Gabriel Resources owns 80.46% of Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), the company developing the mining project.
This is the second such petition rejected by the courts, after the Bucharest Court rejected a similar action in December a year ago. In May 2011, the Bucharest Court of Appeals also rejected a petition for the cancellation of the urbanism certificate, reads the press release.
According to RMGC, the petitions were filed by non-profit organization Alburnus Maior and the Independent Center for the Development of Natural Resources.
The decision may be appealed.
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.