Speaking before a special Parliament committee discussing the Rosia Montana gold mining project, Croitoru said the annual amount of gold to be extracted from Rosia Montana, if the project is carried out, will stand at about 10 tons.
“Considering the current gold price, this would mean EUR370-400 million per ton of pure gold. This type of transaction is not unusual for the central bank,” Croitoru said.
If the central bank buys 10 tons of gold yearly, its gold reserve, which currently amounts to 103 tons, will climb 10% in the first year.
“A 10% increase is not unusual either,” Croitoru said, adding that the central bank bought 37.3 tons of gold between 1990 and 2000.
The bank’s gold reserve stands at 103.7 tons and is valued at EUR3.3 billion considering global gold prices in September. At the end of September, its gold reserve accounted for 9% of Romania’s international reserve (currency plus gold).
Croitoru pointed out that a decision by the central bank on buying gold also depends on gold prices.
The Rosia Montana ore is evaluated at some 300 tons of gold and 1,600 tons of silver.
The project was launched in 1997 and plans to open the gold mine have been on and off for the past 14 years because of environmental concerns entailed by cyanide mining.
Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), the joint venture set up to develop the project, is 80.69% controlled by Canadian mining company Gabriel Resources, while the rest is held by the Romanian state through mining company Minvest.