Project history
1996: After the State-owned mine began the restructuring process and layoffs, Gabriel Resources, a company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Canada, showed interest in continuing the mining operations in the area.
1997: EURO GOLD RESOURCES S.A. joint venture is created, whose main shareholders are Gabriel Resources and the State-owned mining company Minvest Roșia Montană S.A. In 2000, the Company changed its name to Roşia Montană Gold Corporation (RMGC).
1997 – 2002: The Company conducts geological explorations to determine the quantity of existing ore.
1999: RMGC obtains the concession license for exploitation no. 47/ 1999 for the exploitation of gold and silver ores in the Roşia Montană area.
2000: With RMGC financing, archaeological research begins with the participation of the teams of specialists from the National Union Museum of Alba Iulia and the Projection Centre for the National Cultural Patrimony, to assess the archaeological and architectural potential of Roşia Montana. The Company has thus far contributed approximately US$11 million for the teams of researchers.
2001: with the company's financial support, it was started the largest preventive archaeological research program in Romania: the National Research Program "Alburnus Maior". The program had the scientific coordination of the Romanian National History Museum from Bucharest and it was authorized and initiated by the Ministry of Culture. Romanian and foreign specialists took part in the program by involving in the research of 13 archeological sites, which revealed over 15.000 artifacts, necropolis and roman graves. The research was conducted until 2007.
March 2001 – present: RMCG organizes meetings (public consultations) with regional and local authorities, the locals, as well as the project opponents, to answer questions about the relocation and resettlement operations.
2002: the Cătălina-Monulești Gallery was reopened and one year later, the first roman galleries, located in the eastern extremity of the mining network, were found;
2002 – 2006: Drafting of feasibility studies, including studies concerning the initial conditions for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
April 2002: The General Urbanism Plan (GUP) of the Roşia Montană commune, including the mining project proposed by RMGC, is completed. The Regional Urbanism Plan for the industrial area of Roşia Montană was also completed at this time.
June 2002 – May 2004 and October 2006 – February 2008: RMGC purchases properties in the project area, based on an Action Plan for relocation and resettlement, in compliance with the World Bank and IFC standards.
Starting with 2003: after years of oblivion, at the end of the August month, the mining community in Roșia Montană celebrates the Miner's Day, a traditional holiday.
2003: we started the collaboration with the German company WISUTEC, one of the most famous and important companies in world mining rehabilitation.
May 2004: Following permanent consultations with the community, RMGC reviews the Action Plan for relocation and resettlement. Additionally, the technical aspects of the project are improved, so as to reflect the recommendations of the community and civil society.
December 2004: RMGC begins the procedure of obtaining the environmental permit by filing an application with the Alba Environmental Protection Agency on December 14th, 2004.
May 2006: RMGC submits the EIA Report, drafted by a team of Romanian and foreign experts, to the Ministry of Environment.
July – August 2006: 16 public consultations (14 in Romania and 2 in Hungary) are held for the EIA, to present the mining project to the public and answer people’s questions. Following the information and public consultations stage, 5,600 questions were submitted by RMGC to the Ministry of Environment in January 2007.
May 2007: RMGC submits the answers to the 5,600 questions to the Ministry of Environment, a document totaling 12,600 pages and representing an Annex to the EIA Report, the final document having more than 17,000 pages.
June – August 2007: The review of the EIA Report begins; 4 meetings of the Technical Analysis Committee (TAC) held.
July 2007: RMGC begins the construction of the new neighborhood in Alba Iulia, Recea, for the families within the project development area who chose to move to the city.
September 2007: The Ministry of Environment suspends the review of the EIA Report.
Starting with 2008: Rosia Montana Gold Corporation company has 100% Romanian employees and management.
May 2009: Inauguration of Recea neighborhood in Alba Iulia; 125 local families moved to their new homes in Alba Iulia.
September 2009: Roșia Montană commune officially enters the Guinnes Book of Records, as the first locality in the world with the largest number of people who simultaneously looked for gold with a buddle.
September 2010: The Ministry of Environment reconsiders the evaluation procedure of the Environmental Impact Assessment Study on Rosia Montana Project.
2011: the first systematic archaeological research of the mining network Cătălina- Monulești was started and continued in 2012, under the leadership of Dr. Béatrice Cauuet, in collaboration with archaeologists from the National Museum of Romanian History and geologists from Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj -Napoca. At the end of this research campaign, a program of geotechnical stabilization and consolidation of Roman and modern mining works was started, fully financed by RMGC.
2011: RMGC financed the building of a water treatment station at Roșia Montană.
In July 2011: the Alba County Directorate for Culture issued the archaeological discharge certificate for one side of the Carnic massif, after approving the preventive archaeological research report "Cârnic Massif, Roșia Montană, Romania- the Rosia Montana project".
July 2012: the Astra Museum Complex from Sibiu extended its collection with a valuable exhibit- one building from Roșia Montană, built in 1830, and donated by RMGC. The house was symbolically called "The Golden House".
Summer 2012: Cătălina-Monulești, the first roman gallery from Roșia Montană open to public.
2013: due to an investment of EUR 1.5 million, RMGC completed the restoration of one of the most important heritage building in Roșia Montană, the Old Town Hall. This will be transformed into a hotel, once the mining project starts.
August 2013: The Romanian Government approves and issues a draft law “on certain measures related to the exploitation of the gold-silver deposits from Roșia Montană and stimulation and facilitation of mining development in Romania”
Autumn 2013: as a result of the negotiations and based on a gold price of $1.200/ounce, the Roșia Montană project brings over $ 5 billion in the Romanian economy, of which $2.3 billion directly to the State budget from taxes and duties, and $2.9 billion revenues from Romanian employees and suppliers. The project also provides an environmental guarantee of $146 million and a double investment in the local patrimony of $70 million.
October - November 2013: A parliamentary Special Committee is formed to analyse the Draft Amended Mining and recommends its rejection
December 2013: Draft Amended Mining Law debated and voted on in the Chamber of Deputies where it fails to garner the minimum number of votes required for its adoption
May 2014: 400 employees of RMGC, representing approximately 80% of the RMGC workforce, dismissed due to no progress recorded in EIA talks
January 2015: Gabriel Resources sends an official letter to the President and Prime Minister of Romania calling for amicable resolution of the permitting dispute
April 2015 – 35% of RMGC employees made redundant due to further lack of progress in the permitting process