>==========================================================
>
>*Independent Centre for the Development of Environmental Resources
>Alburnus Maior
>Press Release*
>/*For immediate distribution*/
>
>/*Dead and Buried: Gabriel's EIA*/
>/Irrevocable court verdict on the urbanistic certificate of the Rosia
>Montana proposal /
>
>/Cluj-Napoca /Romania; 27 March 2008 /* The Cluj Court of Appeal (1)
>today irrevocably rejected an appeal formulated by the Alba County
>Council and Rosia Montana Gold Corporation against the Cluj-Napoca
>Tribunal court verdict^ (2) to annul Urbanistic Certificate No. 78/
>26.04.2006^ (3). The certificate had been granted by the Alba County
>Council to Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC) to continue the
>Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedure. The court action was
>initiated by the *Independent Centre for the Development of
>Environmental Resources (ICDER)*^* * (4). Alburnus Maior intervened in
>the case.
>
>Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC) is 80% owned by Gabriel Resources
>(TSX:GBU) a small under-resourced and inexperienced Canadian mining
>company which plans to uproot the people of Rosia Montana to realize
>Europe's largest open-cast gold mine. 20% are owned by Minvest a
>state-owned mining company. From its' onset the venture has been
>beleaguered by scandals operational problems and vehement local
>national and international opposition. The American miner Newmont (NTSE:
>NEM) holds a 20% stake in Gabriel Resources.
>
>Urbanistic Certificate No 78/2006 was obtained by RMGC from the Alba
>County Council in April 2006 to continue the EIA procedure for the Rosia
>Montana mine proposal. It was issued to RMGC despite the fact that the
>previous urbanistic certificate (numbered Nr. 68/2004) was and still is
>suspended by an irrevocable court decision. With the submission of act
>No. 78/2006 to the Ministry for the Environment RMGC was able to carry
>out the EIA's public consultation stage as well as a significant part of
>the stage to evaluate the quality of the EIA study. RMGC also used the
>act to start other licensing procedures such as the dam safety permit
>and the land use change permits including the Modification of the Zonal
>Urbanism Plan for the RMGC Industrial Development area; etc.
>
>Urbanistic Certificate No 78/2006 was suspended by the Cluj Tribunal on
>20 July 2007 (5) ^ and annulled by the same court on 11 November 2007.
>Following the suspension of this act the Ministry for the Environment
>suspended the EIA procedure for the mine proposal and assessed that any
>urbanistic certificate issued by the Alba County Council duplicating
>this act is suspended/ de jure/.
>
>In the case leading to the irrevocable annulment of the act ICDER and
>Alburnus Maior successfully proved amongst others; that the act does not
>list the full inventory of natural and historic protected areas
>including their buffer zones; that it does not contain all industrial
>facilities for which RMGC wishes to obtain the construction permit (such
>as the tailings management facility) and that Rosia Montana's urbanistic
>plans which are based on certificate No 78/ 26.04.2006 were recently
>declared illegal by the Alba-Iulia Court of Appeal (6).
>
>The annulment of this act via an irrevocable court decision removes the
>legitimacy of all licensing procedures/procedural stages that are based
>on Urbanistic Certificate No. 78/ 26.04.2006. Once in receipt of the
>court verdict itself ICDER and Alburnus Maior will copy it to all
>competent authorities in charge of licensing procedures for the Rosia
>Montana mine proposal requesting these authorities to put an immediate
>halt to these procedures and return all documentation to the project owner.
>
>\I am delighted that after the locals of Rosia Montana have been put
>under pressure for so many years we were today able to prove again that
>Gabriel Resources was wrong and civil society right. I hope that this
>victory will inspire other communities across Romania to use
>environmental law to defend our beautiful countryside and natural
>heritage. In the words of famous American artist Andy Warhol \They
>always say time changes things but you actually have to change them
>yourself'' declared attorney Marius Liviu Harosa; representing ICDER.
>
>\Today's verdict confirms that the Ministry for the Environment was
>correct to suspend the Rosia Montana EIA procedure. All the inaccurate
>claims and pressure on the part of Gabriel Resources have once again got
>them nowhere. The Ministry should now move to permanently cancel the
>Rosia Montana EIA procedure' concludes Dan Mercea president of ICDER.
>
>* * *
>
>For more information contact attorney Marius Liviu Harosa on +40 (0) 744
>599 762 or ICDER on cidrm.cluj At gmail.com
>
>NOTES:
>
>1) File no 1245/117/2007
>2) File no 1245/117/2007
>3) The text can be accessed on
> http://www.rosiamontana.ro/doc/certificatRMGC_78_2006.pdf
>4) The Independent Centre for the Development of Environmental Resources
>is an NGO based in Cluj-Napoca/Romania. It develops programs that
>contribute to the protection of the right to a healthy environment and
>foster the development of Romania's NGO sector.
>5) The court decision can be accessed on
> http://www.rosiamontana.ro/doc/incheiere_suspendare.pdf
>
>6) File no 1411/107/2007 of the Alba-Iulia court of appeal
>



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