Romania Case Study: The Rosia Montana Project

Posted: August 26th, 2021

Romania Case Study: The Rosia Montana Project
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Romania Case Study: The Rosia Montana Project
The Rosia Montana Project defines the plans of processing and exploiting silver and gold minerals. Furthermore, the project is located in west-central Romania and is owned by Rosia Montana Gold Corporation S.A. (RMGC) (Pascaru, 2013). Gabriel Resources Company and CNCAF Minvest S.A (Minvest) have approximately 80.69% and 19.31% equity shareholding (Pascaru, 2013). The project construction awaits financing and permitting; thus, the project will be the largest open bit mine in Europe if approved. Hence, as currently envisaged, the project will include a processing plant and an open pit mine using the gold cyanidation mining method.
Rosia Montana, a Romanian community in northwestern Romania, was at risk due to a lack of employment opportunities, contaminated drinking water, inadequate healthcare, and poor housing conditions. Thus, Gabriel Resources designed a new gold mine in the region to balance the project’s environmental, historical, social, and economic impact (Pascaru, 2013).The Romanian state could no longer sponsor mining activities following the European Union accession. The Romanian government was faced with a deindustrialization era that prompted low production in many industries like mining after the fall of communism. For instance, the unemployment rates increased in mining areas, causing negative economic and social impacts.
Subsequently, the cyanidation mining technique has been used by mining companies to separate silver and gold particles from ore, which is always productive (Velicu, & Kaika, 2017). Regardless of its toxicity rates, the cyanidation mining approach can safely be used with appropriate management without harming the environment. Cyanide leaching is another approach used to extract gold from ore with liquid mercury. However, the European Commission banned and rejected its use, noticing that the current guidelines provide adequate health and environmental protection. Accordingly, a European Union directive, which Romania has to comply with after joining the European Union in 2007, provides for the recovery and minimization of toxic and waste tailings from extraction industries. Nonetheless, some areas are still affected by toxic waste from mining activities such as the village of Rosia Montana (Pascaru, 2013). However, the national and local authorities have not yet dealt with the historical pollution of surface water and soil with heavy metals and their compounds. To this day, the acidic water has changed compared to the previous one. Thus, the environmental impact of pollution in this area is enormous, and the associated risks should make pollution mediation a priority on the government’s decision-making agenda.
Locals strongly opposed Gabriel Resources’ gold mining project in Rosa Montana (Crisan, 2008). This follows its announcement of the intention to build Europe’s largest open-pit gold mine that destroyed the historic village of Rosia Montana. Since then, resistance to the project has spread throughout Romania and Europe. However, Gabriel Resources’ sole purpose is to develop this mining project. Once the mine is fully productive, 500,000 tons of rock will be removed each week, and 13 to 15 million kilograms of cyanide will be used annually (Velicu, & Kaika, 2017). Regardless, the local community has different opinions on the impact of the project on the region, as such, property owners and villagers who opposed the project formed Alburnus Maior, a non-governmental organization in 2002, which played a leading role in the Save Rosia Montana movement (Pascaru, 2013). Many national and international organizations, artists, and journalists took part in the Alburnus Maior campaign and disseminated information on the project’s potential risks at local and national levels. Through investigative journalism, festivals of various artistic activists, public debates, and other publicity events across the country, they have trained citizens to oppose the project for many reasons. Thus, irreconcilable aspects noted include interference with cultural heritage, the cemetery relocation, takeovers, and explosives, and cyanide residue to buildings.
As for Romania’s regional development policy, the impact of national and regional differences remains one of the most pressing issues. There is a transparent center-periphery approach that can provide faster growth of the metropolitan areas (Velicu, & Kaika, 2017). This is due to the preference for investment in developed regions, labor migration, and government intervention in more developed areas. Underdeveloped areas of Romania are continually looking for new growth opportunities to reduce the gap between it and other more developed countries (Pascaru, 2013). An example of this is Russia’s Montana, where mining has been around for two thousand years. Therefore, in a convincing case, mining and tourism could become standard tools to boost regional development.
There is no other sustainable economic activity in the region, leaving Romania in a state of decline and severely polluted by previously unregulated mining activities (Crisan, 2008). It has suffered severe environmental damage, including dangerous abandoned quarries and heavily polluted rivers. Furthermore, due to the high unemployment rate, the Romanian authorities have classified Rosia Montana as a “vulnerable region.” The estimated domestic unemployment rate is around 80%, and incomes are meager (Velicu, & Kaika, 2017). The local heritage of great cultural importance continues to deteriorate rapidly. Failure to take measures to protect and restore heritage may result in irreparable loss. The tourism industry around Rosia Montana is currently at a deficient level. Thus, most tourists spend the day only or with relatives and friends, so their contribution to the local economy is low.
Through its Romanian subsidiary Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (“RMGC”) in Rosia Montana, Gabriel Resources has the potential to address heritage and environmental concerns and become a tourist attraction during operation. RMGC plans to start developing tourism throughout the mining life cycle, from remodeling and restoring Roman art galleries and other historical sites to cleaning up surrounding mines and waterways. Once the mining is stopped, tourists should be able to access the long-term opportunities that restored landscapes. The mining industry will directly or indirectly produce large-scale commercial, financial derivatives, thus enabling the provision of services and facilities necessary for the tourism industry. Therefore, the modern mining industry could become a significant tourist attraction and attraction for educational tours.
Besides, corruption has affected Romania’s government activities and economic trends. Reformers in government face bureaucratic, political, and financial obstacles and intimidation (Crisan, 2008). Moreover, when corruption is challenged, it is usually nothing more than a political opponent mocked with irony. Therefore, it is not surprising that most Romanians are skeptical of the social and economic elite: they believe that the state, political parties, companies, and the media work in their favor.
The Romanian government worked closely with communities and clients to realize this project, focusing on sustainability (Crisan, 2008). Rosia Montana will use new strategies and technologies to revitalize the local economy responsibly. This includes an environmental impact assessment to determine potential pollution of soil, air, and water with protection against vibration and noise. Therefore, this will be developed water, waste rocks, and environmental management approaches to minimize potential environmental impacts.
RMGC engineers have completed detailed designs for the pipelines, water pump stations, plant site structures, roadways, dams at the Rosia Montana mine. As the mine grows, it will create 2,340 new jobs and contribute to economic growth and development (Crisan, 2008). Years of uncontrolled mining have polluted the village’s water; it will again be available for drinking, and the community will thrive with modern infrastructure. Romania needs the benefits that a thriving metal market can bring to the economy. In summary, residents will benefit from the jobs and services created. Thus, they expect access to improved water, electricity, and sanitation facilities.

References
Crisan, C. (2008). Innovation–the Corporate Catalyst in Complying with the Triple Bottom Line. A Romanian Study Case–Rosia Montana Gold Corporation in. Education, Research, and Innovation, 39-49.
Pascaru, M. (2013). Romanian Glocalization. Case Study on the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation Mining Project. Revista de Cercetare şi Intervenţie Socială, (43), 39-48.
Velicu, I., & Kaika, M. (2017). Undoing environmental justice: Re-imagining equality in the Rosia Montana anti-mining movement. Geoforum, 84, 305-315.