The Alba Iulia Court of Appeal has irrevocably admitted a petition submitted by three non-governmental organizations to cancel the 2009 decision made by the Local Council of Rosia Montana, which validated the voting procedure on the general urbanism plan of the commune (PUG) and the zonal urbanism plan of the Rosia Montana industrial development area (PUZ), which were adopted in 2002, Gabriel Resources said in a press release.
“The ruling of the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal does not apply to the decisions of the Local Council of the Rosia Montana commune to adopt the town-planning documentation PUG and PUZ in 2002, which, we are advised, are still valid and legal. The company confirms that the existing permitting procedures, which are well advanced, will continue in accordance with the legal provisions. Moreover, the new draft urbanism documentation for the Project is at an advanced stage with 19 out of 22 endorsements received to date. The final endorsements will result in a new PUZ being issued. The local communities affected by the Project also initiated the procedures for a new PUG for the respective localities,” reads the press release.
“We are monitoring the situation closely within Romania and once more detail becomes available we will update the market accordingly. For now the permitting process for the Project continues,” said Jonathan Henry, president and CEO of Gabriel Resources.
There is no connection between the Alba Iulia court ruling and the permit process, Andreea Nastase, Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC) spokeswoman, told Bloomberg in an interview.
Non-profit organization Alburnus Maior announced Thursday the Alba Iulia Court of Appeals cancelled the urbanism plan of Rosia Montana. It added that, considering this situation, the Technical Analysis Committee may not continue procedures to authorize the mining project.
Alburnus Maior contested the Rosia Montana urbanism plans adopted in 2002, arguing that most of the local council members, who voted the plans, were involved in a conflict of interest.
Former Environment Minister Laszlo Borbely said at the beginning of March RMGC might need an additional environmental permit for the Rosia Montana gold mining project in western Romania, to deviate the Corna River.The new permit may be issued only through a Government decision, added Borbely.
According to the minister, the new problem appeared as the European water directive has not been clearly transposed in the Romanian legislation.
He said he called on the Parliament’s special committees to solve the problem to determine if RMGC needs a river deviation permit from the Government, apart from that obtained from local authorities.
Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), a joint venture consisting of Gabriel Resources and the Romanian state, is developing the mining project at Rosia Montana, in the Apuseni Mountains, with projected costs reaching more than $1 billion.
Gabriel Resources owns 80.46% of RMGC, while the Romanian state (19.31%), through Minvest Deva, and other shareholders control the rest.
The project is backed by President Traian Basescu, while many environmental NGOs have been protesting the project, which involves cyanide mining.
Billionaires John Paulson, Beny Steinmetz and Thomas Kaplan are some of the significant names behind Gabriel Resources.