Chuck Jeannes, CEO of Goldcorp Inc., has reason to be feeling chuffed. During the past year, as stocks floundered, carmakers stalled and base metals hit rock bottom, gold retained its gleam – and then some. At Goldcorp, No. 19 on the Top 100 list of public, private and Crown corporations, revenues for 2008 topped $2.4 billion.
Referring to the ongoing economic downturn, Jeannes says, “We’ve actually benefitted.” He points to Goldcorp figures for the first quarter of 2009, indicating an increase in net earnings of 27 per cent over the same quarter last year.
Newly minted as the top exec, Jeannes, 50, took over as CEO in January 2009 when his predecessor, Kevin McArthur, announced his surprise retirement just two years after taking the helm from Goldcorp founder Ian Telfer. McArthur and Jeannes had joined Goldcorp when it took over Glamis Gold in 2006, where McArthur had been CEO and Jeannes senior executive vice-president – a merger that created the world’s third-largest gold-mining company.
It’s a mighty big vehicle to be steering, but Jeannes, a Nevada native who began his career as a lawyer doing mineral-resource transactions and worked his way up in Placer Dome before joining Glamis in 1999, is nothing if not bright-eyed. In fact, he’s committed to increasing Goldcorp’s production by 50 per cent over the next five years, a goal he insists is attainable.
“This is based on projects that we already have, we already are constructing or are in operation and they’re just growing,” he explains, noting that the company’s large Peñasquito mine in Mexico is set to start commercial production in 2010. “It will be the largest mine in Mexico and one of the largest new mining projects anywhere in the world,” he adds, boasting that Goldcorp is the lowest-cost producer among the world’s senior gold companies.
Asked what challenges he anticipates for the industry and Goldcorp specifically, Jeannes can’t quite bring himself to name any. A year ago, he says, “probably the primary challenge was finding enough professionals and workers in our business.” But now that a number of base-metal mines have ceased operations, “we have all the talent we need.”
He’s equally rosy-eyed about the price of gold and foresees only more riches to come: “As the world starts to see its way out of the economic crisis, eventually we’re going to see inflation or at least fears about inflation. And gold has always performed extremely well in an inflationary environment.”
He’s so bullish, he confidently asserts that gold will pass the previous high of US$1,050 an ounce sometime in the next year. Reflecting on the metal upon which he’s built his career, Jeannes can’t help but smile. “As inflation occurs, gold holds its value,” he muses. “It’s always been a store of wealth. The old adage is that an ounce of gold was enough to buy you a suit 100 years ago, and it will still buy you a nice suit.” And right now, Jeannes is sporting a very nice suit indeed.
