The BBC has picked up on the ongoing Rosia Montana gold mine saga, describing it as a “Romania's decade long gold-war.” In her report, Tessa Dunlop, of BBC Radio 4's Crossing Continents, describes how her attention was first drawn to the issue by Romanian television, which featured a woman from the area saying the town needed mining to begin, as there is a dire shortage of jobs and money.

The BBC refers to claims by the Rosia Montana Gold Corporation that the open cast gold mine could generate USD 19 billion for the Romanian economy and create many new jobs. But the other side of the argument is also presented, BBC's Crossing Continents programme interviewed local resident Sorin Jorca, “If this project starts, life is over for me, I would lose my house, the graves of my parents, the church, and the heritage that belongs to all of us. The mining industry is very dirty, they will use tonnes of dynamite each day. Think of the noise, the toxicity - life here is going to be impossible,” said Sorin Jorca, quoted by the BBC.

Jorca is the founder of the Rosia Montana Cultural Foundation, which campaigns, along with other NGOs, against the beginning of gold mining operations in the area. The government is yet to decide on whether to let the project go ahead. PM Victor Ponta came into office with something of a reputation as an environmentalist, but his administration is yet to give a clear signal on Rosia Montana's future.

Gabriel Resources, the private investor behind the Rosia Montana gold mining project in Romania, wants to reduce costs until the Romanian Government advances with the licensing process for the project, said the Canadian Company. Gabriel Resources posted a loss of USD 2.6 million in the first quarter of 2012, twice as much as in the first quarter of 2011.

Rosia Montana holds Romania’s largest gold reserves, estimated at 300 tonnes of gold and 1,600 tonnes of silver. Gabriel Resources signed a concession agreement for the Rosia Montana project, but the project has not started, as NGOs opposed it and successive Romanian Governments are yet to issue environmental approval.

Read the BBC article.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com