Investing.com — S&P Global Ratings placed ratings on CreditWatch positive, citing strong prices and progress on key development projects.
Current spot gold prices of about $5,000 per ounce significantly exceed S&P’s assumption of $3,300 per ounce for 2026, contributing to increased operating cash flow for the Vancouver-based gold producer over recent quarters.
The company’s Skouries copper-gold project in Greece is approximately 90% complete as of December 31, 2025, with commercial production on target for mid-2026. S&P noted that execution and financial risks associated with the project have significantly reduced.
Eldorado maintained a cash balance exceeding $1 billion as of September 30, 2025, providing substantial financial flexibility and liquidity to manage potential setbacks.
In a separate development, Eldorado announced on Sunday it entered into a definitive agreement to acquire for approximately C$3.8 billion in an almost all-stock transaction. The deal will add the nearly completed McIlvenna Bay development project in Saskatchewan to Eldorado’s portfolio.
The McIlvenna Bay underground mine is 85% complete and expected to produce approximately 41 million pounds of copper, 20,000 ounces of gold, 444,000 ounces of silver, and 54 million pounds of zinc annually, with a reserve mine life of about 18 years.
S&P anticipates the transaction will close in the second quarter of 2026, subject to shareholder votes, regulatory approvals, and customary closing conditions.
The rating agency forecasts that the combined company’s annual gold-equivalent production will increase more than 80% to approximately 900,000 ounces by the end of 2027, compared with Eldorado’s 2025 production of 488,000 ounces.
S&P expects the combined entity’s adjusted debt to EBITDA will be below 1.0x in 2027 and projects it will generate significant positive free operating cash flow once both the Skouries and McIlvenna mines reach steady state operations, despite assuming gold prices will decline to $2,600 per ounce in 2027.
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