The Executive Director of the Bulgarian operations of Dundee Precious Metals, Iliya Garkov assumed a higher position with the Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals in early October in his role of Senior Vice President, European Operations. As SVP, European Operations Iliya’s accountability will expand beyond the borders of Bulgaria to include the activities in Serbia as well as any further expansion in Europe.

Iliya will continue to lead the Chelopech and Ada Tepe operations and oversee the exploration activities in Bulgaria and Serbia.  The company will be leveraging his significant experience in solidifying stakeholder relationships as we develop our European operations. 

Iliya Garkov has three decades of international mining experience in Bulgaria, Australia, and Armenia. He has held a number of leadership roles within DPM, during which time he has contributed to Chelopech’s transformation into a world-class mining operation, the construction of the Ada Tepe Mine and implementation of a number of innovative processes across the Bulgarian operations. 

As Vice President and Executive Director of the Bulgarian operations at Chelopech and Krimovgrad, Iliya Garkov has played a key role in the process of achieving top operational performance by developing effective teams and management capacity.  Mr. Garkov has inspired the implementation of best human resource management practices by setting the safety culture as a top priority.

His successful changes to the mining method and organizational culture have positioned the Chelopech Mine among the leaders in the mining industry. By encouraging continuous change and performance improvements, Mr. Garkov has steered DPM Chelopech and DPM Krumovgrad towards impressive technological achievements. The first autonomous, intelligent drone used for underground industrial purposes was developed and is currently used in the Chelopech Mine.

Mr. Garkov has led the building and development of relationship with key stakeholders, and his effort made Ada Tepe Mine possible, which is the first successful greenfield project in the Bulgarian mining industry over the last 40 years.