Minister Korodi: I shall make public technical viewpoints relating Rosia Montana project in three weeks

Minister of Environment and Forestry Attila Korodi on Wednesday in an interview with the radio public station assured he will make public his technical points of view regarding the Rosia Montana mining project by the end of April.

'(...) three weeks are needed for some research, because for the last three years, namely the one-year mandate of Mr. Nemirschi and the two-year mandate of Mr. Borbely, many things have happened. I need to be updated, to find out all the details, in order to have punctual information. In three weeks I shall be able to voice the technical points of view and answer to various questions,' Korodi pointed out.

Attila Korodi said the role of his ministry is to make an objective decision. 'I believe that the role of the ministry and of the minister is to make an objective decision we can pledge to. This will be the moment when a decision will be made. But in the next three weeks we shall not figure out whether the project is authorized or not, but I shall have all the information to decide what will be the next step and which are the responsibilities of the Environment Ministry in completing the assessment procedure,' said Attila Korodi, also adding that a decision on Rosia Montana mining project will be made by the end of his mandate.

Gabriel reaffirms outlook on advancing Rosia Montana project in Romania

Gabriel Resources (TSE:GBU) Monday provided clarification on a recent ruling in Romania and the implications for the Rosia Montana gold and silver project.Gabriel issued Monday's clarification due to the "issue has been widely misunderstood and misinterpreted" and the market's reaction does not properly reflect the facts or the recent progress the company has made in advancing its project.

The company is focused on permitting and developing Romania's Rosia Montana gold and silver project, the largest undeveloped gold deposit in Europe.

The project has reported resources of 14.6 million ounces of gold and 64.9 million ounces of silver (measured and indicated) including 10.1 million ounces gold and 47.6 million ounces of silver reserves in the proven and probable category at grades of 1.46 grams per tonne (gt) and 6.88 gt respectively.

Last week, Gabriel's shares fell by almost 20 percent after it said the Rosia Montana gold mine in Romania shouldn’t be delayed after a court ruling that annulled a zoning plan.

"The market over-reacted to media commentary on last week's AICA ruling. Gabriel is advised that the environmental and ancilliary permitting process will be unimpeded," Gabriel Resources president and CEO Jonathan Henry said.

"Our determination to advance the permitting of the Rosia Montana Project and increase value for all stakeholders is resolute. This is important for the company, its shareholders and also for Romania itself as a significant owner of equity in the project.

"At a time when the global economic environment is uncertain and yet favourable for the project, we believe we are making real progress in articulating the economic advantages of this excellent project.

"Furthermore, we continue to fight vigourously the misleading accusations and legal cases brought by a small minority that are
impeding the willingness of the majority of Romanians to develop a modern mining industry that will bring jobs and economic growth where it is much needed.

"We fully expect that the strong and consistent community and regional support for the project will allow the company to continue the project's advancement for the benefit of all our stakeholders and the people of Romania."

The company has publicly disclosed that it was continually contesting legal challenges to the permitting of the development of the project, which is 80.69 percent-owned by its Romanian subsidiary, Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC).

Over the last eight years RMGC has been highly successful in resolving these legal obstacles in its favour and, since 2010, it has won 14 out of the 15 court cases in relation to the project.

Meanwhile, the company has progressed the permitting process with local, regional and national authorities to a level significantly more advanced than at any time in the history of the project.

The company has been advised that continuation in the progress of environmental and other permitting for the project should not be affected by the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal (AICA) ruling in Romania.

Romania manages its land planning through several levels of zoning which include General Urbanism Plans (PUG) and accompanying local regulations and Zonal Urbanism Plans (PUZ) and accompanying local regulations.

In 2002, the local council of Rosia Montana passed resolutions approving a PUG and also a PUZ designating an industrial zone under the footprint of the proposed new mine at Rosia Montana.

The AICA upheld a previous ruling that a 2009 decision by the local council to ratify a 2002 approval of the PUG and Industrial Area PUZ was illegally adopted and was invalid. However, the AICA did not rule explicitly that the original 2002 local council decision was invalid.

Gabriel Resources said that it was important to note that the Industrial Area PUZ was already in the process of being amended at the time of the AICA ruling and that the company has been advised that the new Industrial Area PUZ should be unaffected by the recent legal proceedings.

Moreover, the new Industrial Area PUZ is very well advanced, having been initiated in 2006, with 19 out of the total number of 22 endorsements  necessary for the approval of the new Industrial Area PUZ already obtained.

Upon completion of any amendments and receipt of the remaining endorsements, the local council of Rosia Montana will be in a position to update the Industrial Area PUZ.

Moving forward, Gabriel said that with regard to the ongoing Technical Analysis Committee review of the project's environmental impact assessment (EIA), the company is advised that there is nothing in relation to the AICA ruling that should stop the process, or the subsequent approval of an environmental permit by the Romanian government, from proceeding.

The process is at an advanced stage and the company is awaiting a further meeting to be held to discuss the EIA and potentially endorse the issuance of an environmental permit for the project.

Highlighting the benefits of Rosia Montana, the company said that it counts on "growing national and overwhelming local" support for the project.

Gabriel's Romanian unit RMGC currently provides employment to almost 500 people directly and a significant number of indirect
employees, with approximately 85 percent of the direct employees hired from the local Rosia Montana community which would have suffered from unemployment levels of up to 90 percent were RMGC not currently a major employer.

Additionally, the company is investing in training and professional skills development of its workforce for the construction phase of the project.

Given the critical importance of sustainable economic development for Romania, the company continues to draw public and political attention to the significant employment and economic opportunities the project brings, while at the same time aiming to conform to the highest standards on engineering, environmental, cultural and social matters.

This campaign to highlight the benefits of the project continues with recent local polls in the Rosia Montana region and national polls in Romania showing a significant majority in favour of the development of mining in Rosia Montana.

When in production, Rosia Montana is expected to be the largest gold mine in Europe and among the most important industrial projects in Romania. In tandem with significant local and regional employment, it is estimated at current gold prices that upwards of US$30 billion in benefits will accrue to the Romanian economy as a consequence of this single mining operation.(Source :Proactiveinvestors .com)