is leading the country to an impasse," he noted adding that "the delays, incompetence, unreliability, constant contradictions have led Greece's partners to excessive demands. "

Mitsotakis accused the government of exposing the country to great dangers as the threat of Grexit is back.

"The economy has frozen and people suffer, not only from overtaxation and austerity, but also the lack of plan and perspective, which exacerbate the uncertainty and insecurity," he said.

[02] The conclusion of the agreement is in everyone's interest, EP Vice President Papadimoulis says

"This is not what happened," he said adding that everyone agreed that the Greek economy has outperformed its targets. Moreover, he said the European Commission, the ECB and the ESM estimate that the contingent mechanism will not be implemented.

He underlined that the Eurogroup offers a chance to conclude the second programme review and called on everyone to come to an agreement by February 20 as an election period will then begin in Europe.

"The extension of the uncertainty will make even more difficult the visible recovery of the Greek economy," he stated.

[03] Hellas Gold to begin operations of Olympiada gold mine in April

Hellas Gold executives stressed that only a few formal licenses remaining for the start of the unit. With the opening of the Olympiada mines, gold production will resume in the country after 22 years, and together the mines Olympiada and Skouries 'can make Greece one of the largest gold producing countries in the European Union".

Between 2017 and 2022 gold production in Olympiada is estimated to be 72,000 ounces of gold per year, plus 55,000 ounces of production of other metals. After 2022 production is expected to increase to 170,000 ounces annually. Production in Skouries is expected to begin in 2019 and by 2027 it is expected to produce a total of 1.4 million ounces of gold and 620 million tons of copper.

Referring to the long standing controversy associated with the licensing of the metallurgical plant flash smelting, they stressed that they seek resolution of the dispute with technical dialogue rather than litigation. As is known, the technical study for the unit has been rejected by the Environment and Energy Ministry. The company has appealed for that matter to the Council of State.

The company executives estimate that this year the activity of Hellas Gold will create 1,000 new jobs in companies undertaking work as subcontractors. They also said that investments of 150 million US dollars were planned for this year and the company has so far invested a total of 750 million dollars in the project.

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