Historic sites
At Roșia Montană, gold has been mined since the time of Roman occupation in the second century or earlier, the Latin name being Alburnus Maior.
Two millennia of intensive, careless mining has left a significant imprint on the region but also left behind invaluable archeological heritage about mining such as galleries, traditional techniques, and settlements from the era.
Today, a significant amount of gold remains at Roșia Montană and recently a Canadian company is interested in extracting over 200 tons of gold and 800 tons of silver over the next 20 years.
The threat of an environmental disaster due to the use of cyanide in the mining process has prompted massive opposition to the project from local and international NGOs agencies, and public figures such as the Romanian Academy, the World Bank, and Prince Charles of Wales. This controversy has become one of the largest public campaigns in Romania and one of the most significant cases worldwide.
Civil society warns about the environmental hazards and promotes tourism as an alternative, proposing the site to become a UNESCO World Heritage site. They have highlighted earlier environmental disasters related to the use of cyanide for gold mining and make a case for tourism that maintains, supports, and regenerates the natural landscapes and biodiversity and conserves its unique heritage. To support their cause, they are illuminating successes from other similar locations in Transylvania which developed through tourism.
All due criticism considered, the mining company has promised to clean up current pollution from the 2000 years of dirty mining practices and be compliant with European Union legislation, creating thousands of jobs and contribute billions of USD to the local economy and budget. The gold and silver is valued at around $7.5 billion, four billion of which is slotted to stay in Romania with 19 % of profits to be directed to the national budget.
Amongst this debate the locals are left in an awkward position, most of them have already sold their properties and moved away from the region with news of future prospecting of gold and negative health and environmental effects. A minority have remained in the region, mostly unemployed and disempowered from maintaining pastoral practices past on through generations for subsistence such as vegetable garden and grazin
g animals as the land is contaminated.
During your time in the area you can visit the state-owned museum to learn about the history of gold mining in this region, walk through galleries and find out the local viewpoint about the mining project. You can also visit the most recent addition to the local museums developed by the mining company to learn about their take on the issues. There are many other scenic and cultural places that merit visiting in Roșia Montană such as the artificial lakes, the old center, and Roman galleries.
More information about this project on:
- Roșia Montană Gold Corporation www.rmgc.ro
- Roșia Montană Cultural Foundation www.fcrm.ro
- 'Alburnus Maior' NGO www.rosiamontana.org
