Romania To Reanalyze Rosia Montana Gold Mining Project

Ariton said the contract will be reassessed and the ministry would decide whether or not it would call for a renegotiation. He added he would like to renegotiate the contract to secure increased benefits for the Romanian side.

"I have had a talk with the prime minister on the conditions this contract bears and to see whether Romania could get more benefits out of it," said Ariton.

He could not specify a time frame for the analysis of the project
Prime Minister Emil Boc has said recently he is not a fan of the gold mining project and the the current contract should be reconsidered, as it is not the most advantageous for the Romanian state.

President Traian Basescu, however, has recently voiced support for the continuation of the project and has also called for a renegotiation of the sharing of benefits.

Rosia Montana Gold Corporation (RMGC), a joint venture consisting of Canada's Gabriel Resources and the Romanian state, is developing the mining project at Rosia Montana, in the western Romanian Apuseni Mountains, with projected costs reaching more than $1 billion.

Gabriel Resources owns 80.46% of RMGC, while the Romanian state (19.31%) and other shareholders (0.23%) control the rest.
Romanian environmental NGOs have been protesting the project, which involves cyanide mining, since it was put on the table in the 1990s and have proposed to promote tourism and agriculture in the otherwise poor area.

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