“I personally don’t want a gold reserve above 100 metric tons, because I am superstitious. Each time we had more than 100 tons of gold, something bad happened to Romania,” central bank governor Mugur Isarescu told a banking symposium Monday.
“This time, let’s stick to 100-103 metric tons,” he said.
Isarescu’s remarks came a few days after the government announced plans to set up a dedicated company for the Rosia Montana gold mining project with a view to increase budget revenues and bolster the mining industry.
The Minvest Rosia Montana company will own 19.3% in Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), a joint-venture between Romania and Canada’s Gabriel Resources. The new company will be under the authority of the minister-delegate for infrastructure projects and foreign investments Dan Sova.
Gabriel Resources owns 80.46% of RMGC. The Canadian company has leased Romania’s biggest gold resources in Rosia Montana, which are valued at about 300 tons of gold and 1,600 tons of silver.
The mining project has been on halt for years because of environmental concerns.
The Romanian central bank has been keeping its gold reserve steady at 103-105 metric tons of gold since 2000. End-March, the bank’s gold holdings were 103.7 metric tons (EUR4.17 billion), ranking Romania 34th in a global chart on gold reserve levels.
International gold prices have entered a downward trend after peaking at $1,923.7 an ounce in September 2011. The precious metal currently trades 30% below the September 2011 record.