Română
Location: Băişoara, Cluj
License: concession license for exploitation
Project holder 2013: Rom Aur SRL
Shareholders: Gabriel Resources BV Nederland (100%), subsidiary of Gabriel Resources Limited
Data on the deposit: gold
Project permitting stage: –
Baisoara – general aspects
The National Agency for Mineral Resources issued in 2006 a concession license for the exploration of gold-silver bearing ores in the Băişoara area, Cluj county, to Rom Aur SRL Roşia Montană, a subsidiary of Gabriel Resources Ltd. In their report for shareholders Gabriel Resources informs that they held until July 2011 a concession license for exploration of the Băişoara area, which expired. The company also announced their decision not to extend the license validity.
The Townhall of Băişoara in Cluj county confirmed in their press release „No gold-silver exploration and mining with cyanides” that the license of Rom Aur SRL, subsidiary of Gabriel Resources, expired in 2011 and was not renewed. In addition the Townhall stated that the whole community was against cyanide gold mining and exploration at Băişoara and that “cyanide or other noxious substances for our community shall never be used.”
Mining is an industry with an extremely high stake for public policies and financial markets, but particularly for the directly affected communities and ecosystems. While the industry highlights its capacity to generate wealth and the use of modern technologies, the responsibility for the risks, costs and liabilities generated has never been fully assumed. The industry’s domination in the area of public policies prevented a change of the status-quo, and the local communities’ voice remains marginal in the public discourse. The shift of mining companies’ interest from large investment projects to smaller but more numerous projects has a major impact upon local communities, with public attention being thus dissipated in many directions and the permitting procedures being simplified.