Government spokesman Dan Suciu said Friday that the act was not sent to the Official Journal and therefore did not take effect, so the new Cabinet will restart the process for its approval. People close to the matter told MEDIAFAX the ordinance had not been signed by then-prime minister Emil Boc.
Last year, the Government announced it had decided to double the royalties on gold, silver and platinum extraction, from 4% to 8% of the value of production, and increase royalties on other mineral products, such as coal and mineral water, from 4% to 6%, with 20% of the fees to be transferred to the local budgets.
Through this ordinance, the Government would raise the royalties on the production of coal, metal ores, aluminum and aluminous rocks, radioactive metals, rare earths, precious and semi-precious stones, mineral, therapeutic and geothermal waters, non-fuel gases, and therapeutic mud and peat to 6%, and the royalties on precious metal ores to 8%.
Precious metals include silver, gold, mercury and the platinum metals (ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum).
The mining royalties owed to the state budget for the extraction of natural mineral waters would be equal to EUR6 per 1000 liters, under the ordinance. The royalties for gross revenue from the transport of petroleum would be raised from 10% to 15%, while those for underground gas storage will be hiked from 3% to 5%.
For non-metal substances, magnetic rocks, industrial limestone, dolomite, sandstone, clay, marl, sand, pumice, chalk, the royalties would be the lei equivalent of EUR0.8 per unit of mining production, while for ornamental basalt, marble, travertine, a fee of EUR3.5 per unit (in lei) would be charged. For haloid salts, the royalties would be the lei equivalent of EUR1 per unit of production.
A share of 20% of the fees charged to holders of prospection, exploration or exploitation licenses will be transferred to the local budget of the administrative unit hosting the mining site.
The biggest gold deposit in Romania is located in Rosia Montana, Alba county, and is leased to the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC). The deposit is estimated to contain around 300 tons of gold and 1,600 tons of silver.
Canadian company Gabriel Resources owns 80.46% of RMGC’s share capital. Romania owns 19.31%, through state-owned mining company Minvest Deva.
An official document presented by MEDIAFAX at the end of October stated the Government is in negotiations with Gabriel Resources to increase its stake in RMGC from 19.3% to 22.5%. The company rejected the increase of royalties on mining, as well as sharing control with the state, and conditioned the increase of the state’s stake in RMGC on the adoption of laws supporting mining companies, the document read.
The negotiations considered three scenarios: keeping royalties for gold mining at 4% and the state’s stake at 19.3%; keeping royalties on gold extraction at 4% and increasing the state’s stake to 25%; increasing royalties to 8%, double compared with the current level, and keeping the state’s stake in RMGC at 19.3%.
The document showed Gabriel Resources rejected the third scenario, the only one that states the increase of royalties for mining, considering the “impact it has on the profitability of mining and the risk regarding lack of financing.” Therefore, the investor has only agreed to a “reasonable” increase in the state’s stake.