Eldorado Gold is closing in on one of the mining industry’s most-watched project completions of 2026. The Vancouver-based gold miner reported solid second-quarter financial and operational results on July 30, with its flagship Skouries copper-gold project in northern Greece confirmed on track to produce first gold in Q3 2026 — a milestone years in the making. The GlobeNewswire report puts the company firmly in execution mode after a lengthy permitting and construction saga in Greece. It’s a different kind of infrastructure story than the Anthropic compute buildout reshaping Silicon Valley, but the capital intensity and strategic stakes are just as real.
For Q2 2026, Eldorado reported gold production of approximately 119,224 ounces across its portfolio, which spans Greece, Canada, and Türkiye. Revenue came in at roughly $297 million, supported by elevated gold prices that have kept margins healthy across the sector. Cash operating costs and all-in sustaining costs remained within guidance, giving management room to reaffirm full-year production guidance of 500,000 to 560,000 ounces of gold. Free cash flow generation was positive for the quarter, a meaningful signal given the heavy capital still flowing into Skouries construction.
Skouries: From Bureaucratic Nightmare to Imminent Production
Skouries has been the centerpiece of Eldorado’s growth story for the better part of a decade — and a case study in the friction between resource development and European regulatory frameworks. The project is a large copper-gold porphyry deposit in the Halkidiki peninsula, and its path to production involved years of permit disputes, Greek government negotiations, and a full restart of construction that kicked into high gear following a revised investment framework secured in 2022. As of Q2 2026, construction completion stands at over 95%, with commissioning activities underway across key processing circuits.
The company reports that the flotation plant, which will separate copper and gold concentrates, has been mechanically completed and is in the wet commissioning phase. Underground development at Skouries has also advanced significantly, with multiple production levels accessible. First gold pour — the symbolic moment when a mine transitions from construction project to operating asset — is targeted for Q3 2026, with commercial production expected to follow. At full capacity, Skouries is expected to produce approximately 140,000 ounces of gold equivalent annually over its mine life, alongside meaningful copper output that positions Eldorado to benefit from the energy transition’s insatiable demand for the red metal.
Balance Sheet and What Comes Next
Eldorado ended Q2 2026 with approximately $600 million in liquidity, a cushion that management says is sufficient to fund Skouries through first production without requiring additional financing. The company drew on its revolving credit facility earlier in the year to manage construction cash flow timing, but positive free cash flow from existing operations — particularly from the Lamaque underground mine in Québec and the Kisladag heap leach operation in Türkiye — has helped offset the capital drag from Greece. Lamaque delivered consistent ounces above plan in Q2, reinforcing its status as Eldorado’s most reliable near-term cash engine.
With Skouries moving from cost center to revenue contributor in the coming months, Eldorado’s financial profile is set to shift materially. Analysts tracking the company have pointed to the project’s ramp-up as the single biggest re-rating catalyst for the stock. Management reiterated full-year cost guidance and flagged no material changes to the Skouries capital budget, which has been one of the market’s lingering concerns given inflationary pressures on construction inputs across the mining sector. If Q3 delivers on the first-pour promise, Eldorado will have transformed from a company perpetually explaining a delayed flagship asset into one running a diversified, multi-jurisdiction operation with a brand-new copper-gold mine humming in the European Union.
