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| ROSIA MONTANA – A POISONED FILE(14.09.2007) |
| (2007-09-14) |
| Last updated: 2007-09-17 16:17 EET |
The Romanian environment ministry has suspended the approval process for a Canadian-Romanian corporation hoping to begin mining gold and silver at Rosia Montana, central Romania. Find out the reasons behind this decision.
Did you know that apple, apricots, almonds and sour cherry seeds contain a powerful poison, namely cyanide? In insignificant quantities, it’s true, at levels too low to be dangerous. At Rosia Montana, on the other hand, located in the Apuseni Mountains in central Romania, re-starting mining activities would require the use of a large quantity of cyanide, which could pose a major threat to the environment if not properly supervised. The story of gold at Rosia Montana is 2,000 years old. During the rule of the Roman emperor Trajan, who conquered Dacia, Rosia Montana was known as Alburnus Major and was mined for its gold by the Roman settlers.
Gold mining has continued in the region, pretty much uninterrupted, to this day. Although the area is rich in gold, the locals live in poverty, while excessive mining has led the water table to vanish. Until 2006, gold and silver in Rosia Montana were extracted by the state through the National Gold, Copper and Iron Company, Mininvest.
A new player entered the market in 1997, the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, which was ready to invest over 2.5 billion dollars in the next 20 years to extract some 350 tons of gold and 1,600 tons of silver. This Canadian-Romanian company is a partnership between the Romanian state, through Mininvest, which holds 19.3% of the shares, and the Canadian company Gabriel Resources, with an 80% stake. The remaining 0.7 per cent of the shares of the company, which is listed at the Toronto stock exchange is held by natural persons. The company received a heavy blow on Thursday. The environment minister, Attila Korodi, called off the process by which the project was to receive authorization:
“The reason for this has to do with the urban planning certificate held by the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation. Its urban planning certificate was recently suspended twice, by court decision. Under a new amendment to the administrative litigation law, any administrative document of the same content as a previously suspended one will be considered suspended as a matter of law.”
The investors at Rosia Montana were quick to react. Here’s Cristina Merill, the company spokeswoman:
“We’re extremely disappointed with the decision of the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development to call an end to the environemnt impact assessment process, which started in May 2006. It is in total disregard of Romanian law to retroactively apply a law passed in August 2007. The urban planning certificate held by our project is perfectly valid. Moreover, it is not even mandatory for environmental authorization, as it is only an informative document.”
For the time being, the controversial project at Rosia Montana remains on stand-by. Nobody knows when or how a story that started 2,000 years ago will end.
(Mihai Radulescu)
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