The Rosia Montana gold mine project in Romania could be worth some USD 30 billion, given the current price of gold and silver, above the USD 7.5 billion value estimated in a 2007 study, said Jonathan Henry, executive director of Gabriel Resources, the majority owner of Rosia Montana, in an interview for Reuters. The price of a gold ounce was of USD 900 in 2007, and now it is of some USD 1,700.

Henry talked to Reuters in the wake of the Government change in Romania. 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 been started as NGOs opposed it and the country's Governments are yet to issue an environmental approval.

Jonathan Henry asked the new government in Romania – not yet sworn in – to first discuss about the project with Rosia Montana Gold Corporation – the project company and then go public about the mining project.

The Rosia Montana project, and similar projects in Romania and even the country need political stability, said Henry.

According to the media, Gabriel Resources is controlled by business tycoons like John Paulson, Beny Steinmetz and Thomas Kaplan.

editor@romania-insider.com