RSS
Mining Watch Romania demands in court suspension of exploitation license for Rosia Montana
The environmental activists of the Mining Watch Romania network request that the judges of the Cluj Court of Appeal suspend the mining license of Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), in an effort to definitively stop any possible mining operation in area.
"After the decision of the Washington Court, we should have breathed a sigh of relief that Rosia Montana was saved. It's just that RMGC insists on the request to extend the exploitation license. So, if this license is not suspended by the judges, we risk that the Agency National for Mineral Resources extends it again in June 2024. Extending this license could irreparably damage the valuable Roman, medieval and modern archeological remains of the area and could block any rehabilitation initiative due to the conflict between the mining license and UNESCO regulations," Roxana Pencea Bradasan, from Mining Watch, was quoted as saying in a press release.
Through the filed lawsuit, the members of the Mining Watch network are suing both the RMGC and the National Agency for Mineral Resources (ANRM), requesting the court to suspend the administrative documents for license extension issued in 2019 and to block the current license extension procedures no. 47/1999. The file will have its first trial date on May 9, 2024.
"The Mining Watch network shows, in the notification submitted to the court, that the RMGC license must be suspended for two reasons. First of all, because the administrative acts of extension were 'approved' by an incompetent authority, i.e. ANRM. Lack of a Government Decision of approval implies their non-existence. In fact, the challenged administrative documents never entered into force. Secondly, more than 210 days have passed since the extension documents were issued in 2019, and this is an express reason for revocation, provided for in Law No. 85/2003. The license for Rosia Montana was granted to the state company Minvest in 1999. A year later, it was transferred to the private company Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (formerly Euro Gold Resources). The renewal of this license would perpetuate the illegalities, but also the underdevelopment in which the locality of Apuseni is kept, due to the toxic pressures of the mining company," the organization says.
Mining Watch Romania is a national network of activists and non-governmental organizations that work to protect and preserve Romania's natural and cultural heritage.