If the shoe fits, wear it proudly.
Eldorado Gold
Eldorado earned a respectable $102.4 million for 2009; bolstered by stronger gold prices and record production in the fourth quarter that accounted for nearly one-third of the full-year total. Exhibiting Eldorado's core competency as "one of the world's lowest cost gold producers," the miner gave low-cost leaders like Goldcorp
As commonly occurs during a major production growth spurt, those costs are seen rising to between $385 and $400 per ounce for the 550,000 to 600,000 ounces anticipated during 2010. However, the realization of growth spurts are commonly accompanied by offsetting reductions in operating costs associated with increased economies of scale. Accordingly, Eldorado estimates that costs will return to $325 or lower once the company approaches 800,000 ounces of annual production during 2011.
On the heels of that exciting all-stock acquisition of Sino Gold in 2009 (which added two producing mines in China and two strong development prospects), the takeaway here is that Eldorado is offering gold investors exposure to at least 120% of targeted production growth over the course of a rapid two-year growth spurt -- which I expect will coincide nicely with further advances in the long-term uptrend for gold prices. All the while, Eldorado expects production costs to remain within a range that the average producer would happily embrace. As long as Gold Fields
Investors have a wide array of solid growth prospects to choose from within the mid-tier segment of the gold patch. Rival IAMGOLD