“The deal is public but the license agreement is secret, managed by ANRM (e.n. National Mineral Resources Agency). Based on a request from ANRM, the Government will make a decision on the declassification. We must have the investor;s approval for declassification,” Chitoiu said.
Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), the joint venture between Romania and Canadian Gabriel Resources, which is developing the Rosia Montana gold mining project said last week its license agreement can only be declassified after legislation changes.
RMGC said the joint-venture contract between Romanian state-owned mining company Minvest Deva and Gabriel Resources, listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, is public, but its gold mining license agreement requires legislation changes to be declassified.
In turn, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta said he would ask Canadian Gabriel Resources to accept the declassification of its gold mining contract for Rosia Montana.
Gabriel Resources owns 80.46% of RMGC, while the Romanian state (19.31%), through Minvest Deva, and other shareholders control the rest. Billionaires John Paulson, Beny Steinmetz and Thomas Kaplan are some of the biggest names behind Gabriel Resources.
Gabriel said in May it was looking to substantially reduce costs on the gold mining project until the Romanian Government moves ahead with authorizing the project. The project has been on the table since the ’90s but faces great opposition from environmental activists because it entails cyanide mining.