The Gold in Rosia Montana, an Endless Dilemma

The gold and silver mining project in Rosia Montana, central Romania, is currently analyzed by a parliamentary committee set up especially for this purpose.

Corina Cristea, 04.10.2013, 14:03

Highly controversial and an endless source of protests, the gold and silver mining project in Rosia Montana is still under scrutiny and a parliamentary committee has been set up to closely analyse all its aspects. The conclusion, following presentations by about 30 people selected by the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, Romania would have many economic advantages following gold exploitation, the environment would be cleaner and the cultural and archaeological heritage would be better preserved.

Company representatives say the cyanide-based extraction works will not damage the environment or the locals and that they fully comply with the European standards in the field. Nevertheless, the concentration of cyanides to be discharged in case the mining works begin is one of the main concerns of the project’s opponents, who argue that the environment would be irreversibly affected. The Canadian investor however gives assurances that the concentration of cyanides will be way below the level accepted in the EU and set by international laws. Parliamentarians also received assurances that the gold mining in the Apuseni Mountains would bring Romanian economy 5.2 billion dollars, turning Romania into Europe’s number 1 gold extractor.

Minister-Delegate for Budget Liviu Voinea has recently said in Parliament that the royalties cashed in by the Romanian state would stand at between 400 and 600 million dollars, depending on the price of gold on international markets.

Liviu Voinea: “Other revenues to the state budget can be from profit taxes and dividends. Also, the creation of 2.300 jobs during the mine’s construction and of another 900 after it becomes operational will surely bring fresh revenues to the Health Insurance House, derived from taxes on salaries and health contributions.“

One of the members of the parliamentary committee, Jack Goldstein, a chemical engineer, researcher and professor in the field of rare metals has presented a method of extracting gold that does not involve cyanides:

Jack Goldstein: “We don’t come up here to say the dam might break or that the cyanide-based technology is doomed to fail. None of that. We come here to say we have a comparable technology that is environment-friendly and that allows us to come up with several solutions that are impossible to apply if using the cyanide-based technique.”

The Romanian Geologic Institute OK-ed the project in 2011, but the institution’s new leadership says things are still unclear and more tests are needed to establish pollution risks.