A group of young classical musicians have become the stars of the anti Rosia Montana gold mine protests.

The quartet, already named the Rosia Montana quartet, has been playing every evening for protesters downtown Bucharest.

With their performance of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters, the group reduced to the several thousand protesters on Tuesday (September 10) evening to complete silence.

The quartet started performing several classical music pieces on Elisabeta avenue, while it was blocked by protesters.

This happened while the classical music festival George Enescu was in full swing at a venue close by.

The four women include Corina Ciuplea, Iulia Smeu, Maria Coltatu and Nicoleta Petre, who play two violins, a viola and a cello.

The four previously played under a different name, which they choose not to publicize as they wanted to promote the protesters' cause rather than their own brand.

Thousands of people took to the streets in major Romanian cities against the use of cyanide and its impact on the environment, should the Rosia Montana project be approved.

The Romanian state could face legal action from the Canadian investor Gabriel Resources, the majority shareholder in Rosia Montana Gold Corporation, after Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta called the gold mining project a 'case closed' and after the special committee in the Senate rejected it.

Rosia Montana Gold Corporation has been pursuing the gold mine project in Central Romania for the last 15 years.

editor@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Corina Ciuplea's Facebook page)