While Romania’s parliamentary committee voted overwhelmingly against legislation that would have fast tracked the mine, CEO, Jonathan Henry remains positive.
LONDON (MINEWEB) – Rosia Montana has a future as a gold mine, Gabriel Resources CEO, Jonathan Henry, told Mineweb on Tuesday. “I’m confident that there’s a way forward,” he said. “We just need to see it.”
On Monday a parliamentary committee overwhelmingly voted against legislation that would have fast-tracked the mine’s construction by declaring it a “public utility.”
However, the company views Monday’s committee decision as a rejection of the legislation supporting Rosia Montana, rather than a rejection of the project itself. The committee has left open the possibility of a wide-ranging review of its mining laws, under which Rosia Montana could technically be approved in the future.
The vote follows 14 years of permitting delays and 2 months of forceful demonstrations in Bucharest, with protestors opposed to the planned mine’s use of cyanide.
“This isn’t a question about cyanide,” Henry says “It’s about politics and political will. The cyanide question has been well answered through the technical analysis committee process that we’ve had with the Romanian government, so although we’ve seen people on the streets talking about cyanide, that’s not the issue here.”
Rosia Montana has proven and probable gold reserves of over 10m ounces, which the company plans to grind and leach from the ore using cyanide, with tailings deposited in a 250m tonne capacity dam. Media reports have commonly described the proposal as “razing four mountains and creating a lake of cyanide.”
“We’re very open to people engaging with the facts if they’re willing to listen,” Henry says. “If you look at our closure plan, 10 year after we’ve left you wouldn’t know the mine had been there.”
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