Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/1125235
6 www.resourceworld.com J U N E / J U L Y 2 0 1 9 T akeover activity involving some of the gold mining sector's biggest players has suggested that to be successful in the gold industry, one has to set lofty production targets and then strive to meet them. But if that is the view of the head honchos at Newmont Goldcorp. Corp. [NGT-TSX, NEM-NYSE] and Barrick Gold Corp. [ABX-TSX, GOLD-NYSE], it is not one that is necessarily shared by George Burns, the President and CEO of Eldorado Gold Corp. [ELD-TSX; EGO-NYSE] "I'm a believer that setting strategic objectives on a production number is the wrong metric," said Burns during an inter - view with Resource World magazine. A mining engineer from Butte, Montana, who was a senior executive with Goldcorp and Centerra Gold Inc. [CG-TSX, CAGDF- OTC] before joining Eldorado in April 2017, Burns said he prefers to focus on metrics such as net asset value and rates of return. "So when I look at Eldorado, I think our sweet spot is developing and operating mid- sized gold mines. That is our focus and if we make the right decisions, as in the right investments, growth will naturally set itself at an optimum place." Based in Vancouver, Eldorado is a mid- tier gold and base metals producer with an international portfolio that includes min - ing, development and exploration projects in Turkey, Canada, Greece, Romania, Serbia and Brazil. Key operations include the Kisladag and Efemcukuru mines in Turkey, the Olympias Mine in Greece, and the Lamaque Mine in Québec. Together they are expected to pro - duce between 390,000 and 420,000 ounces this year at an all-in-sustaining cost of US $900-$1,000 an ounce. Given his view on how a gold miner should be run, it comes as no surprise that Burns considers his biggest accom - plishment, so far, to be the recent start of commercial operations at Lamaque. Now, he is looking for a couple of strong operating quarters at Lamaque, which reached commercial production on March 31, 2019, just 18 months after Eldorado acquired the asset. Lamaque is seen as a potential springboard for Eldorado's growth plans over the next few years. "It will be our second largest mine, and has exciting Commercial operations begin at Lamaque Gold Mine by Peter Kennedy ELDORADO GOLD