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| - Greece's conservative government has approved a long-disputed gold mining project held up for years by environmental concerns, the embassies of Canada and the United States said Friday. The embassies said in a joint statement that they "welcome the signing (of the agreement) today between Hellas Gold (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canadian-based Eldorado Gold Corporation) and the government of Greece." The embassies said the deal "will bring almost 1.7 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in investment from North America over a period of 23 years" and create up to 5,000 direct and indirect jobs to develop the Kassandra Mines in the northeastern peninsula of Halkidiki. Eldorado Gold has also pledged a social development programme amounting to 70 million euros in the local communities over the life of the investment, the statement said. The goldmine project on Skouries mountain has sparked years of protests, including a raid in 2013, when hooded militants threw Molotov cocktails at the mine worksite, wounding a guard and damaging equipment. The previous leftist government in 2015 stalled work on the goldmine over alleged contract violations. The pro-business conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, which came to power in 2019, had vowed to unblock the project under strict environmental safeguards. A note from the ministry of energy and environment said the modified deal "maximises benefits for the national economy, local society and the environment." Eldorado called the agreement mutually beneficial, saying it gives it greater protections and a permitting framework similar to other large-scale foreign investment project in Greece. "For the Hellenic Republic, it provides enhanced fiscal revenues, environmental benefits, and community development opportunities," said the Canadian firm in a statement. jph/rl
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