Roșia Montană, a win for Romania
Romania wins the Roşia Montană litigation and is not to pay compensations to Gabriel Resources
Corina Cristea, 11.03.2024, 14:00
At the end of a 9-year long litigation, Romania has won the Roşia Montană case tried by the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes in Washington (ICSID) against the Canadian company Gabriel Resources.
Under the ruling, Romania will not have to pay billions of Euros in compensations, while the plaintiffs are bound to cover some of the court fees and the arbitration costs, up to around EUR 2.4 million.
The complicated story of the Roşia Montană case started 25 years ago, when the Canadian corporation won a contract for the processing of gold deposits in central Romania, and obtained a gold mining license. This was a huge project, as research indicated the Roşia Montană deposits, the largest in Europe, reached 323 tonnes of gold and over 1,600 tonnes of silver.
More than 10 years later, in 2013, the Government gave the green light for the works in Roşia Montană, but under the pressure of protests against the possible use of cyanide in the mining process, Parliament dismissed the project.
Another 4 years on, Romania applied for UNESCO Heritage protection for the mining community in the region, and the procedure ended in 2021, when the exceptional universal value of the Roșia Montană site was officially recognised, based on 4 out of the 6 cultural criteria listed in the World Heritage Convention.
Underneath the 4 Roşia Montanǎ massifs there are over 150 km of mines, including the largest Roman-era gold mining complex known today (7 km), a vast 17th-18th Century gunpowder mining system (10 km), and contemporary (19th-20th Century) dynamite mining galleries (53 km). The UNESCO Heritage listing meant the definitive closure of any mining works in the region.
Claiming they had incurred huge losses for not being able to implement their mining license, the Canadian firm Gabriel Resources called Romania before the World Bank’s arbitration court, demanding nearly USD 6.7 bln in compensations.
“After many years of disputes and debates, both political and legal, we are now at the moment of truth: Romania wins the case for Roşia Montanǎ, without penalties or damages, fighting and succeeding to protect the national heritage,” president Iohannis posted on social media, congratulating the teams of professionals involved in supporting Romania’s cause. (AMP)
