Greg Smith: Entrepreneurship in the Mining Industry

“We had some extraordinarily stressful periods of time that required a tremendous amount of work. What got us through that was the bullheaded tenacity to keep pushing no matter what happened and trying to manage stress in a way that was productive, and not falling apart or giving up…”

Greg Smith: President of Equinox Gold

Greg Smith is the President of Equinox Gold, a mid-tier Canadian gold producer led by Chairman Ross Beaty. Greg started his career as an accountant but quickly moved into a management position in the mining division of KPMG. From here, he moved on to a managerial position at Goldcorp before progressing to the executive suite at Minefinders as CFO.

After selling Minefinders Greg went on to become the President and CEO of Esperanza Resources, which was quickly soon sold to Alamos Gold.

Next Greg went on to found Anthem United, which through a series of mergers and acquisitions, grew from a $20,000,000 market cap. to over a $900,000,000 valuation and became Equinox Gold.

In this conversation, we discuss:

  • What does a daily routine look like as the President of Equinox Gold?
  • How and why Greg got into mining.
  • How YMP (Young Mining Professionals) got started, and Greg’s involvement.
  • The background of Minefinders, and how that position helped propel Greg’s career.
  • Why Greg started a business after being an established CFO.
  • How to start and structure a junior mining company.
  • What is the best way to maximize ‘luck’?
  • Greg’s Favorite books on the industry; and
  • Much more.

Greg has been a great friend, colleague, and employer over the years. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation.

This was a live podcast so a very special thanks is due to Young Mining Professionals (YMP) for organizing and KPMG for hosting this event!

Cheers,

Jamie Keech

Co-Founder, Resource Insider

PS. Check us out on iTunes HERE

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