The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition Barrick Gold chairman John Thornton wants the world's biggest gold producer to return to its roots when it was a nimble operator with an entrepreneurial spirit, a streamlined corporate structure and a pristine balance sheet. The Globe's Rachelle Younglai writes under previous management, Barrick had started becoming leaner by selling and suspending expensive operations and shrinking production, but Mr. Thornton suggested Barrick had lost its way over the past decade. Gone are the layers of managers. Barrick's Toronto headquarters is now a skeleton crew of 150, compared with 500 in its peak. Plans to boost copper output or expand into another commodity have been set aside. "First and foremost our focus is gold. We have no plans to diversify into other metals and we have no plans to add to our existing copper position," Mr. Thornton told analysts on a call to discuss year-end results. Mr. Thornton repeatedly stressed that Barrick was focused on a handful of mines in the Americas, particularly in Nevada, the home of its best mine, Goldstrike. The company said it would get rid of any asset that does not deliver a 10- to 15-per-cent return on investment.