new cases - rosia montana - alexandra postelnicu

The treasures of Rosia Montana and

the Struggle with the RMGC project

By Alexandra Postelnicu

“In the last 14 years, I have been feeling pain and indignation whenever I saw the Romanian state institutions join forces with RMGC at the expense of the citizens' interest.....and at the same time,I felt ENTHUSIASM because I followed the real values of life.

However hard is going to be, I will continue to be 100% involved in protecting my land and my community!” Calin Capros

The treasures of Rosia Montana and the Struggle with the RMGC project

ROSIA MONTANA

It is the oldest mining settlement in Romania, with approximately 1870 years of documented history. (6 Feb 131 A.D.)I


ARCHAEOLOGICAL REMAINS

A sensational discovery in Rosia Montana was the unveiling of an ancient mausoleum in Hop-Gauri area.The double circular tomb is the only one discovered in Romania from the period of Roman Dacia and it was very well preserved.Due to pressure from domestic and foreign archaeologists and also from the local population, it was decided to preserve the tomb in situ through a special program.

Aerial view during preventive archeological excaCremation tomb with stone ring - detailvations from the cremation necropolis in Tarina area (2004)

Cremation tomb with stone ring - detail

25 wax tablets discovered in 1788 and 1855 in underground galleries

Building with hypocaust from Dealul Carpeni (2003)


ARCHITECTURE

The old town center of Rosia Montana is on the list of heritage areas due to age and specific architecture of the houses. Here we find the memorial houses of some important people in the history of Transylvania, like Simion Balint, Iulia Faliciu and also monuments built in honor of important people (George Gritta).


NATURAL TREASURES landforms


NATURAL MONUMENTS• Piatra Despicata - Rosia Montana

township - 0,20 ha• The Gap from Hoaca Urzicarului PN

- Vartop village - 1,00 ha• Piatra Corbului - Rosia Montana

township - 5,00 ha• Detunata Goala - Bucium township

- 24,00 ha• Detunata Flocoasa - Bucium

township - 5,00 ha• Daffodil meadow from Negrileasa -

Bucium township - 5,00 ha

PIATRA CORBULUI PIATRA DESPICATA

DETUNATA GOALA DAFFODIL MEADOW FROM NEGRILEASA

NATURAL TREASURES - flora

• The flower-rich meadows of the Rosia Montana area are a priceless ecological and cultural national treasure.

• Similar meadows have disappeared over much of Europe. In the UK, this habitat has decreased by more than 90% since 1945, and even in eastern Europe such semi-natural grasslands are under increasing threat.

Anacamptis pyramidalis

Gymnadenia conopsea

Platanthera bifolia

Traunsteinera globosa

• The grasslands especially, and associated flushes and mires, proved to be species-rich.

• As well as a number of rare and threatened grassland plants and communities, there are recorded eight grassland orchid species, of which six are Red-listed as Rare in Romania.


NATURAL TREASURES - fauna

BAT SPECIES AND THEIR PROTECTION STATUS IN ROSIA MONTANA

A group of specialists from the Romanian Bat Protection Association (RBPA) conducted a field research in mining galleries at Rosia Montana (9 to 11 September 2003), identifying nine species of bats. These bats were caught with special nets, identified, weighed and released.The huge underground systems of Rosia Montana and their surroundings offer shelter conducive to a large number of bats. We believe that mining galleries are very important especially as winter shelter for many endangered species of bats that inhabit the caves.The lack of natural cavities in the region makes these mining galleries a unique shelter for bats.


NATURAL TREASURES - caves

Since the mid-nineteenth century until 1921, Romania’s caves were known only by bio speleological research undertaken, in Transylvania, mainly by Austrians and Hungarians entomologists and, in Oltenia and Dobrogea, by the Romanian naturalist Constantin Ionescu.After Emil Racoviţă returned home, he put his expertise and reputation in the service of the new Romanian university, which was being organized in Cluj. He founded here, in 1920, the first institute of speleology in the world. Since then, the vast underground exploration program launched since 1905 by the founder of bio speleology continued in limestone regions of Romania and especially in Transylvania.

