Roşia Montana is a small community about halfway between Lupeni and Cluj. And I do mean small -- the area is home to only about 3,000 people. It's located in the Apuşeni Mountains, and hosts some amazing biodiversity. It's also the oldest documented community in Romania and is in the process of being considered by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site because of its historical and cultural importance.
Roşia Montana also sits on top of gold. For many years (since the days of Roman rule, in fact), gold mining has been part of the local economy, usually on a relatively small scale. But apparently, there are hundreds of tons of gold and over a thousand tons of silver estimated to be extracted, making it potentially the largest gold mine in Europe. The unemployment rate in Roşia Montana is, according to sources I've seen, at 80 percent. That's oppressively high -- and large-scale mining would certainly provide jobs.
A few years ago, a Canadian corporation called Gabriel Resources made a deal with the Romanian government to buy and start mining gold out of Roşia Montana. The deal would make a lot of money for the Romanian government and provide a lot of jobs. But here's the catch: in the process, it would dig out the valley where Roşia Montana sits, thus booting most locals out of their homes; flood another nearby village with a cyanide-poisoned lake; and completely destroy four of the surrounding mountains which are home to such famous biodiversity.
Just a sidenote for those of you wondering about the cyanide: apparently, when there are "fine gold-bearing rocks" (thanks, Wikipedia), it is common practice to grind the rock, mix it with a sodium cyanide solution, and thus separate the gold from the stone. Unfortunately, this leaves behind the cyanide, which is usually stored in man-made lakes, where there is always high risk of leakage into the groundwater and rivers and streams. It costs 1.5 million dollars a year to control this waste -- and Romania has a bad history with cyanide waste management. In 2000, there was a huge cyanide spill from another gold mine near Baia Mare, in northeastern Romania. The dam holding back the contaminated water broke, causing what is known as the worst environmental disaster in Europe since Chernobyl.
Romanian public opinion is divided over Roşia Montana, and understandably so. The Romanian economy is struggling, and any promise of foreign investment and jobs is a promise filled with hope. But over the last few years, more and more Romanians (including many people from Roşia Montana) seem to have decided that the cost and risk is not worth it -- plus, they are angry about the way the government has handled the whole affair. There have been growing protests, with thousands of people taking the streets in big cities like Bucharest to protest against what they call foreign exploitation and environmental and cultural degradation.
The more I learn, the more I think I agree. Living in Lupeni, another mountainous mining community with high unemployment, I can feel the tensions of the Roşia Montana debate in ways I never could before. But even so, I can't imagine how it would be worth it. The risks -- the loss of homes and livelihoods, the loss of species and habitat, the risk of water contamination stretching far beyond the limits of Romania, the secretive dealings of the Romanian government with this multinational corporation -- it can't be right.
Most "Western" news sources aren't carrying anything on the Roşia Montana controversy (which, by the way, is currently being stalled by legislative red tape and public protests). But here are a few articles for you, and a video made by some IMPACT kids and other European youth (cool, huh?). Please read them. Please pray for wisdom and transparency on the part of the Romanian government. Please pray for the voice of the Romanian people to be heard, and for justice to be done. Please pray for Roşia Montana.
Roşia Montana: Is it worth it?
Helpful articles to read for more information:
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