Rosia Montana, Romania; 28 March 2004 – On 25. March 2004, the regional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), after receiving a last minute recommendation from the Ministry for the Environment and Water Management, put an immediate halt to Rosia Montana Gold Corporation’s (RMGC)EIA procedure; aiming to obtain an environmental license for its 2004 drilling campaign. RMGC had made the request for 110 drilling points; 12 in Orlea, 59 in Bucium and 39 in Rosia Montana.

RMGC is a joint venture between Gabriel Resources (TSX: GBU), a Canadian mining junior, and Minvest Deva, a state owned mining company. If realized RMGC’s open cast gold mining project will be Europe’s largest of its kind; entailing, amongst other, the involuntary resettlement of over 2000 people. From its onset the development has been beleaguered with scandals and operational problems including local, national and international opposition.

On 13 March 2004, RMGC published two announcements in “Unirea”, a regional paper, giving notice about its’ intention to obtain the environmental license for 110 drilling points. The first one drew to the EPA’s decision about the screening stage for the so-called Orlea and Bucium drillings. The second was a public consultation announcement for the so-called Rosia Montana drillings. The public consultation was scheduled for Friday, 26. March at 14.00 at RMGC’s information center in Rosia Montana.

Alburnus Maior on 16.March submitted a contestation to the EPA as well as to the Ministry; pointing, amongst others, to the following illegalities:
- According to Art. 37 of the Ministerial Order 860/2002, the prime location for giving notice to the affected population about the possibility to participate in an EIA procedure is the local town hall. Neither Bucium’s nor Rosia Montana’s town halls carried such announcements.
- According to Art 41 of the Ministerial Order 860/2002, public debates must be organized in the public’s most convenient manner. The most evident convenient place for such debate to take place is at the local town hall; not at the project sponsor’s information center. This is particularly worth mentioning giving the vehement local opposition to RMGC’s project as a whole.
- Art. 41 also stipulates that a public debate must take place outside of the standard working hours. The debate was announced for Friday, 26.March at 14.00.

On 22.March Alburnus Maior received a reply by the EPA’s office maintaining that the procedure launched by RMGC was lawful but nevertheless appreciated the NGO’s comments. The letter also informed Alburnus Maior that comments regarding RMGC’s drilling projects could be made directly at the EPA’s office in Alba-Iulia. Alburnus Maior consequently copied the EPA’s reply together with a short summery of the contestation to RMGC, Agraro Consult (one of RMGC’s consultants), the Ministry for Environment and Water Management, Rosia Montana’s town hall as well as the EPA, informing these parties that: “From a legal point of view, we can not contribute to an illegal public debate”.

On 25.March several Alburnus Maior leaders from Rosia Montana and Bucium made their way to the EPA’s office in Alba-Iulia in order to contest RMGC’s drilling projects. Upon their arrival, Dimitrie Clepan, the EPA’s Chief Inspector, informed them that he had received a recommendation from the Ministry Environment and Water Management to:
- restart all the stages related to the public announcement’s procedure
- to revise the conditions of the public debate concerning EIA study
- to make sure that all related documents are accessible to the interested public.
As a consequence, the EPA requested RMGC to restart the EIA procedure aiming to obtain an environmental license for its 2004 drilling campaign. Mr. Clepan also told Alburnus Maior of his intention to suggest to RMGC to post all relevant documentation and announcements for the 2004 drilling campaign on www.rosiamontanaproject.net

Eugen David was overjoyed by the news: “This clearly shows that if Romania’s law is applied, then this mining operation has no chance. RMGC’s investors and shareholders should finally come to terms with the fact that this project does not enjoy public support and that for now there won’t be any positive drilling results for neither Rosia Montana, Orlea or Bucium”.

Alburnus Maior is anxious to take notice of RMGC’s revised announcement to restart the relevant EIA procedure.
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For more information, contact Eugen David on +40 (0) 740 280309 and Dimitire Clepan on +40 (0) 740 026671.