BEARS’S CAVE

SCARISOARA CAVE

FOCUL VIU CAVE

CASA ZMEULUI CAVE

CETATILE PONORULUI

CAVE

FOCUL VIU CAVE


THE ROSIA MONTANA GOLD CORPORATION PROJECT

Short description of the project:

- The firm obtained a concession for an area of 4282 hectares, in Rosia Montana area

- The project would be the largest gold mining exploatation in Europe: extraction of an amount of ca. 300 metric tons of gold and 1600 metric tons of silver.

- Open pit excavation technology, in four open pits, with an estimated area of 100 hectares each ==> digging of more than 220 milions metric tones of crude ore.

- The residues will be accummulated in a open tailings pond, with a capacity of 250 milions metric tones and an estimated area of ca. 100 hectares (600 hectares according to other sources), behind a dam 180 meters high, built of steril rock.


THE RISKS OF THE PROJECT Economic and social aspects

• The project affects 38 % of the area of Rosia Montana town (which has to be demolished for open pit exploitaion); an estimated number of 1800 persons must be relocated. Also, some 740 homes and several churches should be demolished and their cemeteries moved.


THE RISKS OF THE PROJECT: Technological aspectsThe technology used in the mining project is based upon the extraction of gold from the finely ground ore by leaching with a solution of sodium cyanide. The use of a technology based upon cyanide leaching seriously endangers the environment and the experience of the disaster in Baia Mare is relevant. Similar accidents (ca. 30 only after year 2000!) have occurred in some other countries: U.S.A. (1993 and 1998), Guyana (1995), Australia (1995), Philippines (1999). Of these, 72 % were due to tailing dam malfunctions, 14 % to pipe leaks and 14 % cyanide transport accidents.

- Nobody can guaranty that such accidents will not be repeated, and afterwards the punishment of the responsible persons will serve nothing.- Cyanide is not the only danger; the tailings and the residual waters resulted from the technological process present the risks of severe pollution also due to their content of toxic heavy metals extracted from the ore, which are more persistent than cyanide and cannot be neutralised !- The technology for cyanide destruction recommended in the project, with sulfur dioxide (in open air containers) itself introduces an additional potentially polluting agent.


THE RISKS OF THE PROJECT: Ecological and environment conservation aspects- The open pit exploitation produces a significant degradation of the natural

environment, in fact a real mutilation of the landscape, leaving behind four huge craters and massive deposits of sterile material.

- Also, there will be pollution of air, water and soil in the area, produced by the open pit mining and the massive transportation with heavy equipment (e.g. 150 ton trucks) of huge amounts of ore and sterile material.

- The destruction of the landscape typical for Western Carpathians (Muntii Apuseni) anihilates the touristic potential of the area and eliminates the perspective of a sustainable development in the zone on this basis, not only in Rosia Montana itself, but also in its vicinity. A polluted area will not attract investments of any kind !


THE RISKS OF THE PROJECT: Ecological and environment conservation aspects

– The explosions used in the technology of ore mining (five times a week) provide the risks of vibrations and seismic waves which can negatively affect the immediate vicinity of the exploitation, endangering some old constructions and mining galleries, which may weaken and collapse.

– Serious risks also exist due to the possible leaks of residual water from the tailing pond, infiltrations into the permeable ground, formation of hydrogen cyanide (a very toxic gas) during the summer (especially under the influence of acid rains). These risks are aggravated by the presence of some populated localities (Campeni, Abrud) in the immediate vicinity.


THE RISKS OF THE PROJECT: Scientific archeological-histrorical aspects

The mining of the gold deposit would irremediably destroy most of the archeologic site, which would be an unrecoverable loss and would cancel any chance of establishing a zone of cultural tourism, a long term economic solution.

The destruction of archeological vestiges of such a value would be a cultural crime.


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new cases - rosia montana - alexandra postelnicu

